Westminster City Council is investing £35m in active travel and sustainable transport by improving infrastructure and safety for journeys by public transport, foot and cycle.
This will help to improve air quality and bring Westminster closer to a carbon neutral city, contributing to the council’s Fairer Environment target of becoming a net zero council by 2030 and a net zero city by 2040.
The budget of £35m toward Active Travel and Sustainable Transport priorities was passed at the latest Full Council meeting on 8th March 2023 and will see the council introduce more School Streets schemes; build new cycle lanes, cycle stand spaces and cycle hangars; improve streets and footways to increase accessibility and remove dangerous obstructions.
Following the budget announcement, the council launched an e-cargo bike sharing service with micromobility provider Beryl. New e-cargo bikes will be available to hire at four locations across Westminster – Maida Hill, Harrow Road, Church Street and Tachbrook Market – as part of a new pilot designed to help residents and businesses travel across the city in a cleaner, greener way.
Fitted with an electric-assist motor for extra power, the bikes are ideal for transporting small to medium loads, such as work tools, shopping or sports equipment. They are a more sustainable alternative to vans and cars, helping reduce carbon emissions and traffic congestion while improving air quality and creating a more pleasant city to live in.
Along with the launch of this new e-cargo bike rental scheme, the council is investing in active travel and sustainable transport around the city by introducing new measures, including:
- Implementing five new School Streets per year – where cars are restricted during drop-off and pick-up time.
- 400 new cycle stand spaces per year – with an emphasis on areas with a high demand for visitor parking.
- 1000 new secure residential cycle spaces from April 2023 to March 2024.
- 15km of new or upgraded cycle lanes, which will result in almost all residents living within 400m of a high-quality cycle route by the end of 2025.
- Expansion of the TfL Cycle Hire network in North Paddington with two new sites being implemented at Maida Hill and Westbourne Green, and three proposed for Harrow Road/Bravington Road, Paddington Recreation Ground and at Shirland Road.
- 100 new dropped kerbs to make our streets more accessible for all and especially for those with wheelchairs, mobility scooters and buggies.
- A £2m annual program of pavement renewals to maintain the high quality of Westminster’s footways.
- Increased investment in the redesign of dangerous junctions across the borough such as Duncannon Street, Bishop's Bridge Road, Inverness Terrace/Porchester Road, Lisson Grove/Frampton Street and Drury Lane/Russell Street to reduce casualties, especially for pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles and mopeds.
- A city-wide network of parking bays for rental dockless e-bikes and rental e-scooters to keep our pavements clear of improperly parked vehicles, and continued enforcement against dangerous pavement obstructions of all kinds.
- Two-way cycling on 20 more one-way streets by the end of 2025, improving cycling connections.
- Bus priority and performance improvements at a number of key pinch points
- Trial new, innovative ways to reduce the impact of freight, servicing and deliveries, including Bookable E-Parcel Vehicle Bays in Victoria and Covent Garden, and a micro-consolidation delivery centre trial in Pimlico.
Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality at Westminster City Council said:
“This considerable budget allocation towards active travel and sustainable transport shows how committed we are to making the city a safer and more pleasant place to walk and cycle, and to tackle key pinch points for London’s vital bus network. Improvements to walking safety, cycling connections and public transport priority schemes are vital if we are to improve air quality.
The launch of these new e-cargo bikes in partnership with Beryl is one of the innovative ways the council is providing residents and businesses a good, sustainable alternative to cars and vans so we can create a fairer Westminster for everyone to live in and enjoy.”
Cllr Max Sullivan, Deputy Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality at Westminster City Council said:
“This £35m investment in walking, cycling and public transport will make life better for residents and visitors across Westminster by making it safer and easier to travel sustainably around our city. All delivered for the lowest council tax in the country.”
Beryl CEO and co-founder Phil Ellis, said:
“We know from running an e-cargo bike hire pilot scheme in Hackney that our e-cargo bikes can be incredibly useful to many people, from businesses and tradesmen to families and individuals.
They’re not only fun and sustainable, they have a wide range of uses and are a great way to avoid being sat in endless traffic queues while boosting your mental and physical health.
The vehicles are also extremely convenient and cost-effective when compared to private vehicle ownership, removing the burden of storage as well as the cost of fuel, tax, maintenance, MOT and insurance.
I’d urge people to give them a try and help make Westminster an even cleaner and safer place to live and work in.”
Discover how the council supports walking and cycling in the city: Walking and cycling | Westminster City Council
Find out more on the new Beryl e-cargo bikes scheme.
The e-cargo bikes can be rented using the Beryl app from the following locations:
- Outside Sainsbury's Local at Maida Hill, Harrow Road
- Opposite Westminster Academy, Harrow Road
- Outside Kennet House residential tower block, Church Street
- Outside Holland & Barrett, Warwick Way (at the end of Tachbrook Market)
You can hire an e-cargo bike through the Beryl app, available for free download on the App Store for iOS, and the Google Play Store for Android users.
Users must pay a standard £1.50 unlock fee, followed by 10p a minute. To maintain a clean and secure fleet and prevent obstruction, users that lock their e-cargo bike out of a bay will be charged a £10 fee and users that lock their e-cargo bike out of the service area will be charged a £25 fee. The out of service fee will increase to £80 if the e-cargo bike is left there for more than 24 hours.
Launched initially as a six-month pilot, the scheme will be monitored and reviewed by Westminster City Council and Beryl.
Published: 29 March 2023