Rays of sunshine are across my keyboard as I type, so surely spring is here at last.
We’ve plenty to put in front of you this month, including our pilot project on increasing use of shared micromobility by disabled people, funded by the Motability Foundation.
Also out are our latest metrics on use and provision of car club, shared bike and shared e-scooter services. These are unique resources, do please make use of the stories they tell.
Finally we are delighted to welcome our newest member of staff, Will Airey, and to have been putting the evidenced voice of shared transport benefits forward in a further raft of government consultations.
Keep in touch,
Richard Dilks
Chief Executive, CoMoUK
News & insights 🗞️
New pilot project encouraging use of existing micromobility by disabled people
We are delighted to be working with Motability Foundation on a groundbreaking new project which will explore innovative ways in which people with a range of disabilities can be supported to access the existing models of shared e-scooters and e-bikes, with the aim of boosting participation.
Raising the bar - Boosting the accessibility of shared micromobility is a report commissioned by Motability Foundation, which we worked on with RiDC (the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers). It shows there is a lack of awareness and confidence when it comes to using shared e-scooters and e-bikes.
This project will shortly be looking to appoint a consortium to test a range of outreach and confidence building activities over the summer.
The Guardian takes a look at car sharing
We were pleased to talk to the Guardian for this piece on car sharing and be quoted in it. It ranges widely across various forms of car sharing and covers the supply side challenges faced by operators as well as rightly pointing to strong levels of demand and popularity.
Our annual car club research report is a month or so away and we hope the refreshed evidence base it provides will be of interest.
The intense run-rate of Government consultations, calls for evidence, calls for ideas and more has continued.
This month we have responded to:
Homes England’s draft mobility hub guidance;
Haringey Council’s proposal to sharply increase car club (but not residential) parking permit fees;
the Scottish Government’s disappointing EV chargepoint consultation with its lack of content on car sharing or mobility hubs;
the Rail Safety Standards Board’s draft multi-modal integration guidance.
Common themes have been trying to ensure and enhance viability for shared transport schemes and mobility hubs via suitable policies and operating conditions.
New member of staff at CoMoUK
We are delighted to welcome Will Airey to the role of Consultancy and Research Officer. Will joins CoMoUK after almost five years as a management consultant at PwC where he supported local authorities and charities with organisation-wide strategic change programmes.
He is passionate about supporting clients to drive positive behaviour change and to use public resources effectively. He holds an MSc in International Development, Social Justice and Sustainability at the University of Bath, through which he qualitatively evaluated the impact of development interventions in a placement at Bath Social and Development Research.
Will is an avid photographer, hiker, and organiser with environmental campaigning groups in Bristol.
Guest blog post: Moonlight Energy
New members Moonlight Energy tell us about their battery-swapping network for electric motorcycles and light electric vehicles. Read the blog post.
Mobility hubs and the needs of women and caregivers
They summarise that it is important to design for trust and security as well as convenience, comfort, access and ease of use. They also place importance on a sense of care and belonging as well as health and affordability.
Events 🗓️
Mobilityway’s Zero Carbon Commuting Conference
On Thursday 15 April, Mobilityways will host their 5th annual Zero Carbon Committing Conference online. The event is free of charge and includes a key note presentation from best-selling author of “There Is No Planet B” Professor Mike Berners-Lee amongst a programme of 20 other speakers.
Last year, 1,000 like-minded individuals signed up from across the private and public sectors to help them achieve their sustainable commuting and net-zero goals.
