15 September 2008
Groups demand action on sustainable transport
Call for action on climate change, oil dependence and obesity
A coalition of environment and transport groups today (Monday 15th September) have today joined forces to urge the Scottish Government to ensure that its forthcoming Strategic Transport Projects Review delivers "healthy, low carbon transport."
The six groups (Friends of the Earth Scotland, Scottish Association for Public Transport, Spokes, Sustrans Scotland, Transform Scotland & WWF Scotland) have written to Scottish transport minister Stewart Stevenson challenging the Scottish Government to deliver:
* A national programme of investment in the most sustainable modes - walking & cycling
* Priority for buses and multi-occupancy vehicles on main roads
* An inter-city rail network to match the best in Europe
* A strong focus on 'Smarter Choices' measures aimed at tackling peak-hour congestion
* A halt to the growth in air travel, the most polluting and energy inefficient mode of transport.
Colin Howden, Director of Transform Scotland, said:
"Unless action is taken, rising traffic levels will rule out the prospects of the Government's climate change targets being met. The decisions to abolish bridge tolls and hospital car parking charges have given the green light to road users to keep on driving. Rather than pumping more subsidy into road use by building new roads and subsidising drivers, a genuinely strategic approach to transport would focus on reducing transport's reliance on fossil fuels."John Lauder, National Director of Sustrans Scotland said:
"Dedicating 99% of your budget to developing motorised transport is not helping Scots lead active, healthy lives, nor is it assisting us to cope with increasing fuel prices."Dave du Feu of Spokes said:
"The proportion of government transport spending allocated to cycling has remained under 1% for many years. The result has been that whilst comparable countries in northern Europe have seen cycle use rising to 10-30% of all journeys, Scotland as a whole has seen cycling remain at miserably low levels. In Scotland's capital, bike use forms only 2% of travel, while in Amsterdam and Copenhagen 27% and 29% of trips are made by bike. It's surely no coincidence the Dutch and the Danes have levels of obesity half that seen in Scotland."
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] The Strategic Transport Projects Review, led by Transport Scotland, has been ongoing since 2006 - <http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/projects/strategic-transport-projects-review>. It is expected to report within the next month.
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