Choose bus for planet — #lovemybus
#lovemybus – choosing to travel by bus can significantly reduce climate emissions
Climate change is one of the biggest threats to global human health. Reducing emissions from transport is essential to tackle climate change. The transport sector produces 22% of world-energy related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In Scotland, emissions increased by 2% in 2016 and accounted for 37% of all Scottish greenhouse gas emissions.[1]
Schemes giving buses priority are important for the switch from car to bus use and research has found that people with higher environmental concern are more motivated to use public transport and thus derive more benefits from using it.[2]
#lovemybus Champion Mikey chooses the bus to commute, ‘because it is better for the environment, to reduce congestion and it is flexible for my lifestyle’. He goes on to say that, ‘It is easier than any other commute I have done before. My total journey time is only 45 minutes from door to door’.
Low carbon transport policies at city level can also deliver sizeable co-benefits. For example, Professor Davis advises that interventions to reduce car use and increase the use of public transport (and cycling) in metropolitan areas, like Barcelona, have produced health benefits for travellers and to the general city population as well as reducing CO2 emissions.
Professor Davis notes that,
‘A large variety of interventions can reduce emissions from transport. These can be grouped into four broad categories which include physical policies, such as physical infrastructure elements (e.g. bus / rail infrastructure), land-use policies, public transport and infrastructure for walking and cycling; and separately ‘soft policies’, which are aimed at informing and bringing about behavioural change, including information and advertising campaigns, personalised travel planning, car clubs and ‘teleworking’.
So, choose the bus, to reduce your impact on the environment, relax on your journey and enjoy the benefits of more active travel.
[1] Committee on Climate Change, 2018. Reducing emissions in Scotland. 2018 Progress Report to Parliament. Scottish Government.
[2] Bouscasse, H., Joly, I., Bonnel, P.2018. How does environmental concern influence mode choice habits? A mediation analysis, Transportation Research Part D, Transport & Environment, 59: pp. 205 – 222.
