Why are politicians getting away with bike lane claims based on hearsay? | Laura Laker

Peers use evidence-free anecdotes and cabbie hearsay to claim cycle lanes cause congestion - shouldn't we demand a higher standard?

• House of Lords peers criticised for 'propagating bike lane myths'

A number of peers have attempted to defend unsubstantiated claims that cycle lanes cause congestion and air pollution, apparently echoing anecdotal evidence from their own observations, taxi drivers and the rightwing press. These claims tend to go unchallenged and are allowed to shape the political debate - but this has to stop.

In a House of Lords debate on air pollution on 15 January, the prominent scientist and Labour peer Lord Robert Winston questioned the government over journey times for motor traffic before and after cycle lane construction, saying idling or slow-moving engines pollute more at slow speeds.