It's time to act on transport emissions

Hello Supporter

Last week the Government released figures on the UK’s 2017 greenhouse gas emissions. Overall emissions fell by 2.7 per cent, but emissions from transport barely budged. 

Look at the figures in the longer term and it becomes clear just how firmly transport is stuck in the slow lane. Emissions from transport were only 2 per cent lower in 2017 than in 1990. Overall emissions have fallen by 42 per cent in this period. 

All of this points to the need to drastically reduce our reliance on cars and lorries. To this end, Campaign for Better Transport recently objected to plans to build a new, multi-billion pound road link connecting Essex and Kent via a new crossing under the Thames. The Lower Thames Crossing would be a huge step in the wrong direction, not just for carbon reduction but for environmental protection, modal shift, air pollution and public health. Instead the area needs a strategic approach to freight movements, combined with better public transport alternatives.

How can major roads be made better for buses?

We want the road network to be better, not bigger. Better for cyclists and pedestrians, for nearby communities and for the environment - and crucially, better for buses. A fully loaded double decker bus can take 75 cars off the road!

Highways England manages the strategic road network of motorways and major trunk roads, including some used by important bus routes. They don't control the bus services but can have a big impact on issues from how safe it is to cross the road at bus stops, to how traffic information is shared with bus operators. So when Highways England asked us to look at how major roads could be made better for buses, we jumped at the chance.

We've been looking in particular at bus facilities on the M32 near Bristol and the A27 in East Sussex, including visiting bus stops, bus bays and villages along the routes. The findings should be applicable much more broadly, however; they'll be released later this year.

Interested in buses? Sign up to our Save Our Buses newsletter

Good bye till next time

Bridget