If you read our piece promoting the use of two wheels as a safer, self-isolating mode of transport yesterday and want to help fight the cause, here’s your chance. The MCIA – Motorcycle Industry Association, have sent out a call for riders to lobby parliament.
The benefits of riding far outweigh any negatives, especially if you’re having to go back to work and use public transport. Despite this, Grant Shapp excluded powered two-wheelers from his briefing, as did Boris. Which seems a complete travesty.
COPY FOR E-MAIL TO YOUR LOCAL MP
Include your name and address
Dear Mr/Ms (INSERT YOUR MP’s SURNAME HERE)
I am writing to you as one of your constituents who is a user of a Powered Two Wheeler (PTW) who would like to know why Government is not endorsing their use as an alternative to public transport.
PTWs, in the form of low and zero-emission scooters and light motorcycles, are a clean and efficient transport mode that require little road space for travel or parking and which can meet the needs of a variety of commuters, while at the same time fulfilling their social distancing and environmental obligations.
In the current climate they are the perfect alternative for those who would usually use public transport, but for whom walking and cycling are not viable options. Access to small PTWs is straightforward, with most requiring just the completion of a one-day training course, called CBT.
With so much going for them, it could be assumed that they would be heavily promoted by Government, as the country works towards easing lockdown, but unfortunately, that is not the case.
In his briefing on Saturday, 9th May, the Secretary for State for Transport, the Rt. Hon. Grant Shapps MP, when promoting alternatives for public transport, extolled the road congesting private car and fast-tracked the consultation on un-regulated e-scooters, but ignored PTWs, even though they are already the choice of more than a million road users, like me, who are legal and regulated.
Consequently, I would very much appreciate your assistance in encouraging Government and others to promote PTWs as a valid alternative to public transport and beyond.
Yours faithfully
Write to your MP
The MCIA is asking for riders to write to their local MP, you can find yours here: Who is my MP? They’ve even provided a template letter (above) for you to copy and paste to make life easier. It’ll only take you a couple of minutes to copy the text, fill in the blanks and email it off.
The MCIA have asked for any replies received to be emailed to them at: covid19support@mcia.co.uk
Are you commuting?
Let us know what’s happening out there, whether it’s on public transport or the roads. You can comment on this post, or send photos to: editorial@scooterlab.uk
SLUK Shop – social distance shopping with a personal touch
If you read our piece promoting the use of two wheels as a safer, self-isolating mode of transport yesterday and want to help fight the cause, here’s your chance. The MCIA – Motorcycle Industry Association, have sent out a call for riders to lobby parliament.
The benefits of riding far outweigh any negatives, especially if you’re having to go back to work and use public transport. Despite this, Grant Shapp excluded powered two-wheelers from his briefing, as did Boris. Which seems a complete travesty.
COPY FOR E-MAIL TO YOUR LOCAL MP
Include your name and address
Dear Mr/Ms (INSERT YOUR MP’s SURNAME HERE)
I am writing to you as one of your constituents who is a user of a Powered Two Wheeler (PTW) who would like to know why Government is not endorsing their use as an alternative to public transport.
PTWs, in the form of low and zero-emission scooters and light motorcycles, are a clean and efficient transport mode that require little road space for travel or parking and which can meet the needs of a variety of commuters, while at the same time fulfilling their social distancing and environmental obligations.
In the current climate they are the perfect alternative for those who would usually use public transport, but for whom walking and cycling are not viable options. Access to small PTWs is straightforward, with most requiring just the completion of a one-day training course, called CBT.
With so much going for them, it could be assumed that they would be heavily promoted by Government, as the country works towards easing lockdown, but unfortunately, that is not the case.
In his briefing on Saturday, 9th May, the Secretary for State for Transport, the Rt. Hon. Grant Shapps MP, when promoting alternatives for public transport, extolled the road congesting private car and fast-tracked the consultation on un-regulated e-scooters, but ignored PTWs, even though they are already the choice of more than a million road users, like me, who are legal and regulated.
Consequently, I would very much appreciate your assistance in encouraging Government and others to promote PTWs as a valid alternative to public transport and beyond.
Yours faithfully
Write to your MP
The MCIA is asking for riders to write to their local MP, you can find yours here: Who is my MP? They’ve even provided a template letter (above) for you to copy and paste to make life easier. It’ll only take you a couple of minutes to copy the text, fill in the blanks and email it off.
The MCIA have asked for any replies received to be emailed to them at: covid19support@mcia.co.uk
Almost deserted London train station yesterday – how is it today? Image by Michal Kluzinski
Are you commuting?
Let us know what’s happening out there, whether it’s on public transport or the roads. You can comment on this post, or send photos to: editorial@scooterlab.uk
SLUK Shop – social distance shopping with a personal touch
Both my local MP and a slightly amended version have been sent to the main protagonist of this omission Mr Shapps have received an email from me.
Lets see if it will spark some sort of action?
But if its only going to be the 2% of us taking action as always!
It’s a hiding to nothing!
Looks like Mr Shapps has made an apology for forgetting the use of scooters and mopeds as a viable alternative to get back to work according to MAG.
However that doesn’t mean that you can sit back and do nothing like normal.
keep the letters and emails going.
Lets see if either Mr Shapps or Bozza mention using ptw’s in further speeches.
If they don’t then lets email bomb them again.
Also while we are contacting our MP’s.Can we ask how a diesel taxi pays no road tax,because of it’s emissions.Yet I pay £40 plus for my new euro emissions Vespa?????
It’s because there is a bias towards cars. Kevin by using our scooters we are doing everyone a favour. Taking up less room, creating less damage to roads and the environment, using less fossil fuels and parking closer than anyone to our destination. They should be paying us.