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5 Sep 2025

The average cycle trip in England lasted 24 minutes in 2024, remaining consistent with the previous year, new figures from the National Travel Survey have revealed.

4 Sep 2025

A panel event hosted by ACT Director Jonathan Harrison will focus on retailer experiences and how they are adapting to a number of challenges within the sector at this year’s inaugural...

3 Sep 2025

Cycling just two miles to work can improve heart health by up to 30 per cent compared with driving, new research has shown.

3 Sep 2025

The UK is far behind most European countries in e-bike sales, according to new research from ACT member Paul's Cycles.

2 Sep 2025

A barber's shop in Northern Ireland has proved that it's a cut above the rest by picking up the inaugural Love Your High Street Award 2025, following a public vote that attracted over 2,230...

29 Aug 2025

Pre-registration has now opened for the very first Cycling Industry News Live (CIN Live) show, taking place on Sunday 14 and Monday 15 September 2025 at NAEC Stoneleigh, Warwickshire.

20 Aug 2025

ACT parent company Bira has expressed serious concern following today's announcement that UK inflation rose to 3.8% in July, higher than the expected 3.7% and marking the tenth consecutive month...

20 Aug 2025

Cycling and active living charity Sustrans has claimed there is strong evidence that a lack of infrastructure is the biggest barrier to getting more people on bikes in Northern Ireland.

14 Aug 2025

The global bike industry remains under pressure as Shimano, Giant and Canyon all report weaker profits and subdued outlooks for 2025.

13 Aug 2025

The ACT is set to be in attendance at the inaugural Cycling Industry News Live (CIN Live) trade show, which is set to bring together industry-wide education, market insight and product showcases...

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Active Travel Minister attends meeting with ACT representatives on Cycle to Work scheme

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

Guy Opperman, the Minister for Roads and Local Transport at the Department for Transport, whose focuses among other things on cycling and active travel, has attended a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking with representatives of the Association of Cycle Traders.

Sunny cyclist

Together with Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retailers’ Association, parent body of the ACT, and Mark James from independent cycling retailer J E James, Mr Opperman heard a question from one MP, who had been told by independent bike dealers in his constituency that the current cycle to work scheme was not working for retailers and needed reform.

Currently more than 650 businesses across the UK have signed up to an ACT campaign, the majority of which are independent retailers, calling for systemic change to the way the cycle to work scheme is administered, so that it stops penalising independent cycle retailers and builds a scheme viable for all moving forward.

ACT representatives have meetings scheduled with the Cycle to Work Alliance and Cyclescheme for further discussions in the coming weeks.

“We really do encourage ACT members to contact their local MP to express any concerns that they have about the way cycle to work scheme is operating,” says Jonathan Harrison of the ACT.

“The more MPs that are made aware the better. Moreover, if you haven’t already signed up to become part of the movement demanding change to the cycle to work scheme, we strongly ask you do so by visiting this page."

“This is about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts and the cycling retail sector coming together, working together to demand and deliver systemic change. That’s one of the benefits of being part of a trade association like the ACT, lobbying for and delivering change that will provide a positive future for independent bike dealers around the country.”

To support the ACT in this initiative and others invested in your future, you can sign up to become an ACT member from as little as £60 a year here.

 

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