A sustainable transport strategy for 21st century Scotland

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A sustainable transport strategy for 21st
century Scotland
CILT Annual Sustainable Transport Event, Tuesday
13th February 2007

• Paul Tetlaw, Chair

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What is TRANSform Scotland?

• The national sustainable transport alliance
• The only organisation working across all areas of
  sustainable transport
• We campaign for a more sensible transport system
  - more dependent on modes such as walking,
  cycling, public transport and freight by rail or
  sea, and less reliant on private cars, air travel
  and road freight.

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What Do We Do ?

• Our activities include research, project work,
  and a wide range of publications and events.
• We campaign for
• Less traffic
• Better public transport
• Socially-just, healthy transport
• Tackling climate change
• Sustainable investment.

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We are a membership organisation

• We have over 60 members - private, public and
  voluntary sectors

• Major rail, bus and shipping operators
• Local authorities
• Businesses
• National environmental conservation
  organisations
• Local campaigning groups.

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The challenges we face
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The challenges we face

• The energy crisis
• Climate change
• Peak Oil
• Traffic
• Productivity
• Health

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Climate change
and transport
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Transport is one of the main contributors

• UK transport produced 26 of all UK greenhouse
  gas emissions in 2004, compared with 18 in 1990.
• Greenhouse gas emissions from transport increased
  by 51 between 1990 and 2004.
• Total UK greenhouse gas emissions rose 1 in 2004
  compared with 2003. Transport rose 4 in the same
  period.
• Source Environmental Accounts 2006, Office of
  National Statistics.

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Climate change
the impacts
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At home
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and abroad
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Climate change
the costs
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Stern

• The Stern Review of the Economics of Climate
  Change provides the most rigorous analysis to
  date of the costs and risks of climate change.
  It makes clear that the question is not whether
  we can afford to act, but whether we can afford
  not to act.
• Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize economist

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Why bother?

• The UK has less than 3 of global emissions.
• But Stern says
• Climate change could shrink global economies by
  20, by 3.5 trillion.
• But if appropriate action is taken now, it could
  cost 1 of global GDP.

Tackling climate change is an economic as well as
an environmental imperative.
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Peak Oil
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Transports dependency on oil

• 67 of UK oil consumption is for transport
• 98 of fuel used for transport is oil.

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We urgently need to move to a low carbon economy

• Urgently required as a response to climate
  change
• But also to reduce our dependence on a scarce,
  finite, and depleting, natural resource
• And to reduce our dependence on other countries,
  many of whom are unstable politically.

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Traffic
the issues
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The bad news

• Road traffic growth
• People are travelling further and further to do
  the same things
• Unsustainable modes taking over from sustainable
  modes as the norm

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A long-term increase in car mileage
Source DETR White Paper consultation, 1997
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The better news most travel is still local

• 40 of all trips are less than 2 miles
• 67 of all trips are less than 5 miles
• even car trips are mainly local
• 26 of car trips are less than 2 miles
• 56 of car trips are less than 5 miles
• Source Scottish Executive (2007)

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Traffic
the costs
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So just how productive is sitting in a traffic
jam?

• Productivity benefits provided by use of rail
  compared to road transport

• Financial benefits to employer
• Safety benefits of trains compared to road
  transport
• Savings on car parking and fleet management costs

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Eddington

• Recognised critical links between transport and
  economic competitiveness
• Focus on congested urban areas and key
  inter-urban corridors
• Key recommendation to implement road pricing
• Eddington says that all forms of transport should
  pay their external costs - BUT we know that road
  transport currently pays only a half to a third
  of its external costs
• Who pays the balance? We do!

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Who should pay the balance?

• Road Pricing
• Road User Charging
• Congestion Charging
• Pay-As-You-Drive

Whatever you want to call it - it is the only way
to tackle congestion.
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But surely transports already too expensive?

• Petrol
• Finite resource
• Expensive to produce
• Massive environmental impact
• Costs about 1.00 a litre

• Beer
• Renewable resource
• Easy to make
• Limited environmental impact
• Costs about 4.00 a litre

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Traffic
health costs too
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Health impacts

• Inactive lifestyles

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Health impacts

• Inactive lifestyles
• Air pollution

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Changing travel behaviour
some key recommendations
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Key interventions

• Sustainable land use decision-making
• Smarter Choices
• Road pricing
• Sustainable investment

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Sustainable Investment
some suggestions
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Priorities for action

• Prioritise the health-giving modes of transport
• Deliver a nationwide programme on Smarter
  Choices
• Continue investment into local bus, tram rail
  services
• Get the Scottish inter-city rail network up to
  speed
• Make rail and sea-based travel more attractive
  for international travel

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And we need to question whether some other things
help
or make things worse
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Will these help?

• Providing hand-outs for short-haul aviation?
• Bulldozing an elevated motorway through Glasgow?
• Opening up Aberdeens green belt for sprawl?
• Doubling road capacity across the Forth?

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Conclusions
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What are the key drivers for change?

• The UN IPCC Fourth Assessment Report
• The Stern Report on the economics of climate
  change
• Eddington Report on transport and economic
  competitiveness
• IPPR Winning the Debate on Road Pricing
• Scotlands National Transport Strategy

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What are the benefits of sustainable transport?

• Reduced dependence on scarce, finite, and
  depleting, natural resources
• A more productive workforce
• A healthier, more inclusive society
• Avoid future economic disaster!

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