THE SCOTTISH Greens are calling for children from low-income families a £100 grant to buy a bike.
With schools expected to re-open in August, the party’s Transport Spokesperson John Finnie said the Scottish Government needed to be “urgent and bold” and put significant investment to “ensure every child can get to school safely”. He said this should include safe cycling and walking routes to school.
Finnie said the money should come from some of the several road building projects across the country which have been halted by the coronavirus.
Finnie said: “Unless urgent action is taken to make cycling and walking safe and convenient for school children we risk going straight from lockdown to gridlock.
“Scottish Greens are calling on the Scottish Government to put support in place now to allow schools to ensure that every child who lives within three miles of their school is able to cycle or walk there safely.
“This must mean access to safe, segregated routes, ensuring that children and any accompanying adults are able to socially distance on their way to and from school.”
He added: “Our proposal is for a £100 grant per child to be issued to the 120,000 families who are eligible for a school uniform grant. The Scottish Government must also ensure that schools are given assistance to introduce cycle training as soon as possible.”
The comments come ahead of the government’s “transport transition” plan due to be published today.
Meanwhile, Labour have said Ministers should take action to avoid the scenes seen in England of packed Tubes and buses in London when the lockdown was eased.
The party’s transport spokesman Colin Smyth said the government needed to look at removing seats and other physical changes.
He said “Passenger numbers are already beginning to rise, and that will accelerate as the lockdown is eased from this week. We cannot have a repeat of the scenes we saw in England with overcrowding, as people went back to work.”
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