Cycle Point
A piece of Amsterdam came to Leeds when Norman Baker and the Dutch Ambassador His Excellency Pim Waldeck opened the UK's first Cycle Point.
A small piece of Amsterdam came to Leeds when Norman Baker, Minister for Local and Regional Transport and the Dutch Ambassador, His Excellency Pim Waldeck, formerly opened the UK’s first Cycle Point - a highly innovative facility for cyclists at Leeds station.
Date filmed: 27 September 2010
Transcript
Narrator: A small piece of Amsterdam came to Leeds when Norman Baker, Minister for Local and Regional Transport, and the Dutch Ambassador, His Excellency Pim Waldeck, formally opened the UK’s first cycle point, a highly innovative facility for cyclists at Leeds Station.
Norman Baker, Minister for Local and Regional Transport: This is a big first for this country. It emulates what’s happened in the Netherlands. We can learn from our Dutch colleagues - I’m very pleased the Dutch Ambassador’s here today - and what it demonstrates is the potential for combining rail travel with bike travel, getting people on their bikes to complete the last part of their journey. It is a place where you can leave your bike, it’s a place where you can hire a bike, it’s a place where you can get your bikes fixed. It’s a, kind of, one-stop shop for bikes, and it’s the sort of service, I think, and the sort of message which sends out to people here that bikes are centre stage.
His Excellency Pim Waldeck, Dutch Ambassador to the UK: The Dutch railways, in combination with the government, have developed a network of cycle points in the various main railway stations where you can hire a bike or can: you can store your bike.
Steve Butcher, Chief Operating Officer, Northern Rail: So it was just a fantastic opportunity to have a similar type of cycle point in Leeds that brings a bit of Amsterdam into Leeds itself, and also means that it opens up a whole range of people being able to come into the city.
Norman Baker: And if we’re going to be serious about cutting carbon emissions we have to start with behavioural change for short journeys, and this is a classic example of what can be achieved, and I very much think it will be a success. It’s already proving to be that in the first couple of weeks of operation, and I think it’s the sort of thing we should be doing across the country.