More Liverpudlians getting on their bikes
There has been a 14% increase in the number of trips made by bike in Merseyside during the past four years, according to the Merseyside Transport Partnership.
The monitoring of cycling levels was first introduced to coincide with the start of Merseyside's second Local Transport Plan in April 2006. A network of 40 automatic counters was set up across Merseyside, which is supplemented by manual audits.
At the start of LTP2, MTP set itself a target of increasing cycling levels by 10% by April 2011. The most recent figures show that cycling levels have increased by 14.3% since 2006 and mean that MTP has exceeded its target, a full year ahead of schedule.
The increase in cycling levels has been achieved through a variety of measures, including improving cycle facilities and the network of cycle routes, training both adults and children in cycle skills and bike maintenance, and raising awareness of the benefits of cycling.