Ahead of elections this Thursday (06 May), collaborative mobility charity CoMoUK has called on the next London mayor to focus on sustainable transport options for the UK capital.
A paper recently published by the organisation recommends increasing the levels of ride-sharing schemes and bike hire projects in London to tackle the city’s congestion and air-quality issues.
Richard Dilks, chief executive of CoMoUK, said: “The next London mayor faces some major challenges such as cutting emissions, improving public health, boosting air quality and delivering on equality.
“This has to take place while the economy and society generally recovers from the Covid pandemic. Changing the way Londoners move around is key to this, and ambitious targets on climate change won’t be met without investing in and promoting shared transport.”
CoMoUK has suggested the next mayor of London creates mobility hubs to integrate environmentally friendly transport options with community facilities. Furthermore, the report advocates the NHS introducing ‘prescribed’ cycling for people in deprived areas.
Dilks added: “Shared transport is growing in popularity in London, which shows people want to get involved when they have an opportunity to access it.
“London is Europe’s only global-scale city – it’s never been more important to create a greener, fairer and healthier city for the benefit of its residents and to set an example to the rest of the world.
“We need to get people out of high-pollution vehicles and into shared transport options through car clubs or bike-sharing initiatives.
“There is an opportunity in the wake of the pandemic for the next mayor to make significant changes for people in London which will have wide-ranging social, economic and environmental benefits.”
Read more: London mayoral elections 2021: transport and environment policies
