Let Us In
MAG asks the next Government to maximise road access for motorcycling.
Sustainable transport choice is not defined. The question ‘what is sustainable transport?’ will only elicit a list: Walking, Cycling and Public Transport.
The all-consuming clamour for policy to promote use of the prescribed list of sustainable transport modes has created a clear issue for motorcycling. Increased segregation of road space and restriction or closure of entire areas to motorised traffic has seen the motorcyclist caught in the crossfire.
Motorcycling provides a sustainable alternative to the motor car but is treated as just another motor vehicle. Motorcycles should be considered a valuable part of a sustainable transport system.
Additionally, the shortsighted policy fails to recognise the fact that motorcyclists are also vulnerable road users who, just like cyclists, could benefit from separation from larger vehicles. If the separation principle can be applied to pedal cycles, then logic would suggest the same policy be applied to motorcycles.
Motorcycle access in bus lanes, despite being proven to be perfectly safe in trial after trial and already implemented in over 48% of all bus lanes in the UK, remains a policy that is not universally adopted. After decades of campaigning there is now a consultation on default access taking place.
(The consultation is open until 16th July 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/motorcycles-in-bus-lanes )
We need any future Government to commit to delivering the expected logical outcome from that consultation with urgency.
The question and logic for differing rules for two sets of two-wheeled transport users needs to be considered in detail. The application of policies designed to manage car use should not default to motorcycles.
Government must recognise that policies developed for cars are not necessarily suitable for application to motorcycles. Bus lanes, bus gates and traffic filters, low traffic neighbourhoods and advanced stop lines are all areas where any future Government needs to Move on Motorcycling.
MAG is asking riders in the UK to get creative in their approach to placing motorcycling in the general election discourse. The ‘Act Now’ page recently added to the MAG website offers a template letter for riders to use when asking candidates for their views on motorcycling issues. Please visit the ACT NOW page now to see how you can get involved.
If you have never been a MAG member, have let your membership lapse, or are thinking you need to save some money by not renewing this year, we would love you to join, re-join or stay with us. If, like us, you are passionate about motorcycling, want to see motorcycling continue in the future, and want to preserve all that you love about it, we hope it will be an easy choice to make. MAG’s strength is in numbers. The riding community can demonstrate strength when it unites. If you want to say you played your part to defend motorcycling, please… join MAG today