Dr. Damien Ó Tuama:

I thank the Chairman. I do not have the figures to hand so I would need to send them in. The general point is that the emissions savings arise when there is a switch from using a motor vehicle to using a bike or an electric bike. The Nissan Leaf, for example, is 2,000 kg. I do not know about anybody else but if you are hit with 2,000 kg, it is a significant mass. I do not believe that this is a particularly small vehicle. Consider the elegance of the bike weighing 20 kg moving an 80 kg person, as opposed to 2,000 kg moving an 80 kg person. I once had a maths teacher who was all about finding the elegant solution. For urban areas, moving people with minimally sized machines with minimal emissions is an elegant way to solve the problems. I would be happy to dig out some up-to-date research figures on the emissions savings. It does hinge on the modal shift the Chairman is basing his calculations on.