Councillor suggests mandatory number plates and penalty points for cyclists — so that bikes are on “level playing field with lorries, vans and cars”

A Conservative councillor has called on the Worcester City Council to introduce mandatory number plates for cyclists in order to “create a level playing field with lorries, vans and cars”, after the popular cycle hire scheme Beryl Bikes was introduced in the city last month.

Councillor Alan Amos, who’s the only remaining Conservative councillor on the Worcester City Council after the Tories lost six of their elected representatives in the 2024 elections, put forward his suggestions to the deputy council leader Jabbar Riaz, arguing that more needs to be done to enforce penalties for cyclists who break the law.

He sought assurances, following the introduction of the Beryl Bike scheme in June, that monitoring will take place to ensure that users do not cycle along the pavements and taxpayers’ money is not used to subsidise the scheme.

Councillor Amos even pointed out where the number plates can be put on the bicycles— the mudguard of the Beryl Bikes. “It’ll have to be fixed there. It’s not an optional extra,” he said, Although adding that the number plates should extend to all cyclists, not just the Beryl Bikes.

He said that he believed cyclists who ride on pavements or ride dangerously should be give penalty points, just like motorists caught breaking the law, reports Worcester News.

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Councillor Amos said after the meeting: “I think it should be compulsory for all cyclists to have a number plate which all vehicles on the road have to. My concern is about enforcement.

“All bikes should have a registration number by law so there is a level playing field for any vehicle that uses the road - lorries, cars, vans and bikes. They should all be subject to the same rules.”

He said he saw three cyclists riding along the pedestrianised High Street as he left the meeting at Worcester Guildhall.

"It's a pedestrianised shopping centre full of elderly people. Some elderly people are hard of hearing and don't hear the cyclists coming up behind them. Cyclists need to follow the rules like everyone else," he said.

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Beryl Bikes

A spokesperson for Bike Worcester said in response: "I’ve offered to Alan (and other councillors) on a number of occasions to do a tour of the city by bike (still waiting on the call), so he can see first hand the issues that are faced by people travelling by bike, not least when trying to cross the city centre (we’ve even got an infrastructure safari route which looks at the good and the bad).

"I’m happy to ride my bike on the roads in Worcester, mixing with multiple lanes of motor vehicles (worst case is 4 in a single direction), but have my fair share of interactions with substandard drivers as a result (substandard = antisocial = dangerous = illegal).

“As such I completely understand why many people would choose not to do that, and instead cycle of footways, or through the city centre roads covered by TROs, especially when cycling with children or less confident adults. As a pedestrian including when walking my dog I often encounter children and adults cycling on footways, and all both parties does is avoid each other, usually with a cheery salutation as they pass.

“Not mentioned by Alan or Jabbar is the point that the Highway Code also prohibits driving on the footway, something that is happening near continuously throughout Worcester, in some cases blocking footways when parking, in other cases in the vicinity of pedestrians.”

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Councillor Riaz said at the meeting: “Cycling on the pavement is in breach of the Highway Code which applies to all road users and all cyclists whether riding a Beryl bike or not and is enforceable by the police. 

“There are no specific plans to monitor pavement cycling although data could be made available to police if requested.”

In May, Conservative MP for Shipley, Sir Philip Davies, was the latest high-profile politician to fan the flames of the registration plates for cyclists debate.

In a written question to former Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper, he said: “People have been saying to me that there have been incidents of anti-social behaviour involving cyclists and there is no way of tracking those that cause problems or flout the laws of the road.

“They have suggested that if cyclists were forced to have a registration plate it would mean they were identifiable and could resolve the problem as those who chose to cycle in an irresponsible manner would know there will be consequences.”

> Mr Loophole makes renewed call for cyclist number plates, but gets shut down by Jeremy Vine show panel

The former Tory Government had already decided to clamp down on cyclists riding dangerously with the “dangerous cycling” bill, that was passed in the House of Commons but was then eventually shelved following the announcement of the general elections.

However, the bill received cross-party backing, and is expected to be brought back by the new Labour government, despite the current Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh being a recent convert of cycling, and just earlier today posted on Twitter that she’s been enjoying Laura Laker’s book on cycling ‘Potholes and Pavement’, calling it “eye-opening and instructive”.

This isn’t the first time registration plates for cyclists have been suggested by a Conservative politician in the UK. Two years ago, then-transport secretary Grant Shapps threw British cyclists into a state of frenzy by announcing his wishes of cyclists having insurance, carrying licence plates on their bikes, and being subject to the same speed limits as motorists.

And then in a hasty U-turn, the Tory cabinet minister appeared to contradict his widely-reported pledge to enforce tougher rules, just hours later saying that he was “not attracted to bureaucracy” of number plates for cyclists.