Asked by: Lord Higgins (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 31 January (HL4755), whether the range of tools available to Transport for London to deal with congestion and vehicle pollution includes the power to limit the number of private hire vehicles which it licenses; and if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
As indicated in the answer of 31 January, the Government’s view is that although Transport for London (TfL) do not have the power to limit the number of private hire vehicles (PHVs), other mechanisms are available to address concerns regarding the operation of the taxi and private hire sector. Therefore there are no current plans to amend primary legislation in order to permit any licensing authority, including TfL, to cap the number of PHVs licensed.
Asked by: Lord Higgins (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 31 January (HL4755), whether any authority has the power to limit the number of private hire vehicles licensed to operate in London; and whether they have received any representations from the Mayor of London on the need for such powers.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government supports choice for consumers, and wants to see both taxis and private hire vehicles prosper in London and across the country. As indicated in the answer of 31 January, the Government’s view is that although powers to limit the number of private hire vehicles do not exist, other mechanisms are available to address concerns regarding the operation of the taxi and private hire sector.
The Government has met with representatives of the Mayor on this issue.
Asked by: Lord Higgins (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of levels of congestion and pollution in London, whether they will take urgent steps to ensure that Transport for London has powers to limit the numbers of private hire vehicles they license, if possible without legislation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government supports choice for consumers, and wants to see both taxis and private hire vehicles prosper in London and elsewhere. The Mayor and Transport for London, together with the police and local authorities, have a range of tools available to them to deal with congestion and vehicle pollution. Effective use of these tools will allow both licensed taxi and private hire vehicles to lawfully meet the demands of London’s travelling public.
Asked by: Lord Higgins (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the increase in road congestion and the construction of Cycle Superhighways in London, how they will ensure that fire, ambulance, and other emergency service vehicles are able to use Superhighways in the event of a terrorist attack or other major incident.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
London’s cycle superhighways are the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). Emergency service vehicles operating under blue lights will always find the safest and fastest way possible to arrive at a major incident or terrorist attack. This could mean using any part of the highway, including, where necessary and where the road layout allows this, part of a cycle superhighway.
Asked by: Lord Higgins (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the effect on air pollution of the construction and use of bicycle lanes, particularly in London.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Department for Transport has not completed any estimates specifically on the effect of construction and use of bicycle lanes on air pollution. But we recognise that encouraging car users to switch to alternative, more sustainable, forms of transport like cycling can generally have both health and carbon reduction benefits as well as improving local air quality.
When we appraise cycle schemes for funding, we apply WebTAG unit A5-1. This appraisal looks at outcomes only and does not consider impacts during the construction phase of a scheme. Where a scheme includes shifts away from mechanised modes and changes in congestion levels, we use marginal external costs, including air pollution. This is done at an individual scheme level and reported in the appraisal of each case; therefore no holistic study has been undertaken. This appraisal does not take account of potentially complex changes to motorists behaviour (such as speed and route choice) resulting from the introduction of cycle lanes.
Transport for London state that during the construction phase some localised short-term slight impacts on local air quality can be expected from the use of plant and vehicles. However, contractors are required to minimise dust and emissions to air and comply with the Greater London Authority and London Councils’ Control of Dust and Emissions from Construction and Demolition Best Practice Guidance.
Transport for London undertake air quality modelling to ascertain the impacts during operation. Schemes such as the East-West Cycle Superhighway show that the likely impact of the introduction of cycle lanes and changes to the road layout on air quality ranges from adverse to beneficial. The study shows that changes in traffic will redistribute emissions across the study area but will not increase overall emission levels.