The long-awaited Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP) will be published by the government on 14 July. Expected to be released mid-afternoon, it will form what the Department for Transport (DfT) describes as a “greenprint” to decarbonise all modes of domestic transport by 2050.
While full details of how the Plan will impact on the coach and bus industry are awaited, DfT has already confirmed that it includes consulting on a pledge to end the sale of all new non-zero-emission road vehicles by 2040 at the latest.
It adds that a “Green Paper” will be published alongside the TDP that will set out options for a new regulatory framework that requires OEMs to “improve the efficiency” of road vehicles. The TDP will also articulate how the government will improve public transport and increase support for active travel to make those modes “the natural first choice for all who can take them.”
Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps says that the Plan “is genuinely high ambition,” adding that decarbonisation will in part rely on future transport technology coupled to behavioural and societal change.
“The Transport Decarbonisation Plan is just the start. We will need continued efforts and collaboration to deliver its ambitious commitments, which will ultimately create sustainable economic growth through healthier communities as we build back greener,” adds Mr Shapps.
The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has underlined up its earlier calls for future policy to major on modal shift. It says that measures must be put in place that discourage car use, including concepts such as road pricing schemes that reward sustainable travel choices. CPT adds that the coach and bus sector’s transition towards zero-emission fleets “must be part of a realistic long-term roadmap, alongside sufficient funding.”
routeone will publish a full analysis of the TDP’s policies for the coach and bus sector in due course.
