Cycling UK has called for all the major candidates at the General Election to pledge an increase in spending on cycling and walking if elected next month. The UK's national cycling charity has written to each of the major parties to promise a minimum 5% increase in investment in cycling and walking for 2020 with that rising to at least 10% within five years.
It continued by saying these pledges needed to be the bare minimum if journeys by bike are to be doubled in England by 2035, the figure already set in order to match the rest of the UK.
Currently, only 2% of the £25.1 billion annual budget for transport in the UK is spent on cycling and walking.
Chief Executive of Cycling UK, Paul Tuohy, has written to 2,164 candidates nationwide so far with only 199 promising to make the pledge.
Tuohy continued by pleading with all parties at the next election to address the UK's toxic air quality and to prevent further delay in acting upon the solution.
'We’re breathing toxic air. Too many people are becoming obese or enduring inactivity related ill-health. Our roads are congested and vehicle emissions are compounding the climate crisis,' said Tuohy.
'But the good news is that fixing this isn’t rocket science. We just need proper investment in cycling and walking, to enable more people to move around actively, particularly for short journeys.
'We need people to ask their candidates to stand up for cycling, walking and a healthier future. Don’t delay – take action now and help us identify the Parliament’s future champions for greener travel.'
Research released in February found that 2,000 locations across the UK currently have levels of air pollution that exceed safety limits with Kensington and Chelsea, Leeds and Doncaster ranked among the worst.