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We're living in a time

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in which we're polluting our world[br]at an alarming rate,

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in which the majority[br]of people in the West

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are not getting enough physical activity,

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and in which we're spending a lot of time,[br]wasting a lot of time and money and energy

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stuck in traffic.

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Thankfully, we're also living in a time[br]in which riding a bicycle is awesome.

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(Laughter)

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It makes you feel good.

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You arrive at your destination [br]feeling energized

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and connected with the world around you.

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It's good for your health, [br]it's good for the planet,

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and it helps to make[br]our cities more livable.

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So, how can we get more people cycling?

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Well, it's a combination[br]of infrastructure, improving safety,

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and changing people's[br]perceptions and behavior.

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And one of the things that I've been doing[br]over the years is looking at

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how we can apply behavior change theory[br]to getting more people cycling.

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And I have just one idea [br]that I'd like to share with you today.

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And that is, that when we're looking[br]to encourage people

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to adopt the behavior of cycling to work,

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we need to understand[br]that this overall behavior

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is actually made up[br]of lots of sub-behaviors and stages

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that people go through[br]from not cycling, to thinking about it,

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to trying it out, to getting a bike,[br]to cycling a little bit, a little bit more

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and cycling to work.

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And within each of these sub-behaviors[br]are a number of barriers

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that people need to overcome[br]to get to the next stage.

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And so, it is important[br]that we understand this

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when we're trying to encourage [br]people to take up cycling.

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Because if we say to someone [br]who is down here, as a non-cyclist,

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"Hey, you should cycle to work.

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It's good for you.

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You'll save money; [br]it's good for the environment,"

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it's kind of a big ask.

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And we need to keep this in mind[br]because our energy is much better spent

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focusing on the next little step [br]that we can get people to take.

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And one of the strategies [br]that we have found to be quite effective

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in getting non-cyclists to take up cycling

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is simply encouraging them [br]to have some fun

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and ride a bike for just 10 minutes.

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And what we find[br]when people do this is they go,

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"Hmm, actually, this isn't so bad.

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This isn't as hard or as scary [br]as I thought cycling was.

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This is actually quite easy[br]and quite fun."

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And that's a fantastic first little step

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that we can get people to take [br]on this wider journey.

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So taking a step back

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and looking at the question[br]of how do we get people cycling,

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what about the infrastructure [br]and improving safety?

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Well, thankfully, all the solutions[br]already exist there out in the world.

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If you go to any good cycling conference,[br]you will find the technical expertise,

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the case studies,

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the wheels already invented

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that we can bring into our cities,[br]adapt, and roll out,

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that will result in more people cycling.

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So if the solutions are already there,

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why aren't we seeing [br]their widespread application?

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Well, there's a number of reasons,

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and one of them is that many people[br]don't believe it's possible

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to get more people cycling in their city.

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"Oh, it's too far,[br]there's too much traffic,

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it's too dangerous, [br]it's too hot, it's too wet."

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And thankfully, we now have evidence[br]from around the world

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that the possible is indeed possible.

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So, looking at Spain and Seville,[br]they invested in cycle lanes

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and went from 0.5 per cent[br]of trips by bicycle

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to 6.6 per cent of trips by bike

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in just six years.

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In Portland, they increased cycling [br]by more than 200 per cent.

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In Denver, you can see they increased[br]the number of cycle lanes

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and had a corresponding increase [br]in the number of people riding bikes.

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And I could show you[br]evidence of this trend

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from around the U.S. and around the world.

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Now, just to be clear[br]about what I'm not saying.

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I'm not saying that you can turn[br]every city in the U.S. or the world

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into a Copenhagen or an Amsterdam,

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where about half of all the trips[br]are done by bike.

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That's amazing.

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However, our cities are laid out [br]quite differently.

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But in the U.S.,

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about 40 per cent of all trips[br]are less than three miles.

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And it's within these short trips[br]that the opportunity lies for cycling.

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So, what I am saying is that[br]if we want to get more people cycling,

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if we commit to it,

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then it is absolutely possible for us

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to get five per cent or more of trips[br]in our cities done by bike.

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And finally, I think it's interesting that

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when we look at some of the other problems[br]that we're facing in the world today,

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one of the barriers that we may by facing

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is that many people[br]don't believe in what's possible.

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But thankfully, I feel [br]that the tide is turning

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and more people are believing[br]in what's possible in their own lives,

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for our communities, and for our planet.

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And so, let's keep on believing [br]that we can make the possible our reality.

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And let's make it happen.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)