Cycling to school twice as popular

THE number of pupils cycling to school has more than doubled in Edinburgh thanks to a new biking initiative.

Cycling charity Sustrans said the results from the first year of its I Bike project have seen every-day cycling levels at participating schools in the Capital rise from three per cent to seven per cent, with regular cycling rising from an average of 10.7 per cent to 19.3 per cent.

Nicola Boyle, Sustrans senior project officer for school travel, said: "We're delighted at the results that we've seen from the first year of the pilot - the project has already made significant changes to how young people choose to travel and we know active and sustainable travel has positive impacts.

"Research suggests children who cycle to school are more likely to be physically active than their peers, and being physically active reduces the chance of developing health problems."