A new bicycle economy in London could net 25,000 jobs

The case was made at the recent COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland that the bicycle can fight the climate crisis, and a new report suggests that not only can it kick climate butt, an increase in cycling will also provide a huge economic boost along the way.

A new report commissioned by the Bicycle Association from the independent research group Transport for Quality of Life looks at London’s net zero carbon target and indicates it would create 25,000 new green jobs in London’s “bicycle economy,” which equates to a staggering economic divined of nearly £5 billion a year.

Half of London’s 4.7 million car journeys are less than three cyclable kilometers every day. According to the report, converting just 14 percent of those trips to cycling is a realistic ambition and in line with what more than 80 cities worldwide are already doing. Although the increase in cycling would be modest when compared to the overall transportation mix, the report indicates it would generate up to 25,000 green jobs in areas such as retail, logistics, manufacturing, and tourism.  

The report highlights the progress that is already underway. In 2020, increasing levels of cycling in London helped avoid around 270 premature deaths, nearly 1,900 serious illnesses, around 216 million vehicle kilometers, and thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions. 

“London is showing strong leadership by targeting net zero carbon status by 2030. A large-scale shift to cycling from private car use is essential to achieving this,” said Dr. Ashok Sinha, chief executive of the London Cycling Campaign. “This must-read research shows that investing in high-quality cycling infrastructure will not only enable this shift but generate a huge number of new, green, career opportunities, especially for the most disadvantaged Londoners. It will also help create new business opportunities that will help revitalize London’s hard-hit high streets.”

The report, which can be found here, details a massive economic boost from a tripling of sales of cycling products and services on the high street; and the related environmental and health benefits from Londoners’ use of those products and services.

“By 2030 it’s not just the positive environmental benefit of net zero which will be dramatic — but the economic benefit too,” said Simon Irons, the Bicycle Association’s Market Data Service Director.

“Our market data is probably the best of any cycling market in the world – tracking nearly a million cycling products and services every month. We’ve used this data to help forecast how big the bicycle economy would be when London becomes a zero-carbon city. We want to share this information with Londoners to show just how economically valuable cycling is.”