The Route to Tomorrow’s Journeys is the MCIA’s response to the government’s Future of Mobility, Urban Strategy. The latter was prepared by the Department for Transport in March. On 26 June, the MCIA, in association with the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCvp), launched its own strategy document designed to show politicians how the motorcycle industry could help in the imperative to cut emissions and congestion.
The Route puts PLVs (powered light vehicles) centre stage as a solution for many of the government’s strategy principles. The government states that “mass transit must remain fundamental to an efficient transport system”, to which the response is “PLVs can complement many mass transit journeys and also help address road capacity issues on key commuter corridors”. And “New mobility services must lead the transition to zero emissions”, states the DfT document. To which the MCIA and LowCvp answer is: “Many PLVs are new designs incorporating zero-emission powertrains.”
PLVs already make up a major part of the so-called gig economy and this is set to increase with the inclusion of commercial PLVs to do the ‘last-mile’ deliveries from urban hubs by reducing congestion and emissions.
The Route also addresses all the peripheral issues of vehicle safety, pre-test and post-test training, anti-theft measures and even encourages the use of PPE for PLV users. It is a comprehensive document that should be compulsory reading for any dealer, ATB, local highways department, environmentalists and anyone with half an eye on the future, writes Rick Kemp. After all, 30 years isn’t long to change the country as we know it and reach carbon neutrality.
“We’re at a point that the government phrases as ‘grand challenges for future transport’ and I believe we’re the first industry to respond to the government’s policy of a zero-carbon situation by 2050,” said the MCIA’s CEO Tony Campbell, pictured above. “It starts now and we’re already at the table, we’re the first to react. PLVs play a key role in allowing people to choose the right vehicle for the right journey. We’ve been speaking individually with authorities and big-city planners – they believe in finding a solution, and we’re an important part of that jigsaw.”
The MCIA strategy was launched on at the London Transport Museum.