Less than 4 per cent of all trips of 6km and under in Dublin are made by bicycle.
This compares with 1 to 2 per cent in many English cities (excluding Cambridge, York and Oxford where 25 to 30 per cent of short trips are made by bicycle). In the Italian city of Bolzano, 25 per cent of all short trips are made by bicycle.
In 2000, the Dublin Transportation Office set a target that by 2016, 30 per cent of all trips under 6km would be made by bicycle. The office is revising this target in light of declining numbers of cyclists (a drop of 13 per cent) in the intervening years.
Velo-City 2005 is an international conference aimed at planners, engineers, architects, transportation consultants, local authority officials and cyclists. It will be held in Dublin this year from May 31st to June 3rd. See www.velo-city2005.com
Tutors from the Cycling Safety & Skills School provide cycling safety and skills training to primary school children from third class to sixth class through local authorities in 20 counties.
See www.cyclingsafetyschool.com Some urban councils also offer cycling training with road safety officers.
Benefits of cycling
The Copenhagen Heart study found that "even after adjustment of other risk factors, including leisure physical activity, those who did not cycle to work experienced a 39 per cent higher mortality rate than those who did".