As daylight hours begin to slowly dwindle and Autumn approaches. the government has launched its much-delayed Transport Oecarbonisation Plan (TOP). to mixed reactions from the wider transport
and energy industries and. indeed. environmentalists everywhere.
While some have welcomed it as a big step forward. others have derided it for its limited reach and lad􀀈 of urgency, in terms of both technological measures. and also ways in which it might effect behavioural change. And it’s behavioural change, which we as a society and planet, would see the most benefits from.
Reacting to the TOP. energy policy expert. Professor Noam Bergman from the University of Sussex Business School. said: “While it is good to see the government fleshing out more of its low carbon transport strategy, there are still limitations to its approach. “Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, told Parliament: ‘It’s not about stopping people doing things, it’s about doing the same things differently. We will still fly on holiday, but in more efficient aircraft, using sustainable fuel. We will still drive, but increasingly in zero emission cars’.” “Therein lies the rub. The underlying assumption here is that technology is the solution, and all we have to do is buy a ‘clean’ car or a ticet on a ‘clean’ plane, but not change our practices or behaviour. This approach risRs undermining efforts for a deeper transformation of transport. Ambitious action with communities having a say on greening their transport options should start now.”
So, if technology isn’t the solution, then what is? The government has stated its ‘ambition is to mae cycling and waling the natural choices for shorter journeys, or as part of a longer journey by 2040’, so surely it would have made sense to have given cycling, and provisions for cycling a much larger focus in the plan? With more than 300 cycling and waling schemes having already been installed, Shapps stated “we have clear evidence that, where they are done properly, they wor and are popular”. Surely a no-brainer?
Cycling rose by 46% last year. a greater rise than across the whole of the previous 20 years and easily the biggest increase in post-war history, so it seems that ‘communities greening their transport options’ is already underway, but where is the nationwide push to get all of us on our bi Res? Cities. such as Bath and Edinburgh, have been home to the very first Sustrans traffic free path and a well-developed network of on and off-road routes, respectively. They have both long been cycling strongholds with proactive councils and strong local cycling advocacy. It would be good to now that similar approaches were being extended nationwide in national schemes, even into the countryside, with a centralised push to de-technify the way in which we get around. with a focus on eliciting the behaviour changes which we need to see in society in order to truly decarbonise. This could be done by fully promoting a mode of transport that is not just good for the environment. but also good for ourselves.
I hope you enjoy this issue and feel suitably inspired to get out on your biRe. If you’ve had any adventures of your own. or have any other cycling related news, views and stories you’d Ii Re to share, then please don’t hesitate to contact me at barnaby.dracup@) bike-mag.com
Get on your bike, have fun. be safe.
Thanks,

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• Bloomberg Businessweek Europe – November 08, 2021
• Architecture Australia – November-December 2021