We are eagerly awaiting the results of our recent studies into the potential for cycling to create Green Jobs and to look at favourable tax regimes for cycling, both of which have had considerable support from the cycling industry. Now we have appointed the researchers for the final chapter of our 2014 studies, “Cycling as a New Technology”.

This study was commissioned in response to the EU level shift of focus towards technological innovations to reduce green-house gases (GHGs). This race for sustainable mobility has generated a range of EU activities to promote new technologies; to ensure cycling is included we need to prove that it has an important role to play in making mobility sustainable. 

The shift in focus towards new technologies to solve societal challenges risks ignoring the obvious benefits of cycling. There is a risk that we will be sidelined unless we can show how cycling also meets these new technology ambitions.We have to ensure that the environmental, congestion, health and economic benefits of cycling and more specifically electric assisted cycling are recognised in all relevant aspects of new transport technologies. Despite e-bikes being the most successful e-vehicle on the planet, almost no public subsidies have been given to their development.

This new study will be used:

• To advocate for investments in cycling as a climate friendly technology and within vehicle research and deployment by making policy makers and regulators aware of possible benefits of cycling in the development of areas such as Intelligent Transport Systems and electric mobility 
• To support the work of researchers, developers and businesses in the sector by signposting possible policy support and even funding for their work.

Through this study we can also show that cycling is a major industry in Europe and that deployment of cycling as a new technology is a significant contributor to growth. 

As well as supporting ECF's advocacy work, we will use the report to educate businesses who are producing or purchasing new technologies on the potential support that is available from international bodies, for example the EU’s Horizon 2020 Research Funding. This will help to stimulate the cycling industry to become part of policy, research and deployment activities at the EU level.

Watch this space for the final results of this study and the complete report.