16.1) Does Transport Direct offer cycling options?
16.2) Which areas can I plan a cycle journey in?
16.3) Are all journeys planned by the quickest route?
16.4) I will be travelling when its dark, how do I try and ensure my journey goes through reasonably well lit areas?
16.5) How do I plan a journey where I do not have to get off and on my bike?
16.7) What are time-based restrictions and what impact could they have on my journey?
16.8) How do you calculate cycle journey times?
16.9) Why am I being asked to download Active X controls?
16.10) What should I do if I am prompted to download the control?
16.11) What should I do if I cannot see the graph and have not been prompted to download the ActiveX control?
16.12) What is a GPX file?
16. Cycle Planning
16.1) Does Transport Direct offer cycling options?
Transport Direct has launched the first version of our new cycle planner. This currently enables cycle planning in the areas listed in FAQ 16.2 below. It is now our intention to get feedback from users and experts regarding the new planner and the data that it uses.
16.2) Which areas can I plan a cycle journey in?
Cycling England in partnership with Transport Direct has begun a programme to collect national cycling data. Cycle Scotland and the Welsh Assembly Government will contribute to the programme for their areas of responsibility.
As data for a new area is surveyed, validated and endorsed by the local authority it will be loaded into the cycle planner and the area made available for cycle planning.
The current local authority areas for which data has been collected, collated and loaded into the cycle planner are:
| Name |
Covering |
| Aylesbury |
Town of Aylesbury |
| Blackpool |
Borough of Blackpool, Fleetwood, Lytham St Anne's |
| Greater Bristol |
Bristol City, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset |
| Cambridge |
Cambridge city, Great Shelford, Fulbourn, Milton, Histon, Griton |
| Colchester |
Borough of Colchester, including Tiptree & Mersea Island |
| Darlington |
Borough of Darlington |
| Derby |
Derby City |
| Exeter |
Exeter City |
| Lancaster |
Lancaster City including Morecambe |
| Greater Leicester |
Leicester City, Borough of Charnwood, Borough of Oadby & Wigston, Narborough, Groby |
| Leighton Buzzard |
Leighton Buzzard, including Linslade |
| Greater Manchester |
10 metropolitan boroughs: Wigan, Trafford, Tameside, Stockport, Salford City, Rochdale, Oldham, Manchester City, Bury, Bolton |
| Merseyside |
5 metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, Liverpool City, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral |
| Oxford |
Oxford City |
| Peterborough |
Peterborough City |
| Shrewsbury |
Former Borough of Shrewsbury & Atcham |
| Stoke-on-Trent |
Stoke-on-Trent city |
| Worcester |
Worcester City |
Cycling England and Transport Direct are working toward ensuring that cycle journeys can be planned in all major urban areas of England, Scotland and Wales. This will be achieved through the collection of data to a consistent quality and standard across all geographical areas. In the first instance we will be working particularly closely with those towns and cities with ‘Cycling Town/City’ status.
If you find an error in the data that has been collected Transport Direct would welcome your feedback to help us improved the quality of the data or the way the planner works. You can do this using the contact us link on the page footer.
16.3) Are all journeys planned by the quickest route?
The drop down on the ‘Find a cycle route’ allows you to select a number of different parameters for your journey. So just by selecting your preferred option from the drop down menu marked ‘Type of journey’ you can plan your journey using the following options:
- “Quietest” if you would like a route that prioritises the use of cycle paths, cycle lanes, quiet streets and routes recommended for cycling. (This is the default option of the cycle journey planner)
- “Quickest” if you would like a route with the shortest cycling time.
- “Most recreational” if you would like a route that prioritises cycling through parks and green spaces in addition to prioritising the use of cycle paths, cycle lanes, quiet streets and routes recommended for cycling.
16.4) I will be travelling when its dark, how do I try and ensure my journey goes through reasonably well lit areas?
You can choose to avoid roads and paths that are unlit at night when planning your cycle journey by clicking ‘Advanced options’ at the bottom of the input pages ticking the avoid unlit roads option. Transport Direct will, where possible, avoid roads and paths that are unlit at night when planning your journey.
16.5) How do I plan a journey where I do not have to get off and on my bike?
You can choose to avoid a cycle journey with sections where you would need to walk your bike by clicking ‘Advanced options’ at the bottom of the input pages ticking the avoid walking with your bike option. Transport Direct will, where possible, avoid returning a journey with sections that would require you to dismount and walk.
16.7) What are time-based restrictions and what impact could they have on my journey?
Some roads and paths have time based access restrictions such as ‘Closed on market day’ or ‘Park closes at dusk’. Because of the nature of these restrictions we cannot tell when planning your journey whether or not access will be permitted at the time of travel. Where the information is available we will try and show in the journey results that a restriction applies to the point of access.
You can choose to avoid all such potential time-based restrictions by clicking ‘Advanced options’ at the bottom of the input pages ticking the avoid timebased restrictions option. Transport Direct will, where possible, avoid returning a journey that uses roads and paths with time-based restrictions.
16.8) How do you calculate cycle journey times?
The cycle journey results on Transport Direct take into account the input cycle speed, the gradient of the paths and roads and appropriate speeds for those paths and roads.
16.9) Why am I being asked to download Active X controls?
You may be prompted to download ActiveX Controls when first viewing the Cycle Journey results page. This ActiveX Add-on is an accessory software program that extends the capabilities of an existing application. In the case of the cycle planner it is required to draw the gradient profile graph of your journey.
If you are prompted to download any "ActiveX Controls", you will need to accept them if you want to view the gradient profile graph. Alternatively you can click the ‘show table view’ button to see the gradients for the journey.
16.10) What should I do if I am prompted to download the control?
By simply following the download instructions, the add-on will be added to your browser's current Add-ons. In some cases you may need to restart your browser for the Add-ons to take effect. Once you have downloaded the Add-on you will not be prompted to do so again unless it is removed from your machine or disabled.
16.11) What should I do if I cannot see the graph and have not been prompted to download the ActiveX control?
If you continue to have difficulties downloading the Add-on and viewing the image you should report the issue to your Internet Service Provider or IT Support Team.
16.12) What is a GPX file?
GPX is an XML schema designed for transferring Global Positioning Software (GPS) data between software applications.
The GPX file produced by Transport Direct's cycle planner describes the tracks and routes taken in your journey. It indicates the start and end location, journey directions, as well as latitude and longitude of points along the route. You can load the GPX file into GPS devices and other software computer programs. This will allow you, for example, to view your route on your GPS device during your journey, project your track on satellite images (in Google Earth), or annotate maps. The format is open and can be used without the need to pay licence fees.