Investors in Cycling
Are you a cycling business trying to grow the market, or would like to play your part in strengthening the industry’s advocacy? Register your interest today to grow cycling together and benefit from exclusive products and services.
Campaigns
Investors in Cycling companies support the BA’s advocacy campaigns – both in resources and in active advocacy engagement.
Our advocacy objectives for 2022 are relentlessly focused on topics of common interest for the cycling industry. At the heart of our advocacy work is what we call the ‘economic case for cycling’; the economic and employment case that we as the cycle industry are uniquely positioned to make.
For 2022 we are focusing our work on the following key campaigns – identified as areas where real progress will help your business thrive:
Growing the Local Bicycle Economy
With £2 billion committed to support cycling and walking nationally in the Government’s Gear Change policy, the focus must now turn to delivering infrastructure investments at a local level. The BA is now working to bring together data, partners and policy makers to deliver meaningful, measurable change to increase cycling investment on the ground regionally and locally.
Regional and local data from the BA’s Market Data Service is key to our approach. It enabled us to commission groundbreaking research to calculate the local jobs and economic contribution that come with investments in cycling infrastructure. With the help of local advocacy partners and local Investors in Cycling companies, we can then take that case to decision-makers.
Our first focus region was mobilised in late 2021 in Greater London – and with Investors in Cycling support, we aim to act locally across the UK in the next three years.
Like many cities, London now has both decarbonisation targets (net zero by 2030) and a green jobs target. So with our advocacy partners and local cycle industry Investors we can put a clear case for “Growing the local bicycle economy in London”:
Growing the local bicycle economy in London
A London Investor: Fudges Cycles
Mark Murphy, Business Development Lead, Fudges Cycles, said:
“For Fudges Cycles, being an Investor in Cycling means we’re standing shoulder-to-shoulder with businesses across the sector in making the economic case for cycling. Through our small but important contribution to the Retailer Advocacy Fund we are working together with over a thousand bike shops and suppliers to grow the cycling market.”
We aim to bring this powerful logic for change to every region in the UK by bringing more organisations into the Investors in Cycling community.
- Delivering this case effectively in a region is resource-intensive, so expanding the Investors in Cycling programme with new contributors is essential to bringing cycling investment to communities across the UK.
- In each target area we also need the active engagement of cycle industry companies on the ground to help deliver the message to local decision-makers with an authentic local business voice. If you’re not already an Investor in Cycling, please do join now to be part of this industry-led advocacy push to grow cycling locally.
Growing the local bicycle economy in London
Click below to read in greater detail about how we’re applying the local economic case in Greater London, with our advocacy partners the London Cycling Campaign – and also to download the original research backing up the case.
Electric Futures
While growth in e-bike sales remains robust the BA believes that a national e-bike support programme with government support is essential to realising the transition to an electric future that will revolutionise travel, and we have been working for some time to make this case.
Furthermore we support the swiftest possible uptake of e-cargo (and mechanical cargo) bikes as part of this transformation, and continue to engage closely with Government to ensure cycle logistics and personal use of cargo bikes are an integral part of the UK’s mobility strategy.
Electric futures: e-bikes and e-cargo
Click below to read in greater detail about our advocacy work and commissioned research in the areas of e-bike subsidies and incentives, and also on the potential for cargo and e-cargo bikes as car and van replacements.
Children’s Cycling
Giving every child the opportunity to cycle ensures our industry continues to grow. Securing the Government’s commitment to the provision of training for every child was a huge success for our advocacy work last year. Now we aim to guarantee that every child has the right to learn to ride, access to a bicycle, training on-road, places to ride and have fun and a positive experience of cycling when young.
Working with the government to ensure that net-zero and post-covid travel solutions prioritise bikes as much as other electric vehicles is critically important at this moment in time. We are doing this today and seek to expand our programme in 2022 by establishing e-bike and cargo support packages steered by the cycle industry to work for the cycle industry.
Young cyclists – the industry’s future
Click below to read in greater detail about how the BA’s advocacy work achieved a long-sought Government committment to rolling out Bikeability training – and what’s next as we work to ensure that cycling in childhood becomes a lifelong habit, and a vital life skill for transport in a low-carbon future.
Investors in Cycling Leadership Group
The Investor in Cycling Leadership Group comprises companies who have made substantial commitments in time, resources and funding to support and shape our advocacy programme to grow cycling and strengthen the industry. Meeting regularly to inform the work of the BA, our Leaders help fund and guide our collective purpose to grow cycling together. A number of these companies amplify this work by collecting the Retailer Advocacy Fund.
If you’d like to play a leading role in shaping industry advocacy please click here to enquire about becoming a Leadership Group member:
Joining details
Investors in Cycling is open to any organisation within the cycle industry, whatever your size or sector. Your voice matters, and every contribution goes directly to the industry’s uniquely effective advocacy work, managed by the Bicycle Association.
Suppliers, distributors and manufacturers:
You can donate to the advocacy work of the Bicycle Association according to the scale of your organisation. While retailers can contribute to our work through the Retailer Advocacy Fund we suggest pledges from the supply-side sector based on turnover to access the same voice, recognition and benefits. Learn more and pledge today here:
Retailers:
Simply by making a small contribution through the Retailer Advocacy Fund, collected by our participating Leadership Group members, you can help the industry grow together and also access benefits tailored to the needs of bike retailers. If you are not currently participating but would like to register contact us and we’ll onboard you today.
Investor benefits and services
Investors in Cycling will enjoy privileged access to:
All Investors in Cycling will also receive from the Bicycle Association:
Investor in Cycling support also enables the Bicycle Association to provide the following publicly accessible resources, which will also be of benefit to many Investors:
Investor Outcomes
The advocacy work funded by Investors in Cycling achieves tangible results for the cycling industry. These results are reported to Investors in the Annual Report, detailing the programme’s achievements, costs and ongoing priorities.
Highlights of our advocacy success in 2021 are also outlined below, and our advocacy timeline provides an even fuller picture of how we work throughout the year to grow cycling.
2021 Annual Report
Working together to grow the cycling market
2021 highlights
Read more on the Advocacy Timeline
We’ve recorded our advocacy successes, and Government investments released, in a timeline format on our Advocacy page:
