OPINION Councillor Chris Cunningham: We should really cycle or walk to work

It’s a serious question, and for most of you I suspect the answer is by car or by public transport (bus or train). Coming way behind is likely to be cycling or walking.

Until very recently my answer to that question would have been the same. To the extent that a councillor has a ‘place of work’ its in the City Chambers and my journey to and from George Square has been by bus or train. But not anymore.

I’ve started cycling, using the city’s Next Bike network. Its more healthy, and that’s part of the reason why I took it up, but I am also conscious of the fact that as a councillor I can’t preach about climate change and the need to change the way we do things without adjusting to my own behaviour.

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Of course the alternatives have to work, and while they do for me, I’m acutely conscious that the current arrangements won’t for many others.

The Next Bike network has a limited reach. It currently extends no further west than the Partick Interchange, so getting there from Scotstoun, where I live, still requires a bus journey. There are plans for the network to extend out to Scotstoun Leisure Centre, but for most people in Knightswood or Yoker that would still require some ‘other’ sort of journey.

Making that ‘other’ sort of journey both easier and affordable has to be part of the challenge if we are to entice more people out of cars and buses.

So that means two things. The ‘active travel’ options have to be more widely available and both those and the public transport options have to be more affordable. Right now bike hire is far cheaper than getting on a bus and the only thing favouring the bus is the extent of the network.

That is going to have to change in the future and the more of us that either use bikes or call for extensions to both the network of hire bikes AND the provision of cycle lanes, the more likely the change will come.

And yes, cycling is actually enjoyable, even in Glasgow!