To implement the policies and overall aims set out in the National Sustainable Mobility Policy, we recommend that a range of financial and fiscal supports are considered to accelerate the adoption of new mobility solutions. These include:
Shared sustainable mobility assets such as electric bikes, electric cars, e-mopeds and e-scooters are relatively new, and therefore it's difficult to asset finance from financial institutions. MPI encourages policymakers to consider the establishment of a credit guarantee scheme that would serve to incentivise the financing of sustainable mobility assets.
Pilot schemes or trials are often deployed by local authorities as a first step to trialing a new form of shared mobility and serve a beneficial purpose in relaying feedback to policymakers ahead of more permanent schemes. However, pilot schemes of shared mobility services require significant upfront investment to cover operating losses, particularly in the immediate term. MPI calls on Government to engage with industry around incentivising the viability of such projects, by, for example, seeking a clarification in the Public Spending Code and specifically, how local authorities access funding for such trials.
MPI welcomes the current tax and pricing incentives in place to help shift transport users away from private car journeys including the tax reliefs in place for annual saver tickets and fare reductions for certain cohorts of the population e.g. students. MPI encourages policymakers to engage in dialogue to determine how transport users can be also incentivised to adopt private shared mobility modes of transport to ensure the critical integration of public and transport mobility is achieved. This will be particularly important as we move closer to MaaS and Next Generation ticketing.
Ahead of Budget 2023, MPI looks forward to engaging with local and national policymakers on additional measures that can be taken to ensure the positive measures outlined in the Sustainable Mobility Policy can be truly realised for the benefit of our society, economy and the environment.
