Our Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer, Matthew Ledbury, has been digesting the Government’s recent Transport Decarbonisation Plan from a shared transport perspective.
The recent Transport Decarbonisation Plan could turn out to be the most significant national document yet published for shared transport. The keyword being ‘could’. As is often the case with government plans and strategies, stating the aims is the easy bit – it is translating these into meaningful action where the challenge begins. Nonetheless, we are generally heartened at how Government has clearly listened to the points we have made previously to them about shared transport.
In the foreword, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps outlines how shared transport could be part of a blended mix in the future. “You'll still keep a car for some journeys – or maybe borrow one from a car club – but you'll also have an electric bike to get you to the station, perhaps take it on the train and ride it off the other end, doing the door-to-door journey in a different way,” he says.
A key output in the plan is the Local Authority Toolkit, due to be published later this year and aimed at providing guidance on building business cases, developing innovative sustainable transport policies, securing funding, and improving delivery. Shared transport is likely to feature prominently in this. It will include promoting all-electric car clubs – the plan says that these can, “lead the transition to zero emission vehicles” – and incentives to improve infrastructure for electric vehicles. There will be additional guidance specifically on support for shared car ownership and shared occupancy schemes.
The toolkit will also look at how to better use existing planning powers to implement low carbon transport, including best practice implementation for mobility hubs. Elsewhere, the plan signals its support for Mobility as a Service: a new Code of Practice to, “signal the UK’s intent for MaaS to shape future transport outcomes”.
One area that is lacking in the plan is bike sharing: while there is much focus on increasing cycling and walking generally, including a target for half of all urban journeys to be cycled or walked by 2030, there is nothing specific on bike share aside from expanding cycle hire provision at rail stations. This is a point we have already made to the Department and it has been taken onboard.
CoMoUK wants to make the most of the opportunity that the plan provides. We are already engaging with the Department for Transport to try and ensure that the promising aims do lead to meaningful action. Do get in touch if you would like to.
‘Decarbonising Transport’ is available using the link below:
Decarbonising transport: a better, greener Britain
