It's very good of you to concede that Motorcycling makes an economic contribution, after the facts are presented!
The question that should be at the front of your mind is... why aren't you reading about that on the BBC website? Well, apart from the fact that "if you sell hammers, everything looks like a nail", you need to return to Gord's original statement, which it would appear has some validity:
Cycling has a place in the transport infrastructure, but for frequent journeys above 10 miles and those than venture outside of urban areas, it's place is very limited. The sad truth is, there is too much "greenwash" obscuring the reality - scooters, peds, even electric-assisted bikes have been around for ages, but there isn't the semi-rabid support than the cycling lobby generates. Until the focus includes powered two-wheel transport (hell even the Netherlands allows mopeds to use some cycle lanes!) the congestion, journey times and accident rates will continue to climb.
As for electric bikes and cars - a great idea, but very few things are as energy dense as refined petroleum and until you can charge one as quickly as you can fill a 50L tank with liquid fuel, they will remain an interesting eccentricity.
i think you just reinforced Gordon's point that the motorcycle lobby have no idea what they are doing
, you might see it as "better used" to many in cycling we aren't strong enough and will push harder to lobby more. Cycling has and will always fight for rights as its been under threat a lot longer than motorbikes and we want more dedicated cycle lanes and better safety, that not wrong its the way it should be
if that means targeting what resource one has in the correct place thats exactly how it should be done. read the report on cycling and you can see it extolls virtues of fitness and fewer working days lost, thats another key area the cycling lobby use as governments push to reduce healthcare costs. motorcycle use simply doesn't offer those benefits
the case for motorbikes as a transport solution isnt that good either, as i said efficiencies on the type of vehicle needed for longer journey isn't there (most of us wouldn't commute 25/30 miles a day on a scooter), the majority of use is recreational thus is the opposite of what governments want to hit emission targets thats a very hard position to negotiate from
As regards electric, you will always have more efficient fuels, batteries are heavy and on a light vehicle contribute to a higher than average overall weight BUT for the majority of use its not an issue. petrol isn't that efficient on short journey times, engines need to heat up etc etc, low average speeds with lots of stopping and idling engines, motorcycles dont even shut off like most fuel efficient cars do. So whilst it may be "energy dense" if a high proportion of that energy is wasted because of the journey type it don't really matter provided you have enough fuel to make your journey neither does the additional amount of energy you have spare. Electric is coming, I'll be in Germany in a few days for a show which will have even more electric presence than last year, its one of the fastest growth areas I see with the likes of Panasonic and Bosch now heavily invested, it will replace scooters, it already is, as the technology advances and prices come down it'll see further growth.
I use a motorbike bike for transport and do see benefits but struggle as to how it could form part of any government transport solution where its seen as a predominately recreational activity that uses a valuable resource, creates CO2 emissions and impacts upon others with its noise/speed (real or perceived) and thats hard to get away from. change that and you might have a chance , somehow I cant see that happening.
oh there are lot of reports that never make the BBC, congestion figures, use, failure to meet co2 emissions etc etc.
Sustrans report on failure of government to back greener travel for example
http://www.sustrans.org.uk/about-su...es/governments-failing-to-back-greener-travel
which inevitably will increase pressure to reduce car/motorcycle journeys and replace with alternatives and given that high fuel prices for a year only resulted in a 1% reduction in traffic (dft latest report) doesnt seem to have had a major impact one does wonder what it will take to get car drivers out of their boxes and for people to look at real alternatives be that pedal or motor.....
Interesting times anyway, as the world slows down we're in for a lot of change