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Tabloids report AA want us to get on our bikes to beat soaring fuel prices… except they’ve said it all along

The president of the motoring association Edmund King was surprised that certain publications were surprised that he encourages cycling and walking for short journeys

The AA's president Edmund King has hit out at numerous newspapers for suggesting it is somehow ironic that the head of Britain's biggest motoring organisation would suggest cycling and walking are more affordable than driving for short journeys. 

Taking to Twitter, King posted several newspaper clippings in which the headlines appeared to express surprise at his comments. 

Under the headline 'AA: Drive? You're better walking!', The Sun's opening paragraph was: "Fuel prices have got so high even the AA is advising drivers to walk instead."

King's response to the headlines was: "Media seems surprised @TheAA_UK
suggesting drivers walk or cycle short journeys. Being saying this for years. Save money, keep fit, better for environment. What's not to like?" 

The interim commissioner for Active Travel England Chris Boardman praised King's advice as "sensible and responsible", and also expressed bemusement that it could be considered radical to cycle or walk instead of drive short journeys. 

King's quotes that were picked up on were: "This is the worst week of pump pain so far for drivers. 

"We would urge drivers at the moment to cut out shorter car journeys if they are able to do so, and walk or cycle to save money. Almost one fifth of AA members are already doing this." 

While the AA president has pushed for government assistance to ease current record petrol and diesel prices - telling BBC Radio 4's World At One that another 10p fuel duty cut should be introduced immediately - it's certainly not his only reason for advocating active travel over motoring in many situations. In 2016 King was instrumental in launching the AA's Cyclist's Highway Code book backed by Chris Boardman, and also wrote the foreword to Roads Were Not Built For Cars by transport journalist Carlton Reid. 

> Cycle more, drive less once pandemic ends, urges AA president

While the UK government's 5p-per-litre fuel duty cut in March was criticised by some for having little impact on prices at the pumps, other countries have been considering alternative methods to make transport more affordable. Germany, for example, has just introduced a 9 euro unlimited train ticket that can be used on the whole Deutsche Bahn rail network for one entire month during June, July and August.

We'll be waiting in great anticipation for the lucrative private franchises that are responsible for a large proportion of Britain's trains to introduce similar wallet-friendly offers...

Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

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27 comments

Avatar
Jimwill | 1 year ago
10 likes

Not much of a fuel crisis judging by the queues of traffic ive been cycling past. Obviously £2 a litre isn't enough.

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IanMK replied to Jimwill | 1 year ago
3 likes

I thought the same yesterday. Loads of cars on the roads. Be interesting to know if sales are down at all. If they're not then I agree £2 isn't enough.

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Jimwill replied to IanMK | 1 year ago
4 likes

So what we need to do, is campaign for higher fuel prices. An extra quid a litre for a Green Tax something something would be a decent start.

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eburtthebike replied to Jimwill | 1 year ago
1 like
Jimwill wrote:

So what we need to do, is campaign for higher fuel prices. An extra quid a litre for a Green Tax something something would be a decent start.

Except Boris is now quoted as ditching all the green crap.

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Jimwill replied to eburtthebike | 1 year ago
2 likes

As far as I know the only thing he's looking at ditching is the rewilding of farm land. Which is understandable, for the growth of crops so we aren't held hostage to rising food prices by a war going on somewhere else.

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IanMK replied to Jimwill | 1 year ago
2 likes

Unfortunately, once again this is failure of leadership, he just wants to be populist. UK farming has potential to feed far greater numbers of people and be sustainable.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/may/13/george-monbiot-vegan-pla...

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Rich_cb replied to IanMK | 1 year ago
1 like

IF you persuade the entire population to turn vegan.

Which isn't happening anytime soon.

Interestingly, the book which Monbiot is getting his figures from is actually a detailed, and convincing, defence of meat eating.

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Bungle_52 replied to IanMK | 1 year ago
0 likes

It could have been feeding even more if we hadn't spent decades building on prime agricultural land.

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IanMK replied to Jimwill | 1 year ago
2 likes
Jimwill wrote:

So what we need to do, is campaign for higher fuel prices. An extra quid a litre for a Green Tax something something would be a decent start.

I would actually go for road pricing. That way you can ensure that those that live in the country, with poor access to public transport, aren't disproportionately hit.

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Jimwill replied to IanMK | 1 year ago
1 like

I'd go with road pricing for EVs. On a pay per mile basis. With a scale according to what sort of road.
Something like, Motorways 1p per mile ,A roads 5p, B roads 10p and built up areas £1 or more.
Hopefully this would make people reconsider a 1mile drive through town to work. But if you had a 20mile commute down a M'way you'd be happier to pay.

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Carior replied to Jimwill | 1 year ago
1 like

Whilst I see your thinking with the policy, when we fully switch to EVs there will be a tax black hole where fuel duty used to live. 

However, if the intention is to charge people for their negative externalities (in this case presumably taking up road space and tyre/brake particulate pollution) that should be covered by all motorists, not simply EVs drivers.  I see no reason (from a fairness perspective) why this couldn't be stacked on top of fuel duty as its ultimately targeting a different negative externality.  Politically clearly that would be a no go.

But, the idea of introducing a tax that makes owning an EV less attractive, at the current juncture would, imho be poor policy.  We are still at a point where we want to encourage EVs and yes, an EV isn't 100% clean (the electricity has to come from somewhere) but when you consider that commercial combustion of fossil fuels is more energy efficient that in a motor car, and we are increasingly using renewables, I think we need to ensure that driving an EV remains cheaper that a petrol/diesel.  At the moment people thinking about new cars can potentially look at petrol/diesel prices and think "sod that, I'm out" and make the switch.  If you add in pricing complexity (and opaque costs of usage) I think you make it more difficult for people to make that change and discourage the switch to EVs.

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Rendel Harris replied to Jimwill | 1 year ago
5 likes

Guarding the bikes outside the supermarket yesterday whilst Mrs H shopped, absolutely astonished to see the number of people parked up with engines idling, some for the whole twenty minutes I was there - oh this cost of living crisis is terrible, but I'm going to sit here burning money for no reason at all.

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IanMK replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
2 likes

Funnier still, we met up Saturday morning for the usual run. Police car parked up in "our spot", engine running (we always have a good chat before setting off - so several minutes whilst we were there). The police officer appeared to be on her phone?

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Jimwill replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
2 likes

Cost of living blah blah, me flights been cancelled

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IanMK | 1 year ago
8 likes

After Golden Age of Cycling, Gear Change, and the general promise of a green recovery it's more surprising that politicians of all colours aren't saying or demanding the same.
I was disappointed, but not surprised, that Edmund King was asking for a reduction in duty. I would like more voices demanding the additional VAT be spent on subsidising public transport. Perhaps even making new bikes VAT free 😉
Seriously though, how many opportunities to change to a greener society are politicians going to miss.

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hawkinspeter replied to IanMK | 1 year ago
6 likes
IanMK wrote:

Seriously though, how many opportunities to change to a greener society are politicians going to miss.

It's almost as though there's money to be made by exploiting resources and not caring about the future

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jaymack replied to IanMK | 1 year ago
2 likes

I fear Politicians only behave wisely once they've exhausted all other options.

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giff77 | 1 year ago
6 likes

Great advice from Mr King. I think people forget that the primary role of the AA is to provide roadside assistance and have also been advocates of road safety. Mind you in the early days they were out warning members of speed traps!  Their primary means of transport at their foundation was even  the humble pushbike. 

In general I've found that AA drivers have been pretty courteous towards cyclist,  sadly a good number also tend to be pretty antipathetic with one telling me he would quite happily run me if the road while talking to him at one of their stands. 

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Kapelmuur | 1 year ago
6 likes

A suggestion by a panellist on BBC4s The News Quiz was that all journeys under a mile should be by space hopper.

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hawkinspeter replied to Kapelmuur | 1 year ago
5 likes
Kapelmuur wrote:

A suggestion by a panellist on BBC4s The News Quiz was that all journeys under a mile should be by space hopper.

Was it Ivan Dobsky?

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Brauchsel replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
2 likes

I never done it, I only said I done it so they'd stop talking about helmets and disc brakes. 

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wtjs replied to Brauchsel | 1 year ago
0 likes

I never done it, I only said I done it so they'd stop talking about helmets and disc brakes

It didn't work! Helmets and disc brakes are grrreeeeattt!

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joe9090 replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
2 likes

Reminds me of...

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Steve K replied to Kapelmuur | 1 year ago
0 likes

I heard that too - and it was quite funny - but it would have been nice for someone to have just said "or, you know, by bicycle?"

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ktache | 1 year ago
5 likes

I saw a voxpop from a bloke filling up his car on the news, said he'd just brought a pushbike to get to work, I thought, that could be a steep learning curve...

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chrisonabike replied to ktache | 1 year ago
5 likes
ktache wrote:

said he'd just brought a pushbike to get to work

This kind of ignorance is excusable in the general public.  Even though we cyclists know the correct term is "Laufmaschine" or "draisienne".

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ktache replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
6 likes

Velocipede, or to be very modern a "safety".

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