CAN-BIKE - Summarizing Main Research Points

Brief History
The CAN-BIKE program began as a grass roots cycling education program in the 1980’s.

The Canadian Cycling Associations (CCA) CAN-BIKE program is a nationally standardized set of cycling proficiency & safety courses that are delivered by certified instructors.

The success in Atlantic Canada was emulated in Montreal, Toronto, Newmarket ON, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver.

The new Atlantic Canada instructors have scheduled many CAN-BIKE courses for 2007. They are promoting these courses through local media; radio, newspapers, internet, as well as through bike shops, cycling organizations, environment oriented organizations and community recreation centers.

Communication

- Monthly 4-6 page CAN-BIKE Instructor Newsletter provided main means of communication with instructors.

- A listserv was quickly established to communicate with CAN-BIKE instructors across the country.

- The organizing committee kept in touch with instructors using the listserv soliciting input from all CAN-BIKE instructors and advising them when the latest issue of the newsletter was available.

- The instructor listserv permitted the creation and maintenance of a robust and healthy forum for instructors concerns.

- A second listserv allowed the Project committee to discuss issues amongst themselves in a more focused manner.

- A third listserv was created for National Examiners. A committee level option is in place for the future.

- Ten national press releases were created to raise awareness for CAN-BIKE and safe cycling issues.

- Printed flyers and posters created and distributed to create an awareness of CAN-BIKE courses and safe cycling.

- A CAN-BIKE social marketing plan that provided strategic marketing ideas was developed by York University students.

- Questionnaires were distributed throughout Canada to try and establish if CAN-BIKE was helping cyclists adopt cycling as a form of transportation.

- The website (www.canbike.net) was expanded and divided into public and instructor zones.

- The public zone is where new cyclists and those wanting to upgrade their skill level will find a wide array of information from which to make an informed course selection, including links to course providers and course dates.

- The instructor zone allows instructor-only access to our listserv, newsletters, questionnaire, and support material.

CAN-BIKE, . "CAN-BIKE Cycling Development Project wraps up, sets stage for national renewal.." CCA CAN-BIKE Program. 31-Mar-2007. CAN-BIKE, Web. 20 Feb 2010. http://www.canbike.net/cca_pages/news-2007-03-31_cbcdp.htm.

IPSOS CYCLING SURVEY

Incidence of Cycling in Toronto

Toronto has seen a small, but significant increase in cycling over the past 10 years. The number of cyclists in Toronto increased 6% between 1999 and 2009 (from 48% to 54%).

Moreover, the increase can be attributed to more people cycling for practical day-to-day purposes.

The number of cyclists that can be classified as “utilitarian” meaning they either commute to work or school by bike or they bike for the majority of their errands or visits to friends increased 9% between 1999 and 2009 (from 20% to 29%).

While the increase in utilitarian cycling occurred principally outside of the downtown core, Central (or downtown) Toronto still houses the highest numbers of utilitarian cyclists (36%).

One in four (25%) Toronto residents classify themselves as recreational cyclists; that is they cycle purely for leisure or fitness. This is down marginally from 1999 (28%) because more cyclists have expanded their cycling to include utilitarian cycling.

Perceptions of Cycling in Toronto

There has been a significant decline in the level of concern over careless cyclists since 1999. Today’s Torontonians are equally worried about drivers as they are about cyclists. What was once attributed to concern about cyclists is now being articulated in terms of safety.

Safety on roads remains the public’s principal concern about cycling. While significantly more cyclists are comfortable biking on major roads with and without bike lanes than 10 years ago, still only one-third of cyclists say they are comfortable biking on major roads without bike lanes.

The data suggests that up to 40% of recreational cyclists could be motivated to cycle to work or school regularly, half of whom would do so if biking to work/school were safer than it is now.

While cyclists are more comfortable cycling on major roads compared to 10 years ago, still only three in ten cyclists are comfortable on roads without lanes. Cyclists are much more comfortable on roads with sharrow markings or bike lanes.

Other Relevant Data

People believe that education for cyclists would greatly improve safety, as seen below.

Cyclists appear to be riding their bikes more often and more frequently to work than they were in 1999. The cycling community is growing through utilitarian cyclists. These people tend to do a lot of riding downtown, and education programs such as CAN-BIKE could be essential.

Awareness of city bike programs is very low. CAN-BIKE wasn’t even mentioned by anyone in the large survey group.

City of Toronto Cycling Study - Tracking Report (1999 and 2009). Toronto: Ipsos Reid, 2010.

Sustainable Transport in Canadian Cities: Cycling Trends and Policies.

Page 107

Almost all large and medium-size cities in Canada offer a wide range of cycling courses for all age groups through the national cycling education program CAN-BIKE as well as promotional events such as bike races, bike rodeos, and cycling festivals.

Toronto has a Cycling Ambassador outreach program that sends a team of ten professionally trained cyclists into neighborhoods throughout the city to teach cycling safety and skills courses and to promote cycling in general.

Page 108

Toronto has only CAN-BIKE as a means for safety education.

Page 111

The City of Toronto recently took over the CAN-BIKE program and now runs it directly through its parks and recreation department, with instructors hired as city employees.

Page 117

Unless Canadian cities can implement more of the European-style “stick” measures against excessive car use — while enhancing the safety and feasibility of alternative modes — it may be difficult to convince increasingly suburbanizing

Canadians to drive less and bike, walk, and take transit more often.

Something to learn form other provinces and countries

Page 116

As in most Canadian cities, volunteers run CAN-BIKE courses for children and adults in both Calgary and Edmonton. Both cities also publish and distribute cycling maps. Furthermore, Edmonton and Calgary carry out or support signage and cycle safety campaigns, organize annual bike events and conduct bicycle user surveys.

Page 117

No Canadian city has a truly comprehensive, integrated, regional network of cycling facilities such as those found in so many Dutch, German, and Danish cities. The lack of integrated facilities forces cyclists to share the road with motor vehicles for most of their trips, oft en diminishing the safety, feasibility, and attractiveness of cycling for many potential cyclists, especially children, the elderly, the inexperienced, and anyone who finds cycling in mixed traffic unpleasant and stressful.

Canada’s federal government has neglected cycling as a serious transport mode. National legislation similar to the U.S. Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and Transportation Equity Act for the 21st century (TEA-21) could greatly increase funding for investments in cycling infrastructure (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2004a, 2004b, and 2004c). The Canadian federal government should also provide more research funding and more guidance in bicycling planning.

Page 113

In addition to the CAN-BIKE program, the Bike Smarts Program in Victoria is aimed at cycling education for school children aged 7 to 13 years old (Capital Region District 2003a). Almost half of all Victoria area elementary schools participate in this program, which entails five hour-long sessions of cycling courses (taught by regular school teachers) on rules of the road, bike handling, and correct helmet use.

Pucher, John, and Ralph Buehler. "Sustainable Transport in Canadian Cities: Cycling Trends and Policies." Berkeley Planning Journal. 19. (2006): Print.

Promotion and Spreading Knowledge:

The main method of spreading knowledge about CAN-BIKE is through the use of CAN-BIKE Delivery Agents.

Delivery Agents facilitate delivery of CAN-BIKE by bringing clients, instructors and venues together, providing the promotion and administration essential to making courses available to the public. Delivery agents are responsible for ensuring that instructor and participant records are forwarded to their provincial bodies.

In many communities, an instructor serves as a delivery agent, performing all the administrative duties required to promote and run a course and certify participants. Elsewhere, especially in larger centres, municipal departments may be delivery agents, advertising courses, registering participants and hiring instructors. Provincial and territorial cycling associations may also be delivery agents, making the CAN-BIKE program available to their members or the public, while providing an administrative framework for instructors in the province.

Recently, a law was passed that states that anyone in the city of Toronto that has to use a bicycle for work purposes, whatever they may be, has to get a CAN-BIKE course completion certificate. Because of this law, many large companies provide CAN-BIKE courses to their employees. This is one of the major ways that people get to know about CAN-BIKE.

Many employers and volunteer organizations require CAN-BIKE 2 certification for everyone whose duties may include riding a bicycle.

Since the Criminal Code was amended with Bill C-45, organizations have become legally responsible for providing appropriate training for their employees, volunteers and other representatives.

If you are required to ride a bike to perform work duties, then your employer is responsible for providing you with the appropriate training to ride safely. CAN-BIKE is the only nationally recognized safe cycling program in Canada that can provide the certification to fulfill this basic requirement.

"CCA CAN-BIKE Program: Who We Are." CCA CAN-BIKE Program. Web. 22 Feb 2010. .