All intelligent and right-thinking people – usually known as bikers – can see that motorbikes are the perfect way to get to work while social distancing during the Coronacrisis.
As Royal Enfield CEO Vinod Dasari said in this column two weeks ago, after the crisis downturn, biking will bounce back much stronger, for with social distancing likely to be in place for months, if not years, commuters will spurn public transport and taxis, making motorcycles an obvious alternative.
Not to mention scooters and three-wheelers like the Piaggio MP3. When it was launched in 2006, 150,000 Europeans rushed out and bought one, because it wouldn’t fall over and was nippy and narrow enough to filter, so they could get to work in a flash, park anywhere, spend 5p a year on fuel thanks to a frugal 125cc engine and, best of all, ride it on a car licence.
As a result, it’s the most popular scooter in Europe, and there are more of them than warm baguettes in Paris, so they, scooters and motorbikes could easily be just as popular in London or elsewhere in the UK for wary commuters.
Maxi-scooters such as the BMW C 650 or Suzuki Burgman, meanwhile, are fast enough for comfortable longer-distance motorway commuting.
And as for cost, a PCP deal on the Honda PCX125, the UK’s best-selling scooter is a piffling deposit of £245.61 then 36 months at £59 a month, compared to £138.70 a month for a Zone 1-2 Tube season ticket.
An electric Super Soco is £64.61 a month, or £58.15 for key workers, plus about £4 a month in electricity for an average commute instead of up to £40 for petrol.
Which is why MCIA, the UK’s Motorcycle Industry Association, is furious with Transport Minister Grant Shapps for pledging £2billion for cyclist and walkers, but not even mentioning motorcycles and scooters in this vision for the future of commuting until a magic bullet is found for Coronavirus.
“For the last 18 months, MCIA has re-established relationships with Government and has had many positive meetings and encouraging signs that powered two-wheelers are, at last, being seen as part of the solution to the country’s transport problems,” said MCIA’s Head of Marketing Nick Broomhall.
“We were therefore staggered to hear in Grant Shapps’s briefing on the 9th of May that no mention was made of PTWs as an alternative to public transport.
“We urge people to write to their MPs asking 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, Grant Shapps...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.”
MCIA CEO Tony Campbell said: “After writing to Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, without response, it is both surprising and disappointing that the Government appears naïve in not recognising motorcycles and scooters, especially those with low or zero emissions, as the obvious solution to the new challenges of isolated transport.
“Encouraging commuters to drive their cars into congested towns and city centres completely contradicts Government’s objectives on climate change. Yet again, it appears that Government’s blinkered thinking is standing in the way of common sense.”
MCIA Chairman Paul de Lusignan said: “With all the challenges Government are facing as a result of Covid-19, it was with great surprise and disappointment that the Minister for Transport continues to overlook motorcycles and scooters as the obvious answer to moving people in a safe way as the nation returns to work.
“We very much hope the Government will soon realise powered two-wheelers are part of the solution and should be encouraged.”
According to the RAC, the average commuting distance for vehicle drivers in England in 2019 was 9.9 miles.
The average UK commute is 58 minutes and 81 minutes in London.
You can find a template for an email to your MP at mcia.co.uk
