Super Cycle Highway flagship route has cost taxpayers “£62,000 for every extra cyclist attracted”

The flagship Super Cycle Highway running from Tower Hill to Lancaster Gate has cost taxpayers on average £62,000 per extra cyclist attracted according to an LBC report.

The East-West cycle route was Boris Johnson’s flagship bike project during his time at City Hall as London Mayor.

The cycle route displaced already congested roads which has put further strain on the capital’s roads and increasing journey times for motorists. The project cost £47 million and was "designed to encourage the large numbers of people who would like to cycle, but currently feel unable to."

However, according to London radio station LBC, the success of the East-West route has been underwhelming with only an average of 4,744 cyclists per day choosing to use the route.

Since 2014/15 there has only been an increase of 754 riders each day. This equates to the £62,000 figure attributed to every additional cyclist attracted to the route.

Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the LTDA said: "This cycle lane has been an absolute disaster for London. It was put in the wrong place at the wrong time. "If you go down to the cycle lane outside of rush hour, there's nobody on it. It's a ghost town and that just reinforces the problem with it."