Investment boost for firm that reconditions e-bikes – TransportXtra
16 June 2022
Upway, a start-up that sells reconditioned electric bikes, has raised $25m (£20m) led by investors Exor Seeds and Sequoia Capital.
The French company says it is making e-bikes more affordable and contributing to reducing waste. It believes it can contribute a modal shift where cars become the exception and e-bikes are the norm.
With eBikes prominent is now the time to invest in long distance cycle routes? – Cycle Industry News
Mark Sutton 26 May, 2022
The University of Westminster’s Active Travel Academy has launched a special edition of its journal, looking beyond the traditional focus of short, urban cycling trips to explore longer distance cycling in the age of eBikes. Laura Laker caught up with the ATA’s Tom Cohen, and read the five Active Travel Studies reports, to bring you the lowdown…
For those unused to reading academic papers they’re not always an easy read, but cover some really important ground around what long distance cycling is, how more trips could be made easier by bike and how to achieve that in an inclusive and environmentally sensitive way.
Longer distance cycling for interspecies mobility justice in Canada considers how active travel infrastructure can benefit all life, including humans, by replacing car space with cycling in a way that’s sympathetic to ecosystems and social inequalities.
The single most important climate action that cities can take – C40 Cities
Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities
I am regularly asked “what is the single most important thing that mayors can do to tackle climate change?” It is a difficult question to answer, but if we broaden the question to include reducing inequality and poverty, then few interventions can match the transformative power of prioritising the needs of pedestrians and cyclists over space for cars.
In fact, any city where a private vehicle is necessary to get around is likely to be fundamentally unequal. Data from cities across the world show that men are more likely to drive cars, while women are more likely to rely on public transport and non-motorised modes like walking and cycling. Research carried out in the UK and US found rates of car ownership that were significantly higher among white people compared to other ethnic groups. We also know that, while wealthier households are more likely to own cars, they are less likely to be living in areas with the highest levels of traffic and traffic-related pollution. Another study found that car users took up 3.5 times more public space than non-car users. A city that is designed around the car is not an equitable one.
Majority in favour of more LTNs and segregated bike tracks – Transport Xtra
Deniz Huseyin 01 June 2022
There is a strong demand for more Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in urban areas across the UK, according to a new report from Sustrans. The charity found that 66% want more LTNs while just 12% are opposed to them.
The Walking and Cycling Index, covering 17 urban areas in the UK and Ireland, includes local walking and cycling data, modelling and an independent survey representative of adult residents.
Previously called the Bike Life survey, Sustrans has extended the scope of the report to include…
Electric cars should face ‘tyre tax’, says air quality advisor – Telegraph
Oliver Gill, Chief Business Correspondent 30 May 2022
Particulates generated by tyre wear are more dangerous to public health than diesel exhaust fumes, a Government expert claims
quality in cities, the Government’s top clear air adviser has claimed.
The chairman of the Government’s independent science advisory group on air pollution said charges for low-emission zones are likely to be replaced with alternative levies as drivers switch to electric vehicles.
Particles from tyre wear are more dangerous to public health than diesel exhaust fumes, Professor Alastair Lewis said.
Known as “particulate matter (PM) 2.5”, the amount of air pollution is growing because motorists are driving ever larger vehicles with more substantial tyres.
Going Dutch? Why the British monarchy will have to modernise – ft.com
Simon Kuper
In the Netherlands, the Oranjes present themselves as a fairly ordinary if super-rich family that happens to have a crown
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands on their bikes during a visit to Friesland in 2020 © Getty Images
In the undying scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, King Arthur is pretending to ride through the British countryside. (He isn’t actually on a horse.) Spotting a peasant, he cries out “Old woman!” “Man!” corrects the peasant, and an argument ensues. When an actual female peasant (played by the male Python Terry Jones) crawls up through the mud, she’s even more combative: “Who does he think he is? Hey?”
Car tyres produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts, tests show | Pollution | The Guardian
Almost 2,000 times more particle pollution is produced by tyre wear than is pumped out of the exhausts of modern cars, tests have shown.
The tyre particles pollute air, water and soil and contain a wide range of toxic organic compounds, including known carcinogens, the analysts say, suggesting tyre pollution could rapidly become a major issue for regulators.
Air pollution causes millions of early deaths a year globally. The requirement for better filters has meant particle emissions from tailpipes in developed countries are now much lower in new cars, with those in Europe far below the legal limit. However, the increasing weight of cars means more particles are being thrown off by tyres as they wear on the road.
The tests also revealed that tyres produce more than 1tn ultrafine particles for each kilometre driven, meaning particles smaller than 23 nanometres. These are also emitted from exhausts and are of special concern to health, as their size means they can enter organs via the bloodstream. Particles below 23nm are hard to measure and are not currently regulated in either the EU or US.
Cycling UK launches bikepacking tour of Kent: 145-mile cycle route – cyclingindustry.news
26 May, 2022 Simon Cox
Cycling UK today launched its fifth route: The Cantii Way, a 145-mile (234km) bikepacking tour of Kent, starting in the village of Wye, near Ashford, as part of the charity’s EXPERIENCE project.
The route is promoted as the perfect introduction to multi-day bikepacking and cycle touring, so can be ridden in one go over 3 to 4 days. Alternatively it can be split up over several weekends as it is has regular train stations along its length.
The route GPX file is freely available https://www.cyclinguk.org/webform/cantii-way-download-gpx-file helping people access the route, and appreciate the opportunities along its length.
“It’s the most polluting form of car that you can have.” @AyoCaesar defends @GeorgeMonbiot ’s support fo TE- novaramedia
“It’s the most polluting form of car that you can have.”
@AyoCaesar defends @GeorgeMonbiot’s support of SUV tyre deflating as
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