In the latest of our Leadership Programme Success stories, we catch up with Cyclist.ie. They have been very busy, running several successful campaigns, such as Love 30, Respect and Bike Theft. All the campaigns collaborated with relevant government institutions, such as Department of Transport, or the Road Safety Authority, helping spread the message at a high level! Events were also organised, including a choreographed cycling performance during the St Patricks Day parade, which over half a million people attended! 

They have been focusing on developing strategic partnerships, in order to retain and strengthen the position of National Cycling Coordinator beyond the completion of the Leadership Programme, which will help advance their core campaigning initiatives. To this end, they have developed a strategic partnership with Cycling Ireland – the all Island governing body for the sport of cycling. This will allow them to mobilise the membership of Cycling Ireland, as well as their own, leading to a much stronger voice for cycling advocacy.

At the same time as tapping into Cycling Ireland’s members, their own membership has been growing as well, with regional groups showing steady increases in size. This has coincided with greater activity in their local communities, including, notably, a packed seminar in Cork, titled ‘Connecting Cork. Public Bike Schemes – Continuing the Journey’, which was hosted by the Cork Cycling Campaign, and helped mark the first year anniversary of the introduction of bike sharing to the city. Another innovative approach was the use of an aerial video to show the differing levels of development of Greenway Trails in different regions.

With national elections taking place recently, this was a perfect opportunity to advocate for greater inclusion of bicycles in national cycling policies, and so Cyclists.ie set to work with vigour. One of the major tools used was an infographic, which was widely circulated through both social and traditional media. One major focus for advocacy will be overcoming the very weak commitment to investment in cycling when considered relative to overall transport spending. Out of nearly 10bn euros earmarked for transport investment over the next 6 years, only 100m euros is committed to ‘smarter travel and carbon reduction measures, including Greenways’, meaning that cycling gets approximately 0.5% of the transport pie – a problem that is at the heart of the challenge facing cycling advocates in Ireland.