My letter in "The News" - 'Pay as you drive' will boost cycling

This letter from me was published in a recent edition of B&D Council's newspaper, The News:

Well , another writer on cycling ("Please spend cycle investment wisely", thenews, 2 April). I'll be out of a job - voluntary, by the way!

I don't want to disparage someone who wants to encourage cycling, but I do think I should point out some of the pitfalls of Mrs Green's suggestions. Cycle tracks on pavements arguably need to be clear of opening car

doors to avoid collisions. And for every person who argues cycling should be on the pavement, there's

someone else saying it should be on the road.

I think the idea of banning car parking in cycle lanes is rather optimistic. There's the enforcement issue - have

a look at the cycle track in Pickering Road, Barking. It's constantly full of parked cars.

Mrs Green's letter strikes right at the heart of why Barking and Dagenham is really a driving borough.

Government policy encourages us to buy cars, and cars have high fixed costs. There, parked outside your

home, is your lovely warm and comfortable car, with a full tank of petrol and much of your hard-earned cash

already committed to it. So you use it - of course you do. Yet most cars spend most of their time parked, unused, wasted. 

I think that if you don't use your car, you shouldn't have to pay. An easy way of doing this would be to shift all the costs of driving onto the pump price of fuel, rather than vehicle excise duty (not 'road tax', which doesn't exist), VAT on cars and insurance - all costs you pay whether or not you use your car. 

The "pay as you drive" way of  doing things model would encourage economical driving and economical

cars. Some people might even give up their car and just hire one when they need it. The changes I suggest would boost local shops and amenities, as the cost of the drive to a out-of-town supermarket would make it much less attractive. In rural areas, the village shop and pub would spring back to life. And with fewer parked cars, there'd be more room for cycling and public transport, and more cycling, as the cost would be attractive compared to driving. More buses and trains, and lower fares, too - wonderful virtuous circles.

Colin Newman

Leader, London Cycling Campaign

Barking and Dagenham branch