Prioritise modal shift, CPT tells TfN

Responding to Transport for the North’s (TfN’s) consultation on their upcoming decarbonisation strategy, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has called for modal shift to be prioritised to reach Net Zero goals.

CPT cited forecasts by the Committee on Climate Change that suggested by 2030 the country needs to see around one in ten car journeys taken by bus instead to remain on track for Net Zero by 2050. A key factor deterring people from catching the bus is unreliable journey times, and measures that keep buses out of traffic, including bus only roads, traffic signalling and priority at junctions are necessary, according to the trade body. Alongside investment in bus priority, other measures that will encourage bus travel must be examined, such as Clean Air Zones that include cars and road user schemes including road pricing and congestion charges that charge cars while leaving buses and coaches exempt. The organisation stressed these measures will incentivise people to leave their cars at home and travel by bus or coach, which will reduce congestion and carbon emissions.

CPT’s Regional Manager, Andrew McGuinness, said: “To reduce carbon emissions from transport we need to prioritise encouraging people to choose greener modes of travel, such as the bus.

“Measures that keep buses out of congestion and improve bus journey times will make people feel confident that they can rely on the bus to make their journey on time. We must also incentivise people to swap their car journeys for one by bus, which can be done by introducing policies that charge car users, such as road pricing schemes and ensuring that Clean Air Zones include cars.”

CPT’s response also highlighted that the draft decarbonisation strategy failed to acknowledge the benefits of coach travel. A 15% increase in coach passenger journeys by British people each year could lead to approximately 47 million fewer cars on the road, saving over a quarter of a million tonnes of carbon dioxide, the CPT has told TfN. For the industry to play its full role support must be in place to enable and encourage people to travel by coach, with coach friendly measures such as adequate coach parking and drop off and pick up points for passengers.

“It was disappointing that coach was not mentioned in the draft decarbonisation strategy, when coaches can take up to 50 cars and they will play an important role in the journey to net zero carbon emissions” – CPT’s Regional Manager, Andrew McGuinness

Andrew McGuinness continued: “It was disappointing that coach was not mentioned in the draft decarbonisation strategy, when coaches can take up to 50 cars and they will play an important role in the journey to net zero carbon emissions.

“To get more people onboard we must see this strategy including policies that make it easy for coaches to access tourist attractions and the city centre. These measures will encourage people to travel by coach, instead of by car, helping to reduce carbon emissions.”

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