The government is offering £50 bike repair vouchers to anyone in England to persuade people to get back on their bike, as part of efforts to tackle obesity.
Boris Johnson, an avid cyclist himself, has announced the schemealongside other measures, including GPs being able to prescribe cycling to people in disadvantaged areas.
Here's how the scheme works and how you can get a voucher:
You can register to apply online for the Fix Your Bike Voucher Scheme from 23:45 on Tuesday 28th July.
After you apply, you can bring your cycle to a mechanic or bike repairer that has also registered to take part in the government's scheme, to get your bike fixed.
The voucher will cover up to £50 of the total cost of the repairs needed.
The first 50,000 vouchers will be made available online on Tuesday at 23:45 in England on a first come, first served basis to those who register online.
The voucher will cover up to £50 of the total cost of the repairs needed. Credit: PA
Who is eligible for the scheme?
Anyone living in England who has an unused bike that needs repairing is eligible.
But, there are some limitations. There are a limited number of vouchers available and up to two vouchers can be claimed per household.
The vouchers can only be used with mechanics and bike repairers that register for the scheme in England.
The scheme aims to get Brits moving again by providing an alternative to public transport and limiting the number of trips in private cars, in an effort to fight the coronavirus pandemic as lockdown is eased.
Government statistics showed nearly 8% of critically ill patients in intensive care units with the virus have been morbidly obese, compared with 2.9% of the general population.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said cycling and walking have "a huge role to play" in tackling health and environmental challenges.
"But to build a healthier, more active nation, we need the right infrastructure, training and support in place to give people the confidence to travel on two wheels," he said.
"That's why now is the time to shift gears and press ahead with our biggest and boldest plans yet to boost active travel - so that everyone can feel the transformative benefits of cycling."
'Fix Your Bike' vouchers
The government's "Fix Your Bike" vouchers are being released in batches "to help manage capacity" and so that the scheme can be monitored before being rolled out more widely, the government said.
They will typically cover the bill for a standard service and the replacement of a basic component such as an inner tube or cable.
During a Downing Street briefing in May, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the initiative would be "available from next month".
But the Department for Transport (DfT) said in July that it would only begin when maintenance shops could handle the expected spike in demand.
Halfords said it has thousands of slots available each day for customers to bring their bikes into stores to identify potential faults which could be rectified under the scheme.
"We think the government's 'Fix Your Bike' voucher scheme will not only help individuals become more confident about keeping their bikes maintained, but will help speed up the cycling revolution," said chief executive Graham Stapleton.
Thousands of miles of new protected cycle lanes, cycle training for children and adults, and the creation of the UK's first zero-emission transport city are also part of the plans to promote cycling and walking.
The initiative has been welcomed by cycling groups and environmentalists.
They have long argued that Active Travel - the new phrase for walking and cycling - fulfils twin objectives of improving health and well-being, while also reducing emissions that harm people's health and fuel climate change.
But they point out that the investment is less than a tenth of the £27bn that the government previously announced would be spent on new roads.
There's now increasing pressure for that budget to be reduced.
A recent study suggested that big carbon savings can be made by constructing cycle lanes in suburbs, to be used by e-bikes.
Other measures to improve the well-being of pedestrians and cyclists include strengthening the Highway Code, improving legal protections, increasing lorry safety standards and working with the police and retailers to tackle bike thefts.
The plans will be funded by a £2bn investment announced in February.
Mr Shapps said this is a "once in a lifetime opportunity to create a shift in attitudes" to make cycling or walking part of daily routines.
"The measures we've set out today in this revolutionary plan will do just that," he added.
Matt Mallinder, director of the charity Cycling UK, said the plan "places cycling at the heart of our towns and cities".
But he called for even more funding "to truly shift gears so that everyone can feel the transformative benefits of cycling".
Kerry McCarthy, Labour shadow cycling minister also said that the Conservative party had "failed to seize the opportunity this crisis has posed".
"Although funding is welcome, cyclists will be rightly concerned about how long it is going to take to actually put these plans into practice.
"No-one wants a return to the levels of pollution and congestion we saw before the lockdown began, but, if we fail to make our roads safe enough to cycle, people will revert back to taking the car."
Cycling fanatic Boris Johnson is promising £50 repair vouchers as part of his coronavirus crusade to persuade people to get on their bike.
The first vouchers will be available online late on Tuesday in England and the prime minister is also pledging more spending on cycle lanes, training and bikes on prescription from GPs.
The aim of the bike repair vouchers is to encourage people to get their old bicycles out of the shed, fixed and safe to ride, so they cycle to the shops or see friends rather than use public transport.
Boris Johnson's first year in office
Launched 24 hours after Mr Johnson's anti-obesity campaign, the fix-your-bike voucher scheme is the latest move by the PM in his drive to boost cycling to get the nation slimmer and fitter.
"From helping people get fit and healthy and lowering their risk of illness, to improving air quality and cutting congestion, cycling and walking have a huge role to play in tackling some of the biggest health and environmental challenges that we face," he said.
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"But to build a healthier, more active nation, we need the right infrastructure, training and support in place to give people the confidence to travel on two wheels.
"That's why now is the time to shift gears and press ahead with our biggest and boldest plans yet to boost active travel - so that everyone can feel the transformative benefits of cycling."
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Mr Johnson, who cycled to work as London mayor and as a backbench MP, has long been a champion of cycling, launching major projects in the capital in his time as mayor.
It has been claimed that since his brush with death from coronavirus the prime minister has become "obsessed" with "getting Britain on its bike" and encouraging more people to cycle to work.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who is returning from his Spanish holiday and going into quarantine, says the government is also increasing access to e-bikes for older people and those not so fit.
"We've got a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a shift in attitudes for generations to come and get more people choosing to cycle or walk as part of their daily routine," said Mr Shapps.
"The measures we've set out today in this revolutionary plan will do just that. No matter your age, how far you're travelling, or your current confidence on a bike - there are plans to help and support you.
"By helping to fix your bike - or get an electrically powered one; by increasing storage space at stations, on trains and buses; and by introducing more ways to keep pedestrians and cyclists safe, we're making it easier than ever to make active travel part of your daily life, and leading England to become a great cycling nation."
The government says that due to overwhelming demand for cycle shops' services during the coronavirus pandemic, vouchers will be released in batches in order to help manage capacity across participating stores.
The first 50,000 will be available just before midnight on Tuesday on a first come, first served basis to those who register online. Children's bikes will also covered by the scheme.
People will be able to use their voucher, with a limit of two per household, at any participating repair shop, with the voucher remaining valid for two months.
The government claims £50 will typically cover the cost of a standard service and the replacement of a basic part such as an inner tube or cable.
The scheme can be used to pay for service and parts required to make a bike safe but will not be allowed for buying accessories and equipment.
Other government proposals include cycle training for every child and adult who wants it, accessible through schools, local authorities or direct from cycle training schemes.
More cycle racks will be installed at transport hubs, town and city centres and public buildings and funding will go towards new bike hangars and on-street storage for people who don't have space to keep a bike at home.
The government says its cycling revolution, which will be funded by the £2bn of new money announced earlier this year for walking and cycling, will also include:
Thousands of miles of protected cycle routes in towns and cities, with higher standards overseen by a new inspectorate, Active Travel England, and improving the National Cycle Network;
Strengthening the Highway Code to better protect pedestrians and cyclists, raising safety standards on lorries and working with the police and retailers to tackle bike theft;
Powers for local authorities to crack down on traffic offences and increased powers for metro mayors over road networks;
Reducing "rat runs", closing side streets, reducing traffic by schools, 12 new cycle-friendly "Mini Hollands" and at least one zero-emission city centre;
Encouraging GPs to prescribe cycling, with patients able to access bikes through their local surgery; and
A new national e-bike programme, to help those who are older, have to travel long distances or are less fit to take up cycling
The PM's cycling crusade is called "Gear Shift: A bold vision for cycling and walking" and the proposed "Mini Holland" schemes are based on those already introduced in three outer London boroughs.
According to a recent Glasgow University study, cycling to work is associated with a 45% lower risk of developing cancer, a 46% lower risk of heart disease and a 41% lower risk of premature death, compared to a non-active commute.
The bike repair vouchers were first mentioned by Mr Shapps during a Downing Street coronavirus briefing on 23 May, when he said the initiative would be "available from next month".
But the Department for Transport (DfT) said earlier this month it would only begin when maintenance shops could handle the expected spike in demand.
Halfords has said it has thousands of slots available each day for customers to bring their bike into stores to identify potential faults which could be rectified under the scheme.
The company's chief executive Graham Stapleton said: "We think the government's Fix Your Bike voucher scheme will not only help individuals become more confident about keeping their bikes maintained, but will help speed up the cycling revolution."
But the government's cycling initiative was derided by Labour's shadow cycling minister Kerry McCarthy.
"It's been five months since the government first announced this funding for cycling in the spring budget, three months since Shapps' cycling press conference and yet again all we have is a re-announcement," she said.
"Tory ministers have dragged their feet and failed to seize the opportunity this crisis has posed. Although funding is welcome, cyclists will be rightly concerned about how long it is going to take to actually put these plans into practice.
"No one wants a return to the levels of pollution and congestion we saw before the lockdown began, but, if we fail to make our roads safe enough to cycle, people will revert back to taking the car."
The website to sign up for the voucher is: https://fixyourbikevoucherscheme.est.org.uk/
Government statistics showed nearly 8% of critically ill patients in intensive care units with the virus have been morbidly obese, compared with 2.9% of the general population.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said cycling and walking have "a huge role to play" in tackling health and environmental challenges.
"But to build a healthier, more active nation, we need the right infrastructure, training and support in place to give people the confidence to travel on two wheels," he said.
"That's why now is the time to shift gears and press ahead with our biggest and boldest plans yet to boost active travel - so that everyone can feel the transformative benefits of cycling."
'Fix Your Bike' vouchers
The government's "Fix Your Bike" vouchers are being released in batches "to help manage capacity" and so that the scheme can be monitored before being rolled out more widely, the government said.
They will typically cover the bill for a standard service and the replacement of a basic component such as an inner tube or cable.
During a Downing Street briefing in May, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the initiative would be "available from next month".
But the Department for Transport (DfT) said in July that it would only begin when maintenance shops could handle the expected spike in demand.
Halfords said it has thousands of slots available each day for customers to bring their bikes into stores to identify potential faults which could be rectified under the scheme.
"We think the government's 'Fix Your Bike' voucher scheme will not only help individuals become more confident about keeping their bikes maintained, but will help speed up the cycling revolution," said chief executive Graham Stapleton.
Thousands of miles of new protected cycle lanes, cycle training for children and adults, and the creation of the UK's first zero-emission transport city are also part of the plans to promote cycling and walking.
Other measures to improve the wellbeing of pedestrians and cyclists include strengthening the Highway Code, improving legal protections, increasing lorry safety standards and working with the police and retailers to tackle bike thefts.
The plans will be funded by a £2bn investment announced in February.
Mr Shapps said this is a "once in a lifetime opportunity to create a shift in attitudes" to make cycling or walking part of daily routines.
"The measures we've set out today in this revolutionary plan will do just that," he added.
Matt Mallinder, director of the charity Cycling UK, said the plan "places cycling at the heart of our towns and cities".
But he called for even more funding "to truly shift gears so that everyone can feel the transformative benefits of cycling".
Kerry McCarthy, Labour shadow cycling minister also said that the Conservative party had "failed to seize the opportunity this crisis has posed".
"Although funding is welcome, cyclists will be rightly concerned about how long it is going to take to actually put these plans into practice.
"No-one wants a return to the levels of pollution and congestion we saw before the lockdown began, but, if we fail to make our roads safe enough to cycle, people will revert back to taking the car."
A toddler has been rushed to hospital after plunging from a tall residential building in east London.
Emergency services were scrambled to East India Dock Road in Poplar at 6.54pm after a child fell 'from height'.
Paramedics treated the child at the scene before they were taken by road to a major trauma centre, where their condition remains unknown.
Pictures show ambulances parked outside a high-rise block of flats and an air ambulance, which was not used, swooping in on a nearby park.
Emergency services were scrambled to East India Dock Road in Poplar at 6.54pm after a child fell 'from height'
Scotland Yard's Tower Hamlet's branch tweeted tonight: 'Police called at 18:54hrs to East India Dock Road to reports of a child fallen from height from a residential building.
'Officers attended with LAS (London Ambulance Service). The child, believed to be a toddler, has been taken to hospital - we await a condition update.
'Officers remain on scene & road closures are in place at junction with Chrisp Street and Newby Place. Motorists should use other routes.'
A London Ambulance spokesperson said: 'We sent an incident response officer and two ambulances to the scene.
'We also dispatched a unit from our hazardous area response team and London's Air Ambulance.
'Crews treated a child at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre by road.'
An air ambulance lands after a toddler plunged from a building in east London
