Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to review the legal requirements for e-bike identification and rider accountability, in light of the challenges in prosecuting riders involved in serious collisions with pedestrians.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Only e-bikes that comply with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle (EAPC) Regulations 1983 are legal to use on the roads.
While the Government has no plans to introduce new rider identification requirements for road legal bikes, it is the case that e-bikes which do not comply with the EAPC Regulations are classed as motor vehicles. This means they must be registered, taxed and insured. The rider must also wear a safety helmet and hold a driving licence. The police have the powers to seize such e-bikes that have not been appropriately registered as motor vehicles.
In addition, new offences for cyclists who cause the death or serious injury of another person are being introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill. This will mean that cyclists will face the same penalties as those who commit motoring offences.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the value for money of the decision by National Highways to block up the Queensbury Tunnel in the Bradford Metropolitan District.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Sustrans (now called Walk, Wheel, Cycle Trust) produced a report for Bradford Council that assessed the Benefit Cost Ratios (BCR) of the active travel route options. The options included routes that would use the Queensbury Tunnel. The report made clear that the BCR scored for the routes were all very close indicating that none of them represented significantly better value for money over the others. Funding for an Active Travel route is the responsibility of the Local Authority. Therefore, without a clear commitment from either Bradford Council or West Yorkshire Combined Authority to provide funding for an active travel route utilising the tunnel, the difficult decision was taken to close the tunnel, subject to the appropriate planning approvals.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure the new digital service will handle applications with greater efficiency and consistency to tackle to backlog in medical license issues and renewal wait times.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The DVLA’s new casework system for driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated will deliver significant improvements and the DVLA is also launching a new digital medical services portal in April. These enhancements, alongside the recruitment of additional staff to deal with medical applications and answer telephone calls, will deliver real improvements in services and turnaround times for customers.
Applicants renewing an existing licence may be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing they can meet specific criteria. More information on this can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1180997/inf1886-can-i-drive-while-my-application-is-with-dvla.pdf.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she plans to undertake a public awareness campaign to promote the new Highway Code rules as part of the Road Safety strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 104026 on 7 January 2026 on Channel Tunnel: Fares, what discussions she has had with the Office for Road and Rail on (a) consumer protection and (b) customer oversight.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Office of Rail and Road is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain's railways, including international rail services, and is also responsible for some consumer protection matters.
The Minister of State for Rail recently met with the ORR’s Chair, Declan Collier, and the Board to discuss a range of matters within the ORR’s remit, including facilitating competition within the international rail passenger market given the consumer benefits this is expected to bring for passengers. DfT officials also engage regularly with ORR counterparts to discuss these matters.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what alternative schemes she is considering that will address the capacity issues on the Brighton Main Line, namely around Reigate and the Selhurst Triangle, which would have been addressed by the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are focused on prioritising the schemes that will make the greatest difference for passengers and support economic growth as quickly as possible. The previous government had committed to a number of projects that were unfunded, including the Croydon Area Remodelling scheme.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to 2 January 2026 written questions 102231: Crossrail 2 Line and 102232: Crossrail 2 Line, if she will use the analysis of the lessons learned from the success of the Elizabeth Line to assess other rail infrastructure projects, such as reassessing Crossrail 2.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Yes – I can confirm that every effort is made to learn lessons from other projects, including from the Elizabeth Line, when assessing plans and proposals.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to support low-income earners with transport to and from London following (a) the introduction of pay as you go ticketing in Dorking and Horley constituency and (b) price increases of between 3% and 24%.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has commissioned independent evaluation on the trial, this research has not yet concluded. The current evidence is provided by LNER and is available at
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to written question 103034 answered on 8 January 2026, when she will conduct this post-delivery evaluation.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is currently progressing the evaluation of the phases of Pay as you go roll out in the South East, following the launch of phase one stations last year. Once evaluation is complete, we will make the final reports public.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2026 to Question 103034 on Railways: Tickets, if she will make an assessment of the impact of cancelling evening out return fares between Dorking and London on commuters.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
For stations in Dorking and Horley, we have simplified the complicated web of tickets by having one Peak and one Off-Peak price, with some fares changing and others being removed as part of improvements to ticketing via pay as you go with contactless expansion. This will allow passengers greater flexibility in their choice of tickets, with some seeing a reduction in their ticket price.
On 23 November the Chancellor and Transport Secretary announced that regulated rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years. Over a billion journeys are going to be affected by this freeze with season tickets, anytime returns on commuter routes, and off-peak returns on longer-distance routes all subject to the freeze.
The Department is currently progressing the evaluation of the phases of Pay as you go roll out in the South East. Once evaluation is complete we will make the final reports public.