Stagecoach has urged leaders at the COP26 transport day on 10 November to incentivise the use of public transport to help the UK to meet its net zero ambitions.
The UK’s largest bus operator has warned that the milestone cannot be reached by using technology alone and the replacement of fossil fuel-powered vehicles with zero-emission examples. Instead, it says that the fastest way to make progress is via modal shift to public transport, cycling or walking.
Stagecoach has pointed to work by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) to support its call. CCC has made clear that changes to technology will deliver only 38% of the required reduction in emissions. The outstanding 62% must come from changes in how people live and travel. Additionally, Stagecoach cites figures from transport analysis company Inrix that show how traffic congestion cost the UK economy £6.9bn in 2019.
The group recently proposed a package of policy interventions to breathe life into the UK’s town and city centres, boost health and wellbeing and help to deliver “stretching” government targets to reach net zero by 2050. Among those are mobility tax incentives, discounted fares and a national bus marketing campaign.
It has also called for wider reform of motoring taxation to encourage a shift to bus travel. That would involve a pay-per-mile form of tax for private cars, which with “appropriate mitigations” would increase awareness of the true cost of motoring and further support a shift to public or active transport alternatives, the group notes.
Says Stagecoach Chief Executive Martin Griffiths: “As the focus at COP26 turns to transport day, it is crucial that we focus on the most important thing – incentivising people out of cars and onto public transport. That is the only way that we can quickly meet the country’s net zero ambitions.
“We need leaders to be honest with citizens that we cannot go on as we are not by simply replacing jams of diesel and petrol cars with jams of electric cars. Congestion is costing our economy billions of pounds each year and that cannot be reduced by technology alone.
“As we focus on the action plans coming out of COP26, buses will continue to play a key role in delivering on the country’s net zero ambitions and creating healthier, more connected communities. Stagecoach is investing hundreds of millions of pounds in new clean electric buses and making major changes to reduce carbon, but we need the government’s help in encouraging people to switch from cars to more sustainable public transport, cycling and walking.”
