CoMoUK call on next London Mayor to accelerate rollout of shared transport

The national shared transport charity Collaborative Mobility UK (CoMoUK) has published a manifesto in which it calls on the next Mayor of London to support and develop shared transport in the city.

The charity warn that London is missing out on the potential of shared transport and indeed, a Clean Cities report last year highlighted how the UK is entirely failing to get to grips with the concept. 

In the report, London scored 17% for its provision of shared scooters and bikes, and just 5% for the number of shared electric cars available to the population. In the latter category, Manchester and Birmingham both scored 0%

CoMoUK consider shared transport to be about providing people with individual access to cars, bikes, and other vehicles without the need for personal ownership. It covers car clubs, bike share schemes, public e-scooter hire, demand-responsive public transport services, and lift-sharing services.

In their manifesto the charity’s primary request is that all mayoral candidates commit to revising the Mayor’s Transport Strategy to shared transport and actively promote shared transport as an alternative to car ownership.

They also call on the next mayor to work with London Councils to deliver a city-wide approach to shared cars, bikes and e-scooters, and to plan a network of mobility hubs – where people can easily switch between modes of transport – across the capital.

Another policy they suggest is a  mobility credits scheme which would allow people to scrap their cars in return for credit that could be redeemed on public transport or in the form of car club or bike share membership.

A two-year trial of a similar scheme in Coventry saw  hundreds of drivers scrapping their cars in return for credits worth up to £3,000, which they could spend on public transport, taxis, bike shares or car clubs.

Richard Dilks, chief executive of CoMoUK, said: ‘London stands on the verge of an historic opportunity to improve how people move around our capital. Shared transport can play an even more major role on this in the future as we are unfortunately not currently making the most of the huge popularity of shared transport among people who live here. Provision is patchy and this needs to be urgently improved.

‘Our manifesto contains a series of forward-thinking policies that all of the candidates in the election should be embracing to drive behaviour change.

‘We look forward to engaging with all parties and persuading them of the numerous benefits of shared transport, from cutting road congestion to better health for all.’