Ministers Ryan and Naughton welcome Bike Week 2020

(19 September – 27 September)

Minister for Climate Action, Communication Networks, Transport, Eamon Ryan T.D.,and Minister of State for Transport, Hildegarde Naughton, T.D. today launched Bike Week 2020, a week-long celebration of cycling across the country.

Minister Ryan commented: ‘I firmly believe that this Government can fundamentally change the nature of transport in Ireland and cycling has a hugely important role to play in making that change. In 2019 just over 55% of all journeys in Ireland were under 6 kilometres and, in many areas, with the right type of infrastructure in place, a huge amount of those journeys could be made by bike or on foot. Active travel needs to be front and centre of how we plan for transport in Ireland.’

Bike Week 2020 will see events organised by local authorities across the country from 19 September until 27 September and details of events can be found at bikeweek.ie. Due to ongoing public health restrictions, events this year will differ from previous years and everyone should check the website for exact details of events.

Minister Naughton added: ‘Over the last few months Government has funded local authorities across the country to re-orientate road-space toward pedestrians and cyclists. We’ve seen some fantastic examples of local authorities developing new, improved and segregated cycling facilities, so let’s use Bike Week 2020 as an opportunity to celebrate this new beginning for cycling and active travel in Ireland.’

Bike Week 2020 also coincides with European Mobility Week, which this year has as its theme ‘Zero emission mobility for all’, and runs until 22 September.

Event information for this year’s National Bike Week can be found by logging on to www.bikeweek.ie and for information on European Mobility Week by logging on to www.mobilityweek.eu

ENDS

Additional Information

• Detail in relation to journey distance in Ireland sourced from the Central Statistics Office’s National Travel Survey 2019.

• Bike Week 2020 runs from 19 September to 27 September with funding provided by the Department of Transport.

• Events are organised by Local Authorities, Cycling Ireland, clubs and community groups nationwide. Last year approximately 62,000 people participated in over 570 events across the country. This year all events will be organised in accordance with relevant public health advice.

• European Mobility Week runs from 16 September to 22 September and seeks to improve public health and quality of life through promoting clean mobility and sustainable urban transport. Local authorities across Europe are encouraged to use the week to test new transport measures and get feedback from the public.