Innovating towards an active travel future

Falco’s Jeremy Green on why the right security solutions for bike parking will make cycling an attractive option for more people

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the outlook for everyday cycling in the UK is actually very encouraging, believes Jeremy Green, managing director of Falco, a manufacturer of parking systems and street furniture.

Green has seen many policy ideas and funding commitments during his 17 years as Falco’s boss. Over the past year, he has been tracking the impact of Covid-19 on cycling, and thinks there are reasons to be hopeful.

“I’ve seen many policy directions and funding commitments, but they’ve had only localised effects.

“However, since Covid-19 I have seen a concerted commitment by key stakeholders such as TfL, the Department for Transport, the Cycle Rail Working Group and many local authorities,” says Green.

He has spoken with the then transport minister Chris Heaton-Harris, and found him “very committed” to developing cycling. Green also welcomes transport secretary Grant Shapps’ vision for half of all journeys in towns and cities to be cycled or walked by 2030.

“Let’s hope there’s funding to support the vision,” he says. Here Jeremy Green offers his perspective on the challenges that lie ahead:

What do you think of the UK’s current cycling infrastructure?

It’s sketchy, there’s some great examples in the UK but nowhere near enough. It’s not just the Netherlands and Denmark, but Germany too where the infrastructure is incredible and it’s just a normal part of everyday life. We’re a long way behind.

In the UK there are ‘cyclists’ who will be out there, rain or shine, then there are people ‘who have a bike’. It’s for these people that we need to introduce new ideas so that cycling can be a natural choice. For example, ‘Fix Your Bike’ [the Government scheme that offers £50 bike repair vouchers] has been a great initiative, but would you actually leave your recently repaired bike anywhere public?

So, what’s required in the world of cycle parking?

First, we need to up the quality of our game. The UK is a cost driven culture and unlike our European neighbours, everything is about price, whereas to create an infrastructure that will inspire more people, we need quality infrastructure. We run the Royal Institute of British Architects’ CPD programme on Cycle Parking for architect’s practices, trying to bring in good practice at the design stage. But what an architect draws, doesn’t always end up on the ground. This is why the new ‘Cycle Parking Design and Security Standards’, led by the Bicycle Association and Cycle Rail Working Group, with DfT funding, is key to the development of good infrastructure. Developing a set of quality requirements for the products themselves is something we have spent many years lobbying for. Then, we need the DfT to make them mandatory.

36 Innovation

Security is one of the top issues people quote as a reason not to cycle - but are secure hubs the answer?

We’ve all had a bike stolen and it’s awful, but the answer is simply ‘yes’. We would advocate extending the secure cycle hub network like the Mini-holland network in the London borough of Waltham Forest.

Elements such as access control, CCTV, lighting and monitoring means these facilities are comparatively expensive in cycle parking terms but, compared with just one mile of new motorway at £30m, you could house between 10-20,000 bikes for the same cost. And it should be noted that these facilities have had some of the lowest theft rates in the UK over the last seven years, so really secure public hubs are the archetypal ‘no-brainer’.

The extended cycle hub next to Walthamstow Central tube station

Bike parking is basically chunky bits of metal welded together – does technology come into it at all?

Yes, it has a huge role to play. This is where we will get a big step-change, because there are great benefits for both cyclists and councils. There are a couple of real innovations here; we are currently rolling out our first FalcoPod bike hangars with our ‘FalcoSmart’ smart phone ‘app-based’ lock in Waltham Forest, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Southwark.

The same app-based lock will has also been fitted to the FalcoHub network, so that instead of having a key and a fob, the resident will be able to open their bike hangar with the app, cycle to the station and access the hub with the same app. This removes the hassle of carrying keys, losing keys etc., and coupled with this, the borough will, for the first time, be able to get significant data on the usage of their facilities.

Also the ‘VeloView’ is a bike monitoring and detection system used throughout the Dutch rail system. It’s already providing valuable information on hub utilisation and we have now extended the facility at Walthamstow Central as a result.

Our partner LoMinck produces lots of innovative products from the automated VeloComfort wheeling ramp to bamboo Sheffield stands. Together, we’re working for a large UK tech company with a great holistic approach to staff cycling. We are looking at the door-to-door experience, with the idea that a cycle hub can be a shared space to encourage others. We’re installing an RFID system to provide seamless entry and security, as well as to help monitor cycle flows.

A fourth innovation is providing facilities for ebikes, which offer yet another route to cycling for some people. So, we are addressing that sector too with FalcoCrea e-bike lockers for schemes such as the Hebridean Way, Glasgow University and Moray.

What else needs to be done to encourage a greater take-up of cycling

London’s cycling and walking commissioner Will Norman told a story about a friend of his who had bike after bike stolen and, as a result, gave up cycling. Then, the other day, one of my children phoned me from New Cross station and said he’d had his back wheel and derailleur stolen – because he’d locked only the front wheel … aaargh! So yes, my view is we need a huge UK-wide, sustained PR campaign to ensure people: a) get insurance; b) use https://www.bikeregister.com/; and c) use two Sold Secure locks. n