Queensland riders are being urged to ride to work next Wednesday (March 1, 2017) in an effort to re-establish the annual Ride to Work Day and raise awareness among motorists of motorcycles and scooters.
Motorcycle Riders Association of Queensland president Chris Mearns says riders are “often overlooked or ignored” when it comes to seeking solutions to transport issues.
“For every motorcycle or scooter that is used instead of a car there is a space saving on the road and a fuel use reduction of approximately 50% which results in a considerable positive outcome for the issues of congestion and pollution,” he says.
He hopes that message will be delivered to the authorities by establishing Ride to Work Day as a major event in coming years.
Several other states have Ride to Work days and the MRAQ used to organise an event more than a decade ago. Now Chris wants to resurrect the event.
MRAQ president Chris Mearns“As this is the first year we are attempting this, we are only going with a very soft start with the intention to get it bigger and better in coming years,” he says.
“Accordingly, we are only promoting it through social media with the intention for this year that it be just an awakening.”
Chris says now is a good time to kickstart Ride to Work Day as Queensland recently celebrated the second anniversary of the introduction of lane filtering.
He says the the MRAQ was “heavily involved” in having the welcome legislation introduced.
“So there is even more benefit now to making a motorcycle or scooter the means of transport to work due to our ability to move through road congestion more swiftly,” he says.
Ride to Work challenge to all riders
So, next Wednesday, we want to see as many riders as possible riding into work on their motorcycle or scooter.
We often complain motorists don’t see us or leave a gap for filtering … well now is a chance to make our numbers known.
It might be difficult because of forecasts for rain next week, but Motorbike Writer challenges you all to suit up and ride with pride!
Who plans to ride to work next Wednesday? Please share this article with your friends and encourage them to join you.