Adessi 10:10 - Cycling in the City

Jude is doing a good job cycling to work every day, which must be helping him to reduce his carbon footprint and therefore helping Adessi's 10:10 campaign.

Cycling is a big deal in the news at the moment due to Transport for London's scheme to get more people riding their bikes in the capital. I think cycling in a city has it's pros and cons and may be more practical for some commuters than others, but overall I think it should be encouraged.

Does it make a difference what city you're cycling in? As a Londoner I heard all about the Congestion Charge when it was introduced and since then the effect on traffic has been controversial. If I had to guess though I'd say there's probably a lot more traffic in London than there is in Leeds or Newcastle. So should schemes like the one in London be rolled out across the country, where you can hire a bike to ride around the city? It's a really simple idea, where you become a member and pay an access fee of £1 for a day, £5 for a week or £45 for a year, and then you can borrow a bike from a docking station for different amounts of time: up to 30 minutes is free, three hours is £15 and the maximum of 24 hours is £50. A casual use scheme will be introduced soon, where you will be able to hire at the docking station and pay by credit or debit card.

Photo from samaw.com

I think the response has been quite mixed, but personally I think it's a good idea, and means if someone doesn't own a bike and doesn't want to spend the money on buying one they can still cycle and save on petrol or public transport costs. I'd look forward to the scheme being rolled out in other cities, as I can see it going down really well in places like York, where there is already a big cycling community.

I, on the other hand, won't be taking part if the scheme comes to Leeds because I can't ride a bike. Yes, I'm 21 and can't ride a bike. I don't drive either though, so I'm either on public transport or I'm a pedestrian, so my lack of cycling skills won't be affecting Adessi's energy use.

What do you think about a similar scheme being introduced in your city? We'd love to hear your views.

You can read all about the London scheme here.

Laura