It’s always heartening to report on some good news, which comes this month across three modes: car club; integration with rail; the shared e-scooter trials.
This is due to a welcome report from the London Assembly’s Transport Committee on how TfL is stalling on car clubs. We agree and feel listened to after our evidence was cited so much in their report. We hope now to see action from TfL.
We also feel listened to by the Rail Safety and Standards Board’s multi-modal integration report, which pays significant attention to the opportunities for more sustainable journeys via better integration between rail and shared transport, as well as mobility hubs.
And we feel listened to from DfT introducing some welcome, if rather modest, positive steps on shared e-scooter trials. We will continue to make the case for further steps forward on this agenda.
More on all these items below and let me close by saying how heartening it is that pop up hubs project in Scotland has been nominated for a Scottish Transport Award and to update you on two promotions in the still small but always mighty CoMoUK team.
Keep in touch,
Richard Dilks
Chief Executive, CoMoUK
News & insights 🗞️
TfL is stalling car clubs – London Assembly
The London Assembly’s Transport Committee has published a report on car clubs which criticises the lack of a city-wide strategy on this from TfL and says its approach should be “urgently” revisited. It finds a “patchwork approach” to car clubs in the capital, with councils left to create their own strategies and making it more difficult for operators.
We welcome these findings, which back up and echo our extensive research on car clubs and the evidence we submitted to the Committee. CoMoUK is cited no fewer than 29 times in the 22-page report.
Our chief executive commented: “This is an important and timely report. Its recommendations for the Mayor to produce a pan-London action plan on car clubs within the next year, feature car clubs appropriately in the next London Plan, and produce an awareness campaign, are all solid starting points. The capital once led the way in this area, but is now sadly lagging behind other major European cities.”
We will continue to engage TfL on London’s car club needs and potential and look forward to its response to the Committee’s report.
New rail multi-modal integration guide heavily features shared transport
The Rail Safety and Standards Board has published its multi-modal integration guide and we are pleased to see that there is a strong emphasis on what a complementary role shared transport and mobility hubs can play with rail travel. We put in a great deal of evidence to the RSSB and feel listened to as a result.
Train Operating Companies are currently required to outline their current position and strategy on integrating with other sustainable modes. We hope that this document helps them with that.
We are continuing to engage with the rail sector and DfT on this agenda (including via a recent webinar) as there is so much more potential to be realised.
DfT makes some positive moves on e-scooter trials
We are encouraged that the Department for Transport is allowing any previously closed shared e-scooter trials to re-open, subject to them being able to meet current trial requirements. This is a change – and in our view a positive one.
Ministers have also agreed trial boundary changes or fleet size changes where there is a clear learning opportunity. This is a step forward from the previous position where these changes were allowed only for essential safety, legal or operational reasons.
We welcome these moves, but we continue to press for trial extensions (the current trials end in May 2026), new trials where authorities and operators are keen to have them and ultimately the much-needed primary legislation to bring settled, full legal status to e-scooters and potentially other low-powered, light, zero tailpipe vehicles.
City of London cycling report – all cycling up; ‘dockless’ dramatically up
As a reflection on how much so-called ‘dockless’ bike share has grown in London in recent years, take a look at the latest City of London ‘City Streets’ report.
Page 19 in particular depicts the dramatic shifts going on, with a 340% increase in ‘dockless’ shared bike use from 2022 to 2024, alongside a 42% increase in use of the TfL Santander scheme and a 36% increase in personal cycling. Four of the Square Mile’s streets have more than twice as many people cycling on them compared with 2022.
We use the word ‘dockless’ in inverted commas as increasingly the established practice across London and elsewhere is for such schemes to operate from designated parking areas.
No such change happens in a vacuum: there has been a 24% decrease in motor vehicles in the City of London since 2019. Cycling is now the dominant single traffic mode in the City, for the first time.
CoMoUK staff promotions
Congratulations to Laura Wright, promoted to Scotland Director and to Dr. Patrick Utz, promoted to Head of Consultancy and Research.
CoMoUK are proud to announce that we have been shortlisted for a Scottish Transport Award for Most Innovative Transport Project of the year for our pop-up hubs project – we are delighted to see shared transport initiatives recognised at a national level.
Watch this space to find out more about the next phases of our pop-up hub work.
CoMoUK consultancy services
CoMoUK provides generic guidance free of charge to all public authorities in addition to our regular free to attend local authority only meetings and always being happy to have a 1:1 discussion with an authority.
Where bespoke support is required, we do also offer a range of tailored consultancy services, including:
Development of shared transport and mobility hub strategies
Impartial market analysis including socio-spatial analysis
Scheme design
Stakeholder consultation
Procurement advice
Critical friend review of client documents such as shared transport strategy, procurement documents or planning applications
Contigo Mobility offers both 2 and 3- wheeled shared EV and hydrogen motorcycle services.
Shared transport user quote of the month:
"Since choosing to live without a car for environmental reasons, having access to a car on the very rare occasions that we have needed one is very helpful. Being able to hire by the hour is a bonus."
Male user from Harrogate, Car Club Annual Report 2023
