Creatingimmediateand lastingimpactinManchester
November2025
Introduction
CyclingUKdeliversfourcomplementarybehaviourchangeprojectsinGreater Manchester.
Throughfreee-bikeloans,communityrepairandrideactivity,inclusivecyclingsupport andvolunteer-ledclubs,residentsarereplacingcartrips,improvinghealthand buildingconfidencetousenewroutes.
Whatfollowsarefourshortstoriesthatshowtheimpactonindividualsandwhole communities,withthedatatomatch.
Borrowane-bike
FundedbyTransportforGreaterManchester
LaunchedinMay2022asMakingcyclinge-asierandnowoperatingasBorrowanebike,theprogrammeo ersfreeone-monthloansandcommunitytastereventsto promotee-cycleuse,supportactivetravel,improvehealthoutcomesandreduce inequality.
Amir’smonththatchangedeverything
Amirfoundtheschemewhilepricingane-bike.At£1,000–£1,600,buyingfeltrisky;the freeloanremovedthebarrier.
Livingonahillyrouteandrebuildingfitness,heexpectedtorideonlyforleisure.Within aweekhereplaceddailypublictransportwithe-bikecommuting,shoppingand exploringo -roadpaths.
Overfourweekshesavedmorethan£100infaresanddiscoveredmanytripswere fasterthanbusorcaratpeaktimes.Theconfidenceandconveniencestuck.Bythe endoftheloanhehadaplantokeepcyclingbecausethetimeandcostsavingswere toogoodtolose.
Amir’sexperiencereflectstheprogramme’sfastreturns.
Since2022,over1,630GreaterManchesterresidentshaveborrowedafreee-bike; 48%reducedcaruseduringtheloanand61%keptcyclingafterwardsbybuyingor hiringacycle.Independentanalysisestimates£2.1mintotaleconomicandhealth benefitssofar–£5.31returnedforevery£1invested
Inshort:alow-costtrialcreatesimmediatemodeshiftandsustainedbehaviour changeonkeycorridors,complementingBeeNetworkcycleinfrastructurewithnew usersontheground.
TheBigBikeRevival
FundedbyActiveTravelEngland
Throughsupportedrides,cycletrainingandbasicmaintenance,TheBigBikeRevival (BBR)givespeopletheskills,confidenceandpracticalfixesthatmakecyclingfeel possible.Itisdesignedforpeoplewhodon’tcycleregularly,areonlowincomes,are women,arefromethnicminorityorLGBTQ+communities,arenotinwork,orarenot meetingphysicalactivityguidelines.
Sumayraswaps“bikeintheshed”fordailyconfidence
Sumayravisitedawomen-ledbasicmaintenancesessionatStationSouthtofixher daughter’sbike.Intwoevenings,shelearnedpuncturerepair,tyreinflationandinnertubereplacements,andsmallskillsthatchangedeverything.
Threepuncturesinthefollowingweekswouldoncehaveparkedherbike.Instead,she fixedeachoneattheroadside,keptridingwithherfamilyandjoinednightridesthat openednewroutesacrossthecity.
Todayshevolunteers,supportingotherwomenandleadingshortlocalrideswhere familiesdiscoverparksandpaths,they“neverknewwerethere”.
ThatistheBBRmodel:removetinybarriersandunlockeverydaytripsatscale.In2024, GreaterManchesterrecorded2,998attendancesacross383events,generating around£1minbenefits–about£5.50returnedper£1invested.Impressively,80%of peoplewhorarelycycledbeforenowridemoreoften.
ThisyearmarkedtenyearsofTheBigBikeRevivalandtherelaunchoftheRealYellow Jersey,CyclingUK’sawardcelebratingeverydaycyclingchampions.InBolton,Real YellowJerseyrecipientKhadijaPatelhas–throughKrimmzGirlsYouthClubandwith BBRsupport–helpedmorethan70womentakeupcycling,buildingconfidence, communityandjoy.
Revenuefundingturnsquick,hyper-localactionslikefreecyclingsupport,repairsand shortledridesintomeasurablemodeshiftthatamplifiescapitalprojects.
InclusiveCyclingExperience
FundedbytheMotabilityFoundation
InclusiveCyclingExperience(ICE)o erssupportedtry-outs,skillssessionsandshort loansonawiderangeofstandardandnon-standardcyclessothatdisabledpeople, olderpeopleandanyonereturningtoactivitycanfindequipmentthatworksforthem.
Lesley’sroutebacktoindependence
Afterhipsurgery,Lesleybarelylefthomeforthreeyears.ReferredviaStretfordPublic Hall,shearrivedanxiousaboutbalanceandpain.
TheICEteamguidedacarefultry-outandmatchedhertoastabletrike,removingthe fearoffallingandallowinggentle,sustainedmovement.
Withinweeksshewasridingtotheshops,visitingafriendacrossthecanalandhelping onalocalallotment.Eachjourneyamilestoneofmovingawayfromisolationandback towardseverydayindependence.
“Beforethis,mymentalandphysicalhealthwerepoor.I’mmoreconfident,happier, andI’mseeingthingsIwouldn’tdofromacar.It’sbeenlifechanging.”
Thehealthoutcomesareclear.Acrossdeliverylocations,participantsreportimproved wellbeingandfitness(88%),increasedaccesstoplacesandopportunities(82%) andgreatercyclingconfidence(65%)
InManchester,86%ofnon-regularcyclistsreportcyclingmoreoftenafterICE(71% acrossallparticipants).Around90%reportimprovedwellbeingand~76%report betteraccesstoplacesandopportunities.
ICEconvertslatentdemandamongdisabledandolderresidentsintosafe,regular activitynow.Thelife-changingimpactsforindividualsareenormous,ontopofthe avoidedhealthandsocialcarecostsforthewidercommunity.
CommunityCyclingClubs
FundedbySportEngland
Volunteer-ledCommunityCycleClubspromoteactivetravel,improvewellbeingand strengthensocialconnection.Theyparticularlysupportunder-representedgroupsin cycling,includingpeoplefromdiverseethnicbackgrounds,low-incomehouseholds, women,olderpeopleanddisabledpeople.
SofatoSaddleinHorwich
AtHorwichRideSocial,womenoftenarriveunsureaboutbalance,gearsortra c.
Oversixweekstheyprogressfromparkloopstoroadridingwithsignalling,hillstarts andgravelsections.Thechangebringspracticalskillsforeverydayjourneysaswellas strongersocialnetworkswithriderscontinuingtogettogetherafterthecourse.
SinceApril2024inGreaterManchestertherehavebeen206sessionswith431 attendancesacrossfiveactiveclubs.Participantsare49%women,37%fromethnic minoritybackgroundsand51%fromthemostdeprivedareas.
Theseclubscreateneighbourhoodnetworksthatkeeppeopleridingandensurenew BeeNetworkcyclelinksareusedbyconfident,nearbyresidentsfromawiderangeof backgrounds.
Thecaseforbehaviour changeinterventions
Theseprogrammesdeliverquick,bankablereturnswhilecapitalschemesbedin.EbikeloansandBBRrepair-and-rideactivityreplacecartripswithinweeks;clubsand inclusivesessionsbuildconfidenceandequity,somoreresidentscanbenefitfrom theGreaterManchestercyclenetworks.
Continuedrevenuefundingwillscalewhatworks:targetede-bikeloansforpriority employers,communitiesandcorridors;rollingBBR“fix-ride-repeat”cyclesatnewroutenodes;andregularICEcycletry-outswithreal-worldgradienttestingso equipmentmatchestheriderandtheplace.
Theoutcomeisstraightforward:morepeoplecyclingsooner, measurableROI,anda happier,healthierandgreenerGreaterManchester.
Wanttoseemore?
VisitCyclingUKprojectsinGreaterManchester or scantheQRcodetoexplorehowourprojectsare changinglivesacrossGreaterManchester.
CyclingUKisatradingnameofCyclists’TouringClub(CTC)acompanylimitedbyguarantee,registeredin Englandno:25185.RegisteredasacharityinEnglandandWalescharityno:1147607andinScotland charityno:SC042541.Registeredo ce:Parklands,RailtonRoad,Guildford,SurreyGU29IX