Mayor Boris's bike industry summit

• Friday, 15 January 2010
• Nigel Wynn
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Some of Britain's biggest bicycle companies and retailers have been invited by Mayor of London Boris Johnson to attend a summit at City Hall to talk about the capital's cycling revolution.

How to encourage more cyclists in London tops the meeting's agenda, with safety and security as the main issues under discussion, as these are the reasons most often cited by people who are put off cycling in London.

"In London we are striving towards a real cycling revolution, which will make the bicycle the mode of choice for thousands more Londoners - cutting congestion and pollution," said Johnson.

"To help us achieve this we want to harness the unique knowledge and assets of the cycling industry - pooling ideas and working together to make cycling safer and more secure.

"This is London's year of cycling, and I want to ensure that everything possible is done to break down the barriers that prevent people from taking up the cleanest, greenest, and often quickest means of getting around London."

According to figures quoted by the Mayor's office, the number of cyclists seriously injured or killed in the capital has fallen 21 per cent in the past ten years despite the number of journeys made by bike increasing by 107 per cent in the same period.

£300k pledged for 12 cycling boroughs
On Thursday, a £300,000 package was announced by Transport for London to help 12 key London boroughs improve their cycling facilities.

Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Haringey, Havering, Hillingdon, Kingston, Merton and Redbridge will all receive £25,000 each to help them become 'cycling boroughs'.

The money is part of a £111 million package to encourage cycling in London, which includes the cycle superhighways scheme and the controversial London hire bike initiative.