Campaigners are calling for more cycling cash in today’s spending review - but fear it’s unlikely to happen.

The appeal for investment follows a survey across Greater Manchester , the biggest cycling review ever conducted in the UK.

It reveals more than 75 per cent of respondents - including non-cyclists - feel local and central Government needs to invest to get more people on two wheels.

Campaigners are calling for a £25 annual spend on cycling per person to make the roads safer, boost health and ease congestion.

The current average level outside London is around £4.

Greater Manchester has actually beaten that thanks to a raft of funding this year, taking the average to £10, But that’s due to drop back down to the national average in 2016 if no more cash is promised.

And it’s still pitiful compared to London, where Boris Johnson has promised £913m to bring cycling into the mainstream over the decade. Meanwhile, Greater Manchester secured a one-off £42m in 2011, with an extra £15m set to come from a ‘sustainable transport’ pot.

In the survey, only 26 per cent rated Greater Manchester’s cycling safety as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ and nearly eight in 10 want more investment to make cycling safer. Most said that if there were more traffic-free cycle routes they would be more likely to jump on a bike.

The independent research was commissioned by the charity Sustrans and Transport for Greater Manchester.

It’s part of the Bike Life Survey - based on the Danish model - canvassing people in seven leading cities across the UK.

Nick Hubble, from the Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign, said: “This shows there is actually a huge popular mandate for increasing cycling spending.

“In terms of the spending review it doesn’t look that positive - all the noises we are hearing are that infrastructure projects are going to be focussed on road and rail. Active travel looks to be falling by the wayside again.

“It looks like cycling will take a back seat - which is a real shame.”

On the Bike Life report, he added: “This is an important piece of research. IT shows there wide support for cycling.”

(Image: Steve Allen)

Rosslyn Colderley, North West Regional Director for Sustrans, said: “The message from the public couldn’t be clearer: people want to cycle but we need to make it feel safe for them.

“People want the government to spend more, and say that they would cycle more if it were safer. Now government must close this gap between current spending and public demand.

“Physical inactivity, congestion and declining air quality cost our economy billions. Government must act to secure a greater share of current transport investment for cycling and walking.

“The spending review and the local elections next May are perfect opportunities to do just that. Government must ensure the cycling and walking investment strategy is ambitious and guarantees long-term funding for active travel.”

Copenhagen uses these biennial surveys as part of its planning process to identify areas where cycle lanes are most in demand.

In Manchester’s first such survey, researchers conducted phone interviews with 11,000 people in total - 4,005 were from Greater Manchester.

What does the survey show?

People questioned in Greater Manchester wanted an average spend on cycling of £25 per head per year, compared to an average £26 per person of other UK participants.

It means there’s a long way to go - with current investment around £4 per person out of the total £300 per person spent on transport.

Nearly 80 per cent of surveyed cyclists in Manchester said improved safety was their number one concern.

Only 55 per cent said they felt safe riding a bike in the day - compared to 90 per cent who feel safe walking, or the 85 pc who feel safe driving.

Around three quarters of those living in Greater Manchester (72pc) think that increasing the number of journeys by cycle would improve residents’ health and the environment, and two

thirds (67pc) believe that more cycling would make their area a better place to live. While

Around 48 per cent of those surveyed own at least one bike - but only 3 per cent use it for regular travel.

The Bike Life project showed that even people who don’t ride a bike recognised the importance of building bike lanes and funding other projects to boost cycling: 71pc of those who said that they never used a bike still backed an increase in spending, rising to 87pc among those who frequently ride a bike.

Coun Jim McMahon, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Transport Lead, said: “It’s clear from the Bike Life Survey results that people in Greater Manchester suppor the vision to make cycling an attractive, convenient and safe travel choice for everyone, regardless of age or ability.

“The Survey gives an extremely valuable insight into the attitudes of residents towards cycling across the region and at a district level, allowing progress to be measured towards making Greater Manchester a great place for people to get around by bike.

“Through the Cycle City programme many of the issues raised in the Survey as barriers to cycling have begun to be tackled.

"This includes TfGM investing more than £40m in cycling infrastructure and projects through the Department for Transport’s Cycle City programme by 2018.

“A network of high-quality, largely segregated, cycleways is at the core of the programme, as well as improvements to cycling facilities at workplaces, schools, social housing sites and stations to encourage more people to give cycling a go.

“There is much more work to do, and further Government investment would of course be welcome.

"The Survey results will help shape future plans to make Greater Manchester one of the best places to cycle in the UK and to reach the target of 10% of all trips being made by bike by 2025.”

A Treasury spokeswoman said: “Decisions on future funding are for the Spending Review on 25 November.”

Bike Life reports in Denmark

Copenhagen has produced the reports since 1996, which helped planners remove barriers to cycling.

As a result 45 per cent of journeys to work, school, college and university are now made

by bike - compared to 2.5 per cent in Greater Manchester.

The Danish capital of Copenhagen was recently voted as the happiest city in the world and a third of its residents feel safe enough to travel by bicycle for everyday journeys.

Sustrans believes that UK cities have the potential to do the same.

Thanks to financial backing from The Freshfield Foundation, the report on habits and opinions in each of the seven cities has now been released to inform future investment into cycling in the cities, and will be followed up with a second report in 2017.

ICM Unlimited carried out the survey and interviewed a representative sample of 11,016 adults aged 16+, ensuring at least 1,100 in each city (except Greater Manchester which has 4,005).