NineMSN News: Get on your bike, says Abbott (9th August 2007)

Australians will be happier and healthier if they ditch the car in favour of a bicycle for short trips, according to federalHealth Minister Tony Abbott.But that will happen only if more money is spent building better cycling infrastructure, he said.Mr Abbott was speaking at the launch of the cycling industry's new discussion paper, entitled Cycling - Moving Australia Forward - at Parliament House in Canberra.

Among them, cyclists want more money for new bike paths and commonwealth funding for its national "ride to work" and "ride to school" days.

Mr Abbott announced a $30,000 grant for the Cycling Promotion Fund to investigate how people can be encouraged to make the switch from four wheels to two.

More people taking up cycling could "improve the quality of our cities ... our own health and ... our personal lives", he said.

Mr Abbott said 50 years ago Australians commonly used bikes as their ordinary means of transport.

"Ten per cent of urban journeys were made by bike in 1950," Mr Abbott said.

"Today, less than one per cent of urban journeys are made by bike.

"Fifty per cent of all car journeys are of less than five kilometres' duration, which means that there is considerable potential for at least some of those journeys to be made safely and in a much healthier way by bike."

Mr Abbott also said major new roads should accommodate cyclists "either with dedicated bike paths or with shoulders that are wide enough to give cyclists the safety and security they deserve".

Bicycle Industries Australia chairman Noel McFarlane listed four "big reasons" why governments should embrace cycling.

Getting people out from behind the steering wheel and onto a pushbike would help combat climate change, obesity, road congestion and rising fuel costs, he said.

"The upcoming federal election is an opportunity for the country to embrace the benefits that the bicycle offers," Mr McFarlane said.

©AAP 2007