TfL slash climate-friendly cycling training funding to zero as London swelters in record-breaking heat

• Londoners set to lose access to cycle training as Transport For London announce they will end funding immediately
• As the UK experiences unprecedented extreme temperatures, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and TfL are cutting back on green alternatives that could contribute to combating climate change and air pollution
• This announcement comes during a cost of living crisis and will leave hundreds of cycling instructors facing job cuts and potential destitution

London cycling instructors were dealt a massive blow as it was announced that TfL will be cutting all funding for future cycling training. These instructors are responsible for training children in school and on holiday courses, and adults, including lorry drivers and NHS patients.

This announcement comes as London endures a second day of record breaking heat and as air pollution continues to cause increasing cases of lung and heart disease. Despite the escalating climate crisis and its human impact, funding for essential training for environmentally friendly cycling has been halted.

The Cycling Instructors branch of the Independent Workers union of Great Britain (IWGB CIB) is calling on TfL to reconsider their decision immediately and commit to fully funding this vital service. This is the third time the IWGB has been forced to campaign to secure future funding after similar announcements in November in 2021, and January and March in 2022.

This latest move from TfL goes directly against Mayor Sadiq Khan’s alleged aims to increase cycling and improve air quality in the capital, which is already one of the most polluted and congested in Europe. Sadiq Khan has also set a target of making London net zero carbon by 2030 and his Green New Deal Fund alleges to want to boost green jobs, a pledge broken with these recent announcements.

Suami Rocha, Chair of IWGB CIB and London based cycling instructor: “On the hottest day on record, cycling instructors are hearing news that the Mayor of London and TfL are pouring fuel on the fire of climate change by cutting this essential training and green jobs. If they were serious about hitting the environmental goals they have laid out, they would be increasing funding for this green alternative, not completely decimating it.”

Ben House, IWGB CIB Branch Joint Secretary and London based cycling instructor: “It is time for TfL and the DfT to stop playing hot potato with this issue and fully commit to investing in the long term future of cycling in London. It is not just cycling instructors' livelihoods at stake here, but the future of the planet.”