#BikeIsBest Advocacy Digest No. 101
Hello and welcome to newsletter 101, where our hopes and dreams go to be reborn…or something.
ROAD VIOLENCE, CYCLE TO WORK AND MORE LTNS.
It’s another week of highs and lows in the world of BikeIsBest, with two influential debates, thanks to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking (APPGCW), held in Parliament this week. In their own ways, both have shown us how far we have to go to improve cycling safety, and access to cycling, in the UK, as well as highlighting those who are fighting to improve matters.
BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY
MPS: URGENT CHANGES NEEDED FOR ROAD VIOLENCE VICTIMS. An important parliamentary debate on road violence this week highlighted some appalling cases which cost people their lives or left them severely injured - and an urgent need to act. The debate was tabled by Selaine Saxby MP, and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking (APPGCW). The APPGCW’s updated Road Justice Report details ten recommendations and a summary of progress to tackle the issue. You can watch the debate here.
CYCLE TO WORK NEEDS REFORM, SAYS INDUSTRY. At another APPG meeting last week industry figures discussed the topic of cycle subsidies and the UK’s Cycle to Work scheme. The latter came under fierce criticism for costing bike shops too much, and the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT) is leading calls for its reform, backed by more than 500 independent businesses.
SPEAKING OF WHICH. One example of a great cycle subsidy is this scheme for French residents on low incomes or receiving disability allowances. The scheme is available for bicycles and ebikes, as well as cargo cycles for carrying children or goods. Those eligible can claim up to €2,000, depending on the type of machine. The scheme has just been extended to 2027 and to legitimate second-hand sellers.
DANGEROUS EBIKE BATTERY BANNED. Poorly-built ebike batteries risk giving the industry, and ebikes, a bad name so the banning of an ebike battery linked to several fires is welcome. Ebike batteries that conform to appropriate safety standards are safe, and a few shoddy operators shouldn’t be allowed to damage the reputation of law-abiding and safe manufacturers. Or scare potential customers away.
HIGHWAY CODE STILL CONFUSING? We should all keep up with our knowledge of the Highway Code, but that’s in an ideal world. In reality, it seems, few of us do. As it stands, an RAC survey of 2,500 drivers suggests more than three quarters are ignoring the rule to give way to pedestrians waiting to cross at a side road, two years since the changes. The rules to protect cyclists and pedestrians were introduced for a reason, but they can only improve safety if people know about them.
OTHER HEADLINES
IN OTHER GOOD NEWS… Bath and North East Somerset council announced three ‘liveable neighbourhood trials’ will become permanent (that’s traffic filters to stop drivers rat-running through inappropriate streets), following a trial and consultation. Meanwhile in Scotland Edinburgh City Council has started enforcing its pavement parking ban with up to £100 fines for law-breaking drivers who choose to park on the city’s footways.
INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK: ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK: The impact of cycle subsidies on growth, UK vs Germany and France where well-established and subsidies exist. Source: Lee Kidger, Cycling Industry Advisor and former MD of Raleigh, from the APPGCW meeting on cycle subsidies.
ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:
Road Violence. The accepted definition from the academic community is something ‘involving spontaneous, driving-related acts of violence that are specifically targeted at strangers, or where strangers reasonably feel they are being targeted’.
Until next time,
Adam Tranter
Founder, #BikeIsBest