Government

“It is almost like having an unexploded bomb in your house”: New figures reveal 11 deaths from e-bike fires in UK last year, as MPs call for tighter regulations

Latest calls come soon after London Fire Brigade urged users to check whether their vehicles have "dangerous" UPP lithium battery that has repeatedly "failed catastrophically and caused devastating fires"

“We would have liked to see more going towards cycling”: Frog Bikes co-founder disappointed by little “encouraging kids to cycle” in budget

Jeremy Hunt's budget, including the freeze on fuel duty, was criticised by a leading think tank and Cycling UK, the IPPR saying it is "just tinkering around the edges" of necessary transport changes

Government tried to bury report which found that Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are effective and popular

The official report, ordered by Rishi Sunak in an attempt to stop LTNs being installed by councils, concluded that the schemes are “effective in… reducing traffic volumes within their zones while adverse impacts on boundary roads appear to be limited”

“I’ve seen children hit by a bus and they’ve bounced up and asked for a milkshake”: Active travel campaigners blast councillor’s “reckless, flippant” road safety comments during 20mph debate

“He was very emphatic that if a child is hit at 30mph, they will die. They don’t,” Conservative councillor Bobbie Dove, who also supported an attempt to reopen a controversial rat run, said

Ourselves Alone (in a car): Sinn Féin councillor claims “crazy” cycle lanes are making roads more dangerous – and are designed for a “privileged” minority

Another councillor argued that bike lanes were “causing crashes” and confusion, while increasing emissions – but one Green politician said “we need to stop concentrating on how a car gets around the place”

No cycling! (or walking) but Jeremy Hunt’s budget delivers £5 billion giveaway to drivers

Fuel duty freeze “just tinkering around the edges” of necessary transport changes and “disproportionately” benefits wealthiest motorists, says influential IPPR think tank, as Cycling UK slams short-term thinking on sustainable transport

Cyclists slam council’s “biased survey” asking “how much of a nuisance and danger e-bikes” are to residents

Answers to the survey would "help us shape our strategy", the council claimed, but it was met with a barrage of critical replies — one saying it is "a disgrace that any council is wasting energy on this bilious nonsense"

“It looks like discrimination”: Disabled cyclists’ campaign group calls relaxing of planning laws to allow bike storage units in front gardens “very worrying”, if larger designs for adapted cycles are not allowed

The government has launched a consultation proposing a change that would enable homeowners in England with no back garden to install bike stores without the need for planning permission, and comes after several high-profile 'Shedgate' disputes

Irish Transport Minister demands safer “cycling culture” that respects pedestrians and the law

Eamon Ryan agreed with a local who suggested walking is dangerous because of cyclists who "really don't care about pedestrians"

Are bike shed planning sagas set to become a thing of the past? Government proposes to relax planning laws to allow bike storage units in front gardens

The proposed change will enable homeowners in England with no back gardens to install bike and bin stores without the need for planning permission, and follows a number of so-called ‘Shedgates’ in recent years

E-bike proposals “a huge safety risk” says Cycling UK and would “blur the line between e-bikes and electric motorbikes”

Electrical Safety First also expresses concern as government acknowledges risk of “more severe battery fires”

Councillor urges delivery riders to learn the Highway Code to ward off licensing or insurance rules that would have a “detrimental impact” on cycling

The comments came after a Glasgow councillor proposed bringing in new licensing and insurance rules for cyclists to tackle with traffic offenders

Tory MP claims pedicabs have turned parts of London into the “Wild West”

A bill to regulate pedicabs in London had its second-reading in the House of Commons and has drawn unanimous support from MPs

Brighton & Hove City Council rejects Tory demand for five-fold increase in cycle hangar fees

Conservative councillors claimed subsidy for bike parking facilities would be better spent on frontline services.

Cyclists welcome 24-mile cycleway along HS2 as West Midlands mayor aims to enable cycling and walking as “natural first choice for short journeys”

The construction roads and maintenance pathways of HS2 are to be repurposed for a “continuous, high-quality active travel route”

Cycle lanes grow in popularity once they are installed, study finds – but policymakers warned that “paternalistic” promotion of active travel schemes heightens opposition

The report called on policymakers to “pre-bunk common misconceptions” about cycle lanes, while noting the failure to “join the dots” between active travel projects and climate action

Emily Bridges accuses Rishi Sunak of “normalising violence against trans people”, as she prepares for British Cycling legal challenge

Bridges claims British Cycling’s decision to ban transgender women from female events “violated” her human rights, but conceded that “elite sport is over for me”

Family of pensioner killed in pavement collision with cyclist on “electric bicycle” call for tougher laws to punish riders who kill or cause serious injuries

The Department for Transport replied saying there are "already strict laws in place for cyclists", as West Midlands Police confirms bike seized and cyclist "assisting with our enquiries"

“Where are the cyclists?” Councillor questions “low numbers” on cycle superhighway – but Chris Boardman praises “exemplar” of cycling infrastructure

“The infrastructure has to be there for the journeys people are going to make. In Holland it took decades to create the cycling culture it has now,” the local authority’s transport director said in response to concerns over the cycleway’s use

Cyclist threatened with €13 million fine and two years in prison over bike shed, forcing her to give up cycling

Siobhán Kelly was accused of “unauthorised development” by Dublin City Council after installing a small shed used to store bikes and her mother’s wheelchair in her front garden

New “car-free” Brompton factory facing delays as traffic authority calls on bike brand to consider those with “no choice but to drive”

The folding bike manufacturer’s proposed eco-friendly headquarters features no car parking spaces and aims to encourage staff and visitors to cycle, walk, and use public transport – but National Highways has objected to the scheme four times in a year

Government falsely claimed it blocked low-traffic schemes, documents suggest

Papers obtained by a campaign group taking legal action over cuts to active travel budget show Active Travel England deemed council applications to be insufficiently ambitious to receive funding, and transport secretary Mark Harper had no role in decision

MPs call for urgent changes for victims of road violence

Debate follows on from report into the issue of road justice, as MPs heard "harrowing stories" and highlighted the "number of appalling cases of road violence with insufficient consequences for the perpetrators"

“Cycle to work schemes are sucking the lifeblood out of cycle shops”: Bike shops tell Parliamentary Committee of “need for urgent systemic change” to Cycle to Work scheme

The Association of Cycle Traders was joined by figures from Balfe's Bikes and JE James to meet with MPs, two months on from Cycle to Work provider Cyclescheme preventing retailers from charging additional fees on bikes purchased under the scheme

How to save a Low Traffic Neighbourhood: Overcoming hecklers, “dodgy” data, and political intrigue as councillors prevent early scrapping of active streets trial

At a meeting disrupted by anti-LTN activists, councillors voted in favour of retaining the Exeter trial, after cycling and walking campaigners criticised a “flawed” and “biased” report suggesting the scheme could be abandoned

Politician slams “cop out” as Ireland’s cross-border Tour de France bid scrapped amid funding issues and political uncertainty at Stormont

The Grand Départ bid, which was criticised by active travel campaigners in Northern Ireland, has been withdrawn due to the lack of a functioning government – but one MLA says the project should still go ahead to leave a “lasting cycling legacy”

Seven out of ten people say they never ride a bike, as safer roads – not more cycle lanes – viewed as key to encouraging cycling, new national travel study finds

According to the government’s National Travel Attitudes Study, almost half of people in England don’t cycle due to safety concerns, while those who regularly use a bike are more likely to be middle class and middle aged

Scathing select committee report finds “not enough” communication of Highway Code changes and Department for Transport “not on track” to meet active travel goals

The Public Accounts Committee, which examines the value for money of government projects, concluded the "Department for Transport is not on track to meet its objectives to increase rates of active travel by 2025"

“We warned that voting for these parties would lead to anti-car measures”: 20mph speed limit plan to “really encourage more cycle journeys” slammed as “nuts” and “extremely worrying”

Opposition councillors have fiercely criticised the council’s “out of the blue” proposal to introduce a “default” 20mph limit in residential areas

“Crackpot conspiracy theory” led to government slashing active travel funding

Papers obtained for legal challenge to cuts reveal how misrepresentation of ’15-minute cities’ concept is shaping transport policy at Westminster