Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential benefits of a greater uptake in electric bikes for (a) older people, (b) people on low incomes and (c) people with mobility problems.

The Government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS), published in April 2017, encourages people to take up cycling, either on conventional bikes or electric bikes. The Department recognises that electric bikes offer a wide range of potential benefits, including to health and to the environment, and that they can make cycling easier and more attractive. The Department has not undertaken any formal assessment of the potential benefits of a greater uptake of electric bikes by those particular groups, but the measures set out in the CWIS should lead to an overall increase in the use of electric bikes, and the benefits associated with this.