The Dutch understood it several decades ago: money spent on cycling infrastructure has a much higher ROI than money spent on any other means of transport. The UK authorities are slowly getting it.

The LCC reports that “the Secretary of State for Transport, has announced that the Government will be investing £140 million over the next three years to boost cycling nationally.”

[Let's put this in context: Amsterdam (population 2.2 million) has a 5 year cycling budget of €100 million; and who has more work to do?]

The Daily Mail, amongst others, has been fed the obvious rational of the investment; they are finally reading the press releases:

Every time a car driver converts to cycling, it saves almost £400 a year, a study showed today.

The savings, calculated for the first time, result from reduced costs to the NHS and employers through lower sickness rates and less congestion.

A 20 per cent increase in cycling would save more than £500million by 2012, said the report by Cycling England [which is the body receiving the money].

Image by Kirja