Make the everyday journey an active one.
Cycling can help towns, cities and campuses meet several goals together: less reliance on cars, cleaner air and more physical activity. The benefit depends on the journeys people replace and the conditions that make cycling a workable choice.
Traffic and air quality.
A cycle trip that replaces a car trip removes that car journey from the road. Bicycles produce no exhaust emissions while ridden. This does not mean a bicycle has no lifecycle footprint, or that a leisure ride necessarily replaces car travel.
The Department for Transport’s 2022 strategy identifies lower transport carbon emissions, improved air quality and reduced congestion and noise among the benefits of increasing active travel. It also recognises connections to local shops and services.
DfT: Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, 2022
150 minutes: activity built into daily life.
The NHS explains that adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week. Cycling can contribute to that total when the effort is sufficient. A 15-minute ride each way on five days totals 150 minutes: an illustration of how regular journeys can build activity into a routine, rather than an individual exercise prescription.
Parking is part of the journey.
A useful route needs a useful place to finish. Convenient parking near destinations, with a secure way to lock a bicycle, is part of the wider infrastructure that supports cycling. DfT’s cycle design guidance covers cycle parking alongside routes and other facilities.
DfT: Cycle Infrastructure Design, LTN 1/20
Where Smartstreets fits.
Cyclepark creates bicycle parking on existing posts. It can help provide more convenient places to lock up while making use of street space already occupied by a post. Parking works alongside safe routes, thoughtful siting and other local measures; it does not by itself guarantee fewer car trips or lower emissions.
Cleaner air and quieter streets.
A conventional bicycle has no tailpipe: replacing a petrol or diesel car trip avoids that trip’s exhaust emissions. Fewer motor-vehicle journeys can also reduce traffic noise. The improvement in local air quality or decibels depends on traffic volumes, vehicle types, speed, weather and street layout, so there is no defensible fixed percentage improvement for each car not used.
DfT, 2022: active travel, air quality and noise
Fuel savings that people can calculate.
For illustration, replacing a 10 km daily car round trip on 220 days avoids 2,200 km of driving. At an assumed 7 litres per 100 km and £1.50 per litre, that is 154 litres and £231 in fuel a year. These are illustrative assumptions, not current fuel-price statistics. Actual savings depend on the vehicle, distance and fuel price; cycle maintenance and equipment also cost money.
47% said better parking would help.
Sustrans’ 2024 residential cycle-parking research found 47% of people on a low income or not in employment said they would start cycling or cycle more if they had convenient, secure, safe and accessible parking at home. This is stated intention in a specific population, not a measured increase from installing Cyclepark. It demonstrates why parking provision deserves attention alongside routes.
Sustrans: Residential cycle parking, September 2024, pages 8–9
Confidence at both ends of the journey.
People need to know where they can park before choosing to ride. A consistent network near shops, workplaces, campuses and transport links makes parking easier to find. Fit-for-purpose provision should support the bicycle and allow its frame and wheels to be locked to a fixed stand, with enough space for people to use it comfortably.
Security matters: a stolen bicycle can remove someone’s means of travel and undermine confidence in cycling. Good siting, suitable stands and effective locks help manage the risk. No open parking system can guarantee prevention of theft, and we do not claim a measured theft reduction for Cyclepark.
DfT: LTN 1/20, cycle parking guidance
Convenience without clutter.
Cyclepark makes use of existing posts to create more places to lock bicycles, rather than introducing a separate freestanding structure at every location. A scheme should preserve clear walking routes and access, select suitable posts and spaces, and build a recognisable network where people need it. Safe cycling routes, secure parking at home and useful destination parking work together.
Evidence reviewed 9 October 2026. General active-travel benefits are distinguished from product-specific outcomes.
