Green and pleasant UK - transport

Transport offers major opportunities for change. Teleworking is already a practical proposition. Many of us are beginning to realize that making a journey on foot or bicycle keeps us fitter and more alert. Road travel accounts for over 80% of the total energy consumed in transport. We need to change the emphasis from personal to social. Park and ride schemes have the potential to reduce fuel consumption for commuters and shoppers by perhaps 50% given appropriate investments in public transport. Improving the quality of service and tuning rail fares have the potential to attract substantial passenger and freight traffic from the roads.

Air travel accounts for only a few percent of the total energy expended on transport but receives great attention from the green lobby because it is the fastest growing component. Improving fuel efficiency, increasing load factors and switching to rail for domestic and European destinations would give us a good chance of holding current emission levels.

Overall it should be possible to achieve a 30% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from transport