CoMoUK is a registered charity, dedicated to the social, economic and environmental benefits of shared transport. Shared transport includes car clubs, bikeshare and e-bikeshare schemes, liftshare in cars, e-scooter share, Digital Demand Responsive Transport (flexible bus) services and infrastructure in the form of ‘mobility hubs’ that integrate shared transport, public transport and active travel modes. Shared transport has a unique and crucial role, offering individual use of a mode of transport while not requiring personal ownership of it.
CoMoUK works closely with local, regional, transport and national authorities in the UK to develop shared transport schemes and mobility hubs, which we accredit. We produce extensive guidance on implementing shared transport, and we conduct unique research into the sector.
We welcome the opportunity to feed into the inquiry on Strategic Road Investment in England, focussing on these areas:
The Road Investment Strategy has to be designed to deliver on wider transport goals, in particular meeting net zero targets and improving air quality. The importance of these goals means that there needs to be a move away from a reactive approach to current traffic levels that is implicit in the questioning of whether the government’s roads programme is, “meeting the current and future needs of consumers and business”. The strategic priorities should be those laid out in the 2021 Transport Decarbonisation Plan: decarbonising the freight system, including shifting freight from road to more sustainable modes, and using cars differently and less often with new technology helping reducing their carbon footprint.
We welcome the recently-published policy paper from the Department for Transport and National Highways, ‘Strategic road network and the delivery of sustainable development’, which outlines how the strategic road network can actively supporting the commitments in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan. The policy paper makes clear that National Highways will back initiatives that reduce the need to travel by private car, and any development proposals on the SRN are expected to maximise opportunities for walking, wheeling, cycling, public transport and shared transport. We were pleased to see shared transport referenced favourably throughout the policy paper, with it highlighted as one of the ways in which modal shift can help reduce car dependency.
As well as meeting the aims of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, any revision of the Road Investment Strategy should also be aligned with other relevant guidance. The current plans to update the Network Management Duty guidance offer a clear opportunity to ensure better alignment between the two. Guidance documents from within the DfT should as far as possible be pushing clearly in the same direction and delivering more effectively on overall decarbonisation goals through their coordination.
On future development, the SRN should be encouraged to create a network of mobility hubs at suitable nodes. These can transform the provision of sustainable transport options by bringing public, shared and active travel modes together and allowing easy switching between them. Technological innovation is increasing the appeal and flexibility of shared transport through rapid changes in hardware such as shared e-bikes, e-cargo bikes, and e-scooters as well as MaaS-type and other software. The growth of electric vehicles is also being championed by car clubs, with 12% of car club vehicles in the UK already fully electric (ten times the level of the general car fleet).
Enhancing the role of shared transport in the Strategic Road Network can help deliver on the transport sector’s net zero goals while also providing better alternatives for consumers and business. This will follow societal trends which are leading to the greater relevance of shared transport, with stronger attitudes of younger generations in favour of access over ownership. There are now approaching 3 million people who are members or users of shared car and bike schemes in the UK, and shared transport is proven to deliver on decarbonisation at very substantial levels – for example, each car club car displaces 20 private cars and each bike share user reduces carbon emissions by 1kg CO2e per week. More information on these points can be found in our annual car share report and our bike share report.
We would be more than happy to discuss any of these points further on request.
February 2023