TPT writes to Transport Minister

Date posted: 17th November 2022

Following his appointment as the new Secretary of State for Transport, Thomas Pocklington Trust has written to Mark Harper MP to ask for clarification around the Government’s transport plans.

The letter asks for clarification in three separate areas: e-scooters, accessible buses and pavement parking.

E-scooters

With e-scooter trials now commonplace, irresponsible parking of e-scooters and riding on pavements is literally putting lives and the safety of blind and partially sighted people at risk.

Mr Harper’s predecessor announced that the Government would introduce legislation around e-scooters.

We have asked the Secretary of State to confirm whether this is still the Government’s intention and, if so, what the timeline and scope of the legislation would be.

Accessible information on public transport

As a result of our campaigning work, Thomas Pocklington Trust received assurances from the Government that Accessible Information Regulations under the Transport Act would be laid before Parliament by the end of 2022.  This was a major commitment from Government to improve the accessibility of buses, the most heavily used form of transport for those with a mobility disability.

We’ve asked Mr Harper will reaffirm this commitment and to indicate the timetable for this.

Pavement parking

It has now been nearly two years since the government ran a public consultation to find out people’s views on pavement parking. However, the government still has not stated what firm action they are going to take to tackle the issue. We’ve asked Mr Harper to confirm the Government’s position on pavement parking and he will be able to set out the action the government intends to take.

Read the letter in full