Life in the bike lane with the original cycling campaigners

Cycling UK’s chief executive Paul Tuohy talks to Deniz Huseyin about the rebranding of a 138-year-old organisation, encouraging more people to commute by bike, and why he is envious of British Cycling

Cycling UK’s chief executive Paul Tuohy

Cycling UK’s chief executive Paul Tuohy

It was formed in 1878, describes itself as the world’s oldest transport organisation and now has 67,000 members. But Cycling UK, as it renamed itself earlier this year, is now taking steps to become a modern, forward-looking outfit. Formerly the Cyclists’ Touring Club and, before that, the Bicycle Touring Club, the organisation’s  transition has been spearheaded by Paul Tuohy, who took over as chief executive in 2014.

Perhaps surprisingly, the organisation only became a charity in 2012 after many years of soul-searching and “angst” among the membership, says Tuohy.

“One of the big things you need as a charity to get your work done is money, and the only way you can get money is to communicate and lead a cause,” says Tuohy. “I felt that CTC had a brilliant offer but it was non-communicable as it stood. Rebranding to Cycling UK is obviously one step but what we’ve now got to do is live and breathe what we are doing.”

As human beings we are like sheep; we are there to be herded, we follow the leader. If we don’t have leaders we will just stay sedentary. What we need is a city to lead the way and demonstrate the massive changes that can happen.

He says that Cycling UK’s new strapline – the Cyclists’ Champion – perfectly encapsulates its mission.

“I want Cycling UK to be seen as the central organisation for cycling, so that if you ride a bike you should support us because you get fantastic groups of supporters you can engage with. 

“We need to point out just why cycling represents a huge public benefit in terms of health, wellbeing and happiness, and how we can improve communities through having quieter environments and cleaner air and change the areas where you live.”

Tuohy sees himself as well placed to raise Cycling UK’s profile. He has spent more than 20 years as a “charity change management specialist”. This, he explains, involved “re-building and re-focusing charities into successful organisations with sound governance and financial management”. Prior to joining Cycling UK he was chief executive at Mentor UK, a charity that works to protect young people from the harms of alcohol and drug misuse. He has also led a range of other charities including Missing People, Drake Music Project, Action Medical Research and Build Africa.

Since gaining charity status, Cycling UK’s income has increased, Tuohy says. Last year its turnover was £6.3m, which came from membership, government and local authority grants, donations and legacies.

“With our charitable status we are increasingly doing work with people who have challenging issues that prevent them from cycling,” explains Tuohy. “This could be as simple as not having the confidence to cycle, it could be because someone has a disability. We try and run projects for such people to help them ride. We give advice, the amount of expertise we have within our organisation through our membership is fantastic.” 

Big Bike Revival

One such venture is the Big Bike Revival, launched last year in England thanks to £1m funding from the DfT. Over two weeks during the summer of 2015 nearly 32,000 people attended more than 1,600 events at 93 bike recycling centres, with 24,000 bikes being repaired, Cycling UK reports.

Survey data showed that over half of the people who benefitted were non-regular cyclists, with 59% of them cycling more after the project. There were 3,500 new instances of cycling to work and to the local shops, according to the charity. 

The scheme received an additional £500,000 funding from the DfT this year, bringing the total up to £1.5m, with events throughout July and August and hundreds of led rides in October. 

Last month the Big Bike Revival launched in Scotland with £500,000 funding from the Scottish Government.

The project has enabled Cycling UK to engage with “some very hard to reach communities”, says Tuohy. Some 40% of people who took part were in the lowest income bracket in the country, he says. “Fascinatingly, they had a bike that was not being used because it had something wrong with it. They were able to go to their local centre, get their bike fixed, on us, and ride it.”

Tuohy is confident that the majority of those who fix their bikes will carry on cycling. This is chiefly due to the cost benefits of choosing to travel by bike. “They will see that by commuting they will save a hell of a lot of money.” 

Self-interest tends to be the key factor behind behaviour change, believes Tuohy. “We will generally do things that benefit us, but the added value is knowing it is also good for others as well. We can nudge people towards change by telling them they will have more money in their pocket, will feel better, and get around more quickly.”

Currently just 2% of regular journeys are made by bike, says Tuohy. One of the key reasons is the misplaced belief that cycling is dangerous. “This is enhanced by ridiculous media hype. Although we have lots of dreadful accidents in motorcars every day that is seen as normal, so it is not reported. But when somebody dies on a bicycle it’s front page news and, therefore, the perception is that cycling is really dangerous. The fact that more people are in A&E every day because of gardening accidents than riding a bike is not publicised. So, one of our challenges is to push the fact that cycling is a pleasurable, largely very safe, activity.”

Despite the efforts of the media, people should also not allow themselves to be defined by the mode of transport they use, says Tuohy. “When you describe yourself as ‘a cyclist’ or a ‘motorist’ you are almost drawing up battle lines.

“I get about by car, by motorbike or by cycle, and I will choose which is the most appropriate for the journeys that I take.”

The annoying minority

More than 90% of Cycling UK’s members have driving licences, Tuohy points out. “So, they are people who like to get about by whatever means suits them. It means that when we are on the bike we can come at things from a motorists’ point of view and when we are in our cars we know why the cyclist is one metre from the kerb. 

“The reality is a small proportion of people who get about in life are very annoying, and they can be drivers, cyclists or pedestrians.” 

Besides negative reporting – Tuohy takes particular exception to radio shows hosted by “shock jocks” – another issue that troubles him is the absence of a cycling champion within government. 

“Transport ministers’ time is understandably taken up with issues to do with cars and lorries, trains, buses and roads,” he says. “But while we are becoming more concerned about congestion and pollution, just a few hundred miles away we have examples of other towns and cities in Europe that have masses of their communities getting about using this marvellous invention called a ‘bicycle’.”

He adds: “I think the Government is struggling to create a vision of what their communities might look like. If they could get more people out of cars and walking and cycling to make their communities nicer places.”

Dedicated investment for cycling and walking projects in England is set to be £316m over the next five years. Cycling UK has calculated that, over that time period, the annual spend per head on cycling and walking outside of London will fall from £2.07 to 72p by 2020/21. 

There is potentially additional funding available from other sources, chiefly the Local Growth Fund, though this not ring-fenced. As part of its Space for Cycling campaign, Cycling UK is helping local authorities prepare bids for funding cycling projects from the fund. 

In too many towns and cities around the UK infrastructure for cycling is still “rubbish”, believes Tuohy. But he predicts that the rolling out of good quality cycle routes in London, such as the new segregated Superhighways, will have a “ripple effect” across the country. 

Tuohy is confident that, as the new routes become well used, local authorities will see the benefits of improved infrastructure for tackling congestion, poor air quality and boosting local business as “people get about better and quicker”. 

He observes: “As human beings we are like sheep; we are there to be herded, we follow the leader. If we don’t have leaders we will just stay sedentary. What we need is a city to lead the way and demonstrate the massive changes that can happen. London is ahead of the game. Once it shows what is possible the rest will follow.”

These infrastructure improvements could actually be straightforward and easy to install, says Tuohy. “It is not as complicated as people make out. It should be part of council agendas when they are putting in the infrastructure for people to get about.

“You only have to look at pavements in some areas to see how massive they are. All you have to do is take out 20% of the pavement for a bikeway and, lo and behold, people will start using bikeways.”

Ready-made solution

The case for setting aside more space for cycleways is growing ever more compelling, argues Tuohy. “As our road infrastructure continues to groan under the pressure of increased traffic, cycling offers a ready-made solution. For example, an average road can ‘withstand’ car volumes of up to 2,000 car movements per hour, or 14,000 cycling movements. Imagine, then, that there are seven times as many more people cycling to work than now, because well-designed space for cycling has been invested in. 

“All of a sudden, the increased cycling volumes mean those who have opted to stay in the car, now do not have to compete for space with quite so many other cars. We see less congestion, fewer air pollutants and, now, those people cycling need a different type of fuel. So, they might stop at a café for breakfast, or a shop to grab a bite to eat, instead of filling up a tank with petrol.”

Many journeys to work can be made by bike, with the average distance by bike about three miles, estimates Tuohy citing the DfT’s latest National Transport Survey. “Virtually every person working should be able to have a reasonable health level to cycle that sort of distance. A three-mile ride to work even for someone who is fairly slow should take no more than 20 minutes.”

Employers should do more to encourage staff to cycle to work by providing enough decent bike parking, says Tuohy. “Workers don’t necessarily need shower facilities though if you are cycling longer distances it would be nice to put in showers. These things don’t cost much especially if it is about having a happy workplace. It is good for business, so there is a whole issue about employers thinking about their responsibility to encourage people to cycle.”

For longer journeys the folding bike may well be answer, suggests Tuohy – he sometimes uses a Brompton when travelling by rail. “I live two miles from a train station. I could choose to drive in but I don’t need to, and I never use a bus, as I use my Brompton.” 

Electric bikes will also be instrumental in opening up cycling to more people, Tuohy predicts. “In the next five years electric bikes are going to be huge.” 

On a recent visit to Annecy in south-eastern France, Tuohy noted that about 20% of people cycling were using electric bikes. “They will encourage sections of society who feel riding a normal bike is a bit too difficult but still feel able to do some exercise through the assistance of an electric bike. 

“The cost will come down. At the moment it is actually quite expensive – that is normal with anything new. But gradually the competitive market will kick in and they should come tumbling down because the technology is there and there are different types of electric bike already on the market.”

Wrong priorities

Bolstered by the increasing use of electric and folding bikes, the “absolute minimum benchmark” for regular journeys by bike in the UK should be 10% by 2025, says Tuohy. And he thinks the Government should commit to a longer-term target of 25% by 2050 as called for by the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group. “When you consider that most journeys to work are three miles, or you’re talking about children cycling to school, then I think it’s a realistic target.” 

Tuohy admits to being envious at the level of funding received by British Cycling, the national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. For the five-year period 2013 to 2017 British Cycling received £30.5m from UK Sport to support elite competitors and £32m from Sport England to promote cycling at grassroots level.

“If we were given that sort of funding we could transform cycling in this country,” he says. “There is more invested in the idea of winning medals in the Olympic Games than to helping people ride a bike to work or school. 

“We have got our priorities totally wrong. We can find the funding for the sport but we don’t think cycling is a priority for families and communities. The money is there – it is about applying it in the right areas.” 

However, Tuohy concedes that the success of the British cycling team at this year’s Olympics and Paralympics in Brazil has helped raise the bike’s profile. 

“One of the great things at being so good at cycling as a sport is we are sports mad as a nation. People want to have a go – what we have to do is seize the moment and capitalise on peoples’ enthusiasm to show how getting about from A to B can be so much fun and a lot more simple than you think. 

“Even the way the infrastructure is at the moment I think there is still a huge number of people we can encourage to ride a bike from the point of view of leisure and commuting if we can nudge them in the right direction. But we will reach a sticking point when you won’t get any more to do so unless you change the infrastructure to make it easier for them.”