Has it been your 'year of cycling'?

In case you missed it, the London Assembly is asking for opinions on the new bike hire scheme. The press note says: "A big part of our investigation is hearing from Londoners themselves about hiring bikes or cycling on the superhighways and I hope people will share their experiences with us through our survey. The Mayor has called 2010 the 'Year of Cycling' and has made a high-profile commitment to increase the 500,000 daily trips currently made by cyclists in London to 1.5 million by 2026."

The survey is trying, it seems, to quantify how many people have taken to two wheels due to the cycling superhighways and the bike hire scheme especially in light over those ambitious targets the Mayor has set himself.

For example, it asks questions about the surface of the superhighways and the call centre on the bike hire scheme.

Presumably it is too soon to issue a definitive statement on the schemes - considering the full roll-out of the bike hire has been delayed (and delayed). But this will be the first official report. There is a "public" hearing on 12 October where, no doubt, Transport for London and the contractor Serco will be quizzed about the schemes.

The London Assembly Transport Committee, perhaps unsurprisingly, go for the headline grabbing investigations where they can create some waves.

I'm thinking its investigation into the "snow day" when London's buses were taken off the roads, the tube upgrades and the recent report into accessibility into public transport.

No doubt this latest report into cycling will bring some more high profile recommendations .. watch this space.

A spokesman told me the Assembly hopes to have the cycling report out by Christmas.

Anyway if you want to put in your two pence worth the survey is at https://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/cycling. It takes two minutes.

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