Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an e-bike subsidy scheme.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government already supports e-bikes through the Cycle to Work scheme.
In addition, the Government has been trialling a national e-cycle programme to provide opportunities to try e-cycles through short term loans. Active Travel England is also funding local authority-led cycle loan and share schemes and continues to support authorities to implement e-cycle initiatives in their local communities.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to encourage delivery companies to switch to cargo bikes in urban areas.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the role of e-cargo bikes in helping to decarbonise the freight sector and has outlined its support for moving freight to innovative modes such as e-cargo bikes in the Future of Freight plan. Since 2019, we have invested nearly £4 million in supporting businesses and local authorities to transition to more sustainable business travel and last mile deliveries through e-cargo bike grants, helping nearly 300 businesses and over 30 local authorities to replace car and van journeys with e-cargo bikes.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage the recycling and repair of old bicycles.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Active Travel England is providing £4 million across 2023/24 and 2024/25 to Cycling UK’s ongoing Big Bike Revival project, which includes cycle repairs and maintenance workshops, including for onward sale or donation of second-hand cycles.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of the results of rental e-scooter trials; and whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the regulation of such scooters.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has collected robust evidence on the e-scooter trials, but with what is still relatively new technology there remains things that can be learnt. The Department will extend e-scooter trials to 31 May 2026, and use this additional time to supplement our evidence and draw on further experience. The Government remains committed to legislating when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to extend rental e-scooter trials beyond May 2024.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government will extend e-scooter trials beyond May 2024 for a further two years, to 31 May 2026.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing dedicated parking locations for (a) shared bikes, (b) e-bikes and (c) scooters.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Dedicated locations for cycle parking is a matter for local authorities. In 2020 the Department published guidance on cycle infrastructure design, which includes guidance for local authorities on providing cycle parking.
Local authorities, in partnership with e-scooter rental operators, are responsible for running the e-scooter trials and are able to control how they run in their areas. This can include specifying where e-scooters should be parked or docked.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of active travel funding on (a) the number of journeys undertaken (i) on foot or (ii) by bike, (b) air quality in towns and cities, (c) overall carbon emissions and (d) the transition to net-zero.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government has done more than any other to support walking and cycling and over the course of this Parliament will be investing over £3 billion in active travel from a wide range of funding streams. The Government’s most recent assessment of progress towards meeting its active travel goals was set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy report to Parliament in July 2022. The Department will provide an updated assessment in its next report to Parliament in due course which will be published alongside the third statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS3).
The carbon savings from active travel make up a relatively small percentage of the total projected carbon savings outlined in the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan. As such, the impact of changes to active travel funding on the ability of the government to meet its overall climate change targets is likely to be small. We will continue to monitor progress, and will adapt and take further action if needed to decarbonise transport in line with our carbon budgets and 2050 net zero target.
Active travel schemes can also play an important role in improving air quality, but this will vary from one area to another and the impacts will also depend on the extent to which active travel journeys replace journeys made by other modes, particularly the private car.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) micro-mobility, (b) shared bike and (c) e-bike schemes on (i) levels of active travel, (ii) air quality and (iii) emissions.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The National E-scooter Evaluation found that by December 2021 rental e-scooter journeys mostly replaced walking journeys (42%), followed by private motor vehicles or taxis (21%). However, the proportion of walking journeys being replaced reduced over time, while the proportion of private motor vehicle or taxi journeys being replaced increased over time.
One of the potential benefits of using an e-scooter instead of driving is that it may reduce emissions and improve air quality. The National E-scooter Evaluation estimated a total reduction of between 269 and 348 tonnes of CO2e (to December 2021) across the five case study areas due to modal shift from cars to rental e-scooters.
The Department has made no assessment on the potential impact of shared bike or e-bike schemes on the levels of active travel, air quality or emissions.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made against its target of 50% of journeys in towns and cities to be walked and cycled by 2030.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government’s latest walking and cycling statistics, published in August 2023, show that in 2022 the proportion of short local journeys made by active travel in towns and cities was 46%.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Government’s evaluation of the e-scooter trials, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of escooter use on Government targets relating to (a) carbon emissions and (b) active travel.
Answered by Jesse Norman
His Majesty The King will set out the Government's legislative agenda for the next parliamentary session on 7 November.
The Government recognises that people want to take advantage of the opportunities e-scooters can offer. The Department is committed to encouraging innovation in transport, whilst ensuring new modes of transport are safe and secure by design.
There are several potential benefits to micromobility vehicles. They offer an alternative means of transport to those who would usually drive a car, and they could be an additional means of transport for people with certain disabilities.
E-scooters are less polluting than petrol and diesel powered vehicles at point of use. Therefore, using an e-scooter instead of driving is expected to reduce emissions and improve air quality. The Department’s national evaluation of the e-scooter trials estimated a total reduction between 269 to 348 tonnes of CO2e (to December 2021) across five case study areas due to modal shift from cars to rental e-scooters. However, more data needs to be gathered to understand lifecycle emissions of rental e-scooters.
The Department is aware of the observed mode shift from active travel to micromobility in the trials. The evaluation found that by December 2021 rental e-scooter journeys most commonly replaced walking journeys (42 per cent), followed by private motor vehicles or taxis (21 per cent). However, the proportion of walking journeys replaced reduced over time, while the proportion of private motor vehicle or taxi journeys being replaced increased over time. The evaluation also found that frequent rental users were less likely to have travelled by foot in the absence of a rental e-scooter than infrequent users.
Users of e-scooters in current trials are required to have a provisional driving licence. The Department is currently considering options for e-scooter regulations and will publicly consult before any new regulations come into force, including on licensing.