Author name: Steven Edwards

Roger Harrabin BBC environment analyst

Multi-billion pound plans for roads and railways in the UK are being reviewed, as travel patterns shift in response to the Covid pandemic.

It comes as BBC research suggests 43 of the UK’s biggest employers won’t bring workers back to the office full-time.
Traffic is expected to be below the long term average.
The BBC has learned that civil servants are studying transport expansion plans to see which are still viable.
Stephen Joseph, a visiting professor at the University of Hertfordshire, told BBC News: “Of course they’re going to have to review their investment – the Treasury will be asking them to justify it – and some schemes just can’t be justified.”
The government has been approached for comment. It hasn’t revealed details of any schemes that might potentially be cut.
The Prime Minister has previously re-committed himself to £100bn spending on HS2 rail, which was designed in part to relieve congestion on the Euston to Birmingham route.

The French Ministry of Ecologial Transition has announced plans to create a subsidy for packages delivered by cargo bike.
The proposals, which could become active by June of this year, are set to provide up to two euros per package for the first 500,000 in the inaugural year, then up to €1.30 for 1.5 million packages in year 2, and €0.6 for 3 million packages in the third year. These funds will be paid to those providing the delivery service.
Funded by France’s CEE energy saving certificates scheme, the subsidy will support the shift away from van-based delivery toward cargo bikes with the three year financial assistance. Thus far, four test cities are to enjoy the benefit; Angers Loire; Greater Reims; Paris-Est-Marne et Bois and the Grenoble-Alpes.

When designing neighbourhoods, the aspiration should be for everyone to live within a short walk, cycle or scoot of such amenities and all basic facilities, for example significant green space and a transport hub for onward connections, when and if required.
For decades, planning has been about mobility: helping people get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. It’s been about ‘how far you can go’ in a given amount of time, rather than ‘how much you can get to’ in that time.
This webinar will explore how planning and land use frameworks can support proximity planning and so support the move to net zero:
• a focus on access and people’s needs, not their speed of travel, especially now that working and living patterns have been significantly – and permanently – disrupted

• will proximity planning prioritise efficiency – is this just another framework that values speed over access? How will it work equitably?

• does the current planning framework support proximity planning? Are changes needed?

• the relative cost of transport investments – pedestrians and cycling infrastructure is relatively cheap and represents excellent value

• will the overall demand for travel will decline as key services and jobs become closer and more accessible?

• will local town and centres replace urban cores as key? Evidence shows that demand has risen for green, multi-use neighbourhoods outside traditional business districts

Living Streets’ National Walking Month survey reveals that people have enjoyed most about walking more this past year

Lockdowns and coronavirus restrictions mean that the past year has seen people walking more. Now, as lockdown restrictions ease, three-quarters of people will keep walking to stay physically healthy, whilst a third will do so to reduce their carbon footprint, according to new research released for Living Streets’ National Walking Month. 

Living Streets, the UK walking charity for everyday walking polled over 2,100 people to find out what they have enjoyed most about walking more and what would encourage them to keep walking as lockdown restrictions ease.

According to analysis of policies by Cycling Industries Europe describing post-pandemic recovery plans, more than half of EU member states have yet to develop meaningful bike-based transport initiatives, despite strengthened 2030 climate targets.
A deadline of April 30th looms large for submissions of Recovery Plans to the European Commission and 21 of 27, thus far, do not prominently detail cycling for transport incentives, with many defaulting to electric cars and public transport as a means to bring down CO2 emissions. Funding is on offer in order to help drive Europe’s progress toward net zero goals, but as it stands active travel is again broadly overlooked as part of a solution.Long criticised for its car-centric policy making and subsidy generosity, Germany is one member state focusing energies on the car with €3.2 billion in grants for electric and hybrid car uptake, but noting for lighter electric vehicles such as e-bikes; this despite having a outlined a vision to become a ‘cycling nation’ by 2030.

3/5/21
Have you always wanted to get on a bike, but something is holding you back? This is the programme for you, presented by Melanie Abbott. If you’re completely new to cycling, there’s no doubt it’s intimidating on the roads. It’s definitely worth sharpening up your road sense and many local councils now offer bike training courses. In East London, Bikeworks run cycling for wellbeing sessions for women returning to their bikes, after a long break. Melanie goes out with a group who’ve been cycling together now for a few weeks.
Many disabled women find accessing sport particularly difficult and cycling can seem completely off limits and/or too expensive. But there are inclusive cycle groups all over the country offering weekly sessions on a huge range of adapted bikes. Others arrange rentals and ‘try before you buy’.

The Treasury cannot explain how it will manage declines in tax revenues worth £37bn from fossil fuels as the UK shifts to a clean economy, MPs have warned.
Meeting the net zero goal to curb global temperature rises and tackle the climate crisis requires cutting emissions as close to zero as possible and offsetting any remaining pollution with steps such as planting trees.
It will mean significant shifts in how people live their lives in the next few years, including ending sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and shifting to electric vehicles – which will eat into the £28bn a year in fuel duty revenues.
The committee said the Treasury had told the MPs the government did not have a plan for the reduction in tax revenue on fossil fuels and greenhouse gases, which, in addition to fuel duty, includes £9bn of other taxes.

A new report submitted to the Transport Select Committee by academic group Greener Transport Solutions suggests a pay-per-mile scheme should be mandatory by as early as 2030.
The report suggests road pricing could be an effective way to offset lost revenues from the switch to electric vehicles (EVs).
It adds the scheme could also hold the key to issues such as congestion and low air quality.
It also notes policymakers should consider allowing EV drivers to opt into the scheme from 2023 to incentivise electrification of transport and encourage more motorists to ditch petrol and diesel cars.