Transport for Greater Manchester are looking for cyclists who are interested in starring in their new campaign to encourage people to get on a bike.

TfGM are launching the drive to highlight the health benefits of riding a bike and are looking for enthusiastic people to take centre stage, possibly appearing in posters, leaflets, case studies and a video.

They’re looking for people of all ages from across Greater Manchester, particularly anyone who initially started cycling to improve their health.

If you’re interested, email becky@divacreative.com with ‘Cycling Campaign’ in the subject field.

Tell her where you live, what journeys you make by bike, and leave your full name and daytime contact number. If possible, also send a photo of you and your bike.

The campaign will run over the summer and follows in the footsteps of last year’s Life on 2 Wheels campaign, which encouraged people across Greater Manchester to start cycling.

UMBUG would like to collate a library of cycling videos from across Manchester to promote cycling and we are looking for UMBUG members to film their commute.

Videos could be:
• your entire route to work;
• sections of your commute that fellow cyclists would find useful or interesting, for example:
• dedicated cycle paths,
• how to navigate a tricky junction or
• a new road layout;
• any footage that promotes cycling to work.

To film your commute, the Environmental Sustainability team have a GoPro Hero video camera with a handlebar/seatpost/pole mount that you can borrow. Please contact UMBUG at umbug@manchester.ac.uk to borrow it.

Video guidelines
• Please use the video mode rather than time lapse.
• Resolution should be set to 1080-25.

The camera comes with a Quick Start Guide and you can find more detailed information in the GoPro User Manual.

Please just let us know if you have any alternative equipment suggestions that would make filming with the GoPro easier.

We will also happily accept footage filmed on your own camera if you have one.

You do not have to worry about editing the footage (unless you want to). When you return the camera, will we download the files and edit them. If you are interested in editing them yourself, GoPro Studio is a free and user friendly option.

Sustrans has launched the Bike Life survey, the largest ever survey of attitudes to cycling in the UK. In Greater Manchester 4,000 people of all ages were randomly interviewed over the phone and 11,000 UK-wide. The consistent finding across all cities was that people want a lot more money spent on cycling provision – an average of £26 per head out of the current £300 per head for transport. People want to cycle but they just don’t feel safe enough.

You can read more about the findings here:
http://www.sustrans.org.uk/bike-life/overall-survey

The Oxford Road bus priority works will begin on 31 July for eight weeks and have been timed to coincide with the closure of Oxford Road for the demolition of the Precinct bridge. The first step will be to build a trial bus stop on Oxford Road, below the Hathersage Road junction, opposite Whitworth Park. The stop will feature Manchester’s first physically segregated ‘Dutch-style’ cycle bypass which will pass directly behind the bus stop platform. When the trial stop has been built, TfGM will ask users for feedback so that they can monitor and evaluate how cyclists, bus users and pedestrians interact at the stop. The main work to transform Oxford Road is scheduled to begin later this summer.

From 10 August to 6 September, Oxford Road will be closed between the junctions with Hathersage Road and Booth Street West/East to allow the demolition and removal of the Precinct bridge. During the road closure, there will be no pedestrian or cycle access under the bridge and alternative routes will be signposted.

Find out more on StaffNet.