Cycling for transport and leisure enjoys popularity in Greater Manchester and the city also plays a major role in British cycle racing. The Bee Network was launched in 2018.[1][2] The University of Manchester is home to the Manchester Cycling Lab.[3]
Since 2014, Manchester has been upgrading many key thoroughfares into the city centre to include dedicated cycle lanes which are segregated from buses including Oxford Road, Chorlton Cycleway, the reconfiguration of other major junctions and creation of low traffic neighbourhoods.
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Cycling is a significant mode of transport for people commuting to work in Manchester. Current figures suggest that around 2% of all trips in Manchester are made by bike (2023).[4][5]
Transport for Greater Manchester aspire to "achieve at least a 300% increase in the levels of cycling across the city region by 2025"[6] and have produced a corresponding cycling strategy.[7]
Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign is a volunteer-run group.[8] Another pressure group for Greater Manchester is Walk Ride GM, which advocates for better environments and facilities for pedestrians as well as cyclists.[9][10]
The Manchester Cycle Forum enables people with an interest in cycling to meet councillors and council staff from Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester staff, and representatives from various cycling and transport organisations to discuss cycling-related issues in the city. Meetings take place quarterly.[11]
Manchester Friends of the Earth coordinate the 'Love Your Bike' campaign,[12] which promotes cycling as an environmentally friendly mode of transport. One of its activities is the 'Bike Friday' scheme, monthly rides from outer districts into the city centre. These are aimed at encouraging commuters to cycle in to work, benefiting from the added safety and sociability of riding in a group.[13]
In 2015, Manchester was described as a "terrible cycling city" by Helen Pidd, the North of England editor of the Guardian newspaper.[14]
Chris Boardman was appointed Cycling and Walking Commissioner for Greater Manchester in 2017 by mayor Andy Burnham.[15] His remit includes overseeing projects to enhance the region's cycling network and increase the number of people who travel by bike.[16] He was replaced by Dame Sarah Storey in 2022 [17]
In June 2017 Mobike started a bicycle-sharing scheme across the city allowing users to hire bikes via its app. Riders paid a deposit and were then charged 50p per 30 minutes.[18] The scheme was suspended in September 2018 due to the high level of vandalism caused to many of the bicycles.[19]
A 2013 study by TfGM into the possibility of a bike hire scheme had suggested that an initial scheme should focus on a concentrated portion at the centre of the conurbation, including Manchester city centre, Salford Quays, Oxford Road and Hulme.[20]
The new bike hire scheme known as Beryl,[21] started in November 2021 as a public trial with 250 cycles on Oxford Road. By the summer of 2022 they plan to have 1,500 bikes across Manchester, Trafford & Salford. The scheme will have 200 stations with around 198,000 residents with in a 5-minute walk, with stations roughly 300–500 meters apart. The stations contain stands to place the bikes on but are not secure docking stations. It works on a PAYR (Pay as you ride) basis and the back wheel is locked when stationary. When it launches me Mechanical hire cycles will cost 50p to unlock and 5p per minute, The E-bike will cost £1 to unlock and 10p per minute to ride.[22]
The Beryl bike hire scheme was hit by a wave of vandalism during 2023 with damage taking 564 of the 943 bikes off the roads leaving only 379 bikes in Manchester, Salford and Trafford[23]
The city was the first to get a "Brompton Bike Hire" facility, at Piccadilly station.[24]
The Bee Network is a project launched by TfGM with the aim to connect up every area and community in Greater Manchester, making it easy, safe and attractive for people to travel on foot or by bike for everyday trips. A large focus is being put on to cycling in this project, therefore TfGM are investing money in many things that encourage cycling in combination with Local Authorities such as cycling infrastructure, Cycle hire scheme, Cycle hubs and many courses to help people learn to ride a bike.[25]
Major dedicated cycle routes in Greater Manchester or passing through areas of the city include:
Regional Cycle Route 85 deviates from National Cycle Route 6 at Whalley Range to link the city centre with Wythenshawe and Manchester Airport. Other numbered regional routes include the 82 (better known as Bridgewater Way) and the 86 (which follows the River Medlock).
A pair of digital bicycle counters installed on either side of the road near Whitworth Park in September 2016 had reached a combined total of 1,000,000 bike journeys by late 2017.[27]
In 2019, TfGM began developing a "Bee Network" of cycle routes across Greater Manchester.[28][29]
The 1st part of the Chorlton Cycleway has been delivered with Dutch style junctions known as cyclops junctions, a first in the UK.[30]
As part of the segregated Chorlton Cycleway, the UK's first 'Cyclops" junction was completed in July 2020 in Hulme.[31]
Modal filters across Greater Manchester have been in place for over 40 years.[32]
The Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood was completed in 2023 with a series of filters throughout the neighbourhood to help encourage active travel trips.[33]
The Manchester Sky Ride, a mass participation bike ride, was held in August every year,[34] and became the HSBC UK City Ride from July 2017.[35][36] The Great Manchester Cycle is a similar large-scale event held during the summer in recent years. A Critical Mass event takes place on the last Friday of every month, starting by Manchester Central Library.[37] A naked bike ride is held annually early in the summer,[38] along with a non-corporate DIY cycling festival, North West Velofest.[39][40]
There are over 200 cycle clubs in Greater Manchester, catering to many styles of cycling,[41] with Manchester Wheelers' Club being one of the most well-known.[citation needed]
Well known sportives include the "Manchester 100", a choice of 100 mile or 100 km rides to the south of the city,[42] and the "Tour de Manc", a 100-mile ride through all the ten boroughs.[43]
A combined velodrome and athletics stadium, Fallowfield Stadium opened in 1892. The cycling track was 509 yards in circumference and was used for the 1934 British Empire Games. It was demolished in 1994.
