Bruntwood offers ride or drive option at Elliot House

The provision of facilities for cycling commuters into Manchester city centre is being further increased by Bruntwood, which is to offer a ride or drive option for individual occupiers at its remarketed Elliot House.

Spaces will be provided for occupiers to either park their cars or store a bike, giving them more choice about how they travel to the office. There are 15 on-site parking spaces beneath Elliot House.

The Elliot House initiative follows the launch last year of a Bruntwood-managed cycle storage facility at City Tower, Piccadilly, in conjunction with Transport for Greater Manchester.

Part of TfGM's Commuter Cycle Project, the City Tower Cycle Hub provides cycle storage, lockers and shower facilities for £200 a year. Members who opt for cycle storage alone pay £100 a year. Cycle hubs are also in operation in Ashton and Bury, with membership there costing £10 a year.

There are currently 230 members across the three operational hubs. Further hubs are being developed in Rochdale, Sale, Stockport, Leigh, MediaCityUK and at the new interchanges in Bolton and Altrincham.

The cycle hubs are part of TfGM's Commuter Cycle Project, which is being supported by the Department for Transport's Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

The project is also providing free bike maintenance sessions and free adult cycle training. To date, over 1,200 people have had 1-2-1 cycle training, 370 people have had Learn to Ride training and 266 people have attended bike maintenance courses.

TfGM also works with businesses across Greater Manchester to provide a wide range of support services, including travel surveys, bikers' days, training and try-a-bike sessions among others.

TfGM was recently awarded £20m funding from the government's Cycle City Ambition Grant and expects the number of people commuting to work by bicycle to increase dramatically.

According to a recent study by Halfords which analysed the latest census data, the popularity of commuting by bike has increased by 17% to more than 760,000 people in the UK over the last 10 years, with an increase of 90% in Manchester specifically during the same period.

Elliot House's future occupiers will be given the option of a bike storage rack, wall-mounted adjacent to their car parking space, meaning they can choose which mode of transport to travel with on any given day.

Kate Vokes, head of marketing and human resources for Bruntwood, said: "With rising transport costs and greater emphasis on healthy living, coupled with the UK and Manchester's recent cycling sporting successes at the Olympics and the Tour de France, we are seeing a significant increase in cycling across the country.

"Many of our customers cycle to work and we appreciate how difficult it can be to find a place to store their bike that is not only safe and secure, but also convenient. By introducing dedicated bike racks for Elliot House occupiers, our customers will be able to park their prized Pinarello, secure in the knowledge that it's not going to get scratched or damaged."