APPG 2030 Ban

Fair Fuel APPG for UK Motorists and UK Hauliers August 2021 Page | 52 Their obsession with electrification is all consuming, even if that costly goal is bad for the environment (as well as for lower earning families and the British economy). As things stand, they will fail on a target which would only serve to make long distance personal travel all-but-impossible, unless you are rich enough to buy a top-of-the-range electric vehicle, lucky enough to find somewhere to plug it in and ahead of schedule enough to wait for the time-consuming re-charge. By contrast, a 125cc motorbike can easily get around 90 miles per gallon or better, and a typical 250cc machine can make the longer trips for little environmental footprint, and a much lower manufacturing footprint than any commercially available electric car on the planet. There is also a worrying question of the effect of large arrays of batteries in the event of an accident, and subsequent fire. For many batteries, all you need for a fire is the presence of oxygen – in other words, a damaged battery becomes a huge fire hazard (which is why you must never pack your mobile phone in your hold luggage on an aeroplane). The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) is one of many groups ready, willing, and able to work with Government to create a sustainable, long-term transport strategy that keeps the United Kingdom at the forefront of technological evolution and economic viability. We are not here to score points, only to stop own goals that will affect the millions of travellers in the UK who will lose out if Ministers try and force a dogmatic electrification agenda on the country, without any thought for the groundwork that is essential to give such an idealistic goal any chance of success. The opposition to phasing out petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles is not nostalgic or a refusal to move with the times. It’s practical. The current proposals the Government is putting forward are unrealistic, tokenistic, and authoritarian, for no demonstrated health or environmental benefit. One practical alternative - modal shift from four wheels to two creates, is just one of many demonstrable examples of how to reduce in climate change gases and other emissions without praying for future technical miracles or breaking the banks of lower income earners. It’s not too late for the Government to take a more sensible approach to motive power and choice in personal transport – but it soon will be. We present the prospect to Government to work with those of us seeking to secure sensible personal travel solutions and a sustainable, organic approach to the evolution of motive power. If they ignore us, they set themselves to be condemned for forcing a politically motivated agenda on the entire country. The price for that failure will be seen in the status of the country, economically, as it inevitably abandons the 2030 target to the cost of citizens and the status of the United Kingdom as a viable place to live and do business. When it comes to motive power, it’s time for the Department for Transport to follow the facts, not the fashion. It’s time to shift towards real transport solutions, not trendy soundbites that sound like the moral high ground, but stall on the country’s highways.” Lembit Opik - Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the Motorcycle Action Group So, while the wealthy can buy heavy, costly and energy sapping electric vehicles, those commuting public who depend on humble motorbikes are doomed to staying near home, tethered by their budget, the limits of technology and range anxiety.