3. What is the Commission doing to encourage members of staff to cycle to work? OAQ52368

Thank you for that question. I'm pleased to confirm that the Commission provides an extensive range of facilities and support to promote cycling to work. That includes an onsite cycle store facility for 67 bikes. Shower and locker facilities are also available, as well as two tumble dryers, tools for minor bike repairs and maps of local cycle routes—all that to encourage further numbers of people who wish to cycle here. 

I thank you for that response and I congratulate the Assembly on what it does generally to encourage cycling. Last week, Sustrans published its 'Bike Life' report into the cycling habits of women in seven cities across the UK, including Cardiff. It showed that in Cardiff only 14 per cent of women cycle once a week, compared with 27 per cent of men, and the ratio of female to male bike riders is 1:19. So, what is the Commission doing to particularly encourage more women members of staff to cycle to work? Does it have a breakdown by gender of the members of staff who do cycle to work? It'd be interesting to see whether the findings of the Sustrans report are reflected in the staff of the Assembly. Is there any more that the Commission could do to encourage women members of staff?

I have seen the study. In fact, I've got a copy of it on the back here. I don't know that we break down the numbers, but I think it's something that we can do and I think it'd be quite useful. In terms of what more we can do, we do offer all of the facilities that are available to everybody, so there are gender-specific showers here, six of them, for male and female. But I suppose what we offer mostly is the opportunity to cycle to work and to give some provision once you get here. We have teamed up with Cardiff council, because one of the big issues and reasons why people aren't cycling is because they feel afraid. So, we have teamed up with Cardiff council to provide free cycling proficiency lessons and that ought to go some way to help. We have also teamed up with Dr Bike, and that's a minor cycle repair service for bike users. We have looked at Sustrans and we do look to them to provide information and support to help us to help people cycle around Cardiff and Wales.

Thank you. Question 4 will be answered by the Llywydd. Mark Reckless.