Rival parties pass their verdict

Conservatives

" Labour have been all mouth and no delivery in their integrated transport strategy. The Government doesn’t even measure journey times in congested cities. If they did, they’d find motorcycles to be the shortest. Labour should be promoting two-wheelers instead of clobbering motorists. We will do our utmost to empower bikes. In congested areas in particular, motorcycles play a great role as an alternative to the car. We are opposed to Labour’s plans to tax motorcyclists who enter town centres or park their bikes at work, particularly as they make no significant contribution to congestion. We plan to allow motorcyclists to use bus lanes and advanced stop lines at traffic lights. We also recognise the need for local authorities to provide more free on-street and off-street parking for bikes. "

Liberal Democrats

" Labour had a bold and encouraging plan, but it wasn’t backed up by action. They stopped just short of making biker’s lives hell. Motorcycles weren’t so much at the centre of Labour’s transport agenda, but more a curious add-on. The main challenge is to stop riders suffering silly legislation and to encourage biking as a far more efficient mode of transport. The Lib Dems intend to drive the biking agenda in parliament. Biking is common sense. We actively support the Motorcycle Action Group and have tried to encourage dialogue between parliament and bikers. We intend to decrease road tax to zero for the most efficient vehicles and bikes would do very well out of that. "

Greens

We are hugely disappointed with labour’s transport planning as whole. The number of cars on the roads has increased, and Labour has failed to look at any real alternatives to cars. They’ve ignored cycling and motorcycling and we feel they have let people down. We are looking at policies that favour low-powered motorcycles. We intend to abolish all road tax and aim to increase fuel duty. "