Our transport future need not be car-shaped, says Sustrans
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
With one in five people interested in buying an electric car, sustainable transport charity Sustrans' new book "Do Humans Dream of Electric Cars?" takes a look at the alternatives to car travel and finds the electric car solution to a fossil fuel restricted future is not quite the dream option.
"Do Humans Dream of Electric Cars?" brings together Sustrans' thinking on traveling in ways that are good for health and the environment to give a pocket-sized briefing on issues ranging from climate change to biofuels to peak oil. Taking readers on a journey to sustainable travel it debunks myths around carbon offsetting, encourages a re-think on our relationship with our cars and gives a guide on how we can all influence transport decisions that affect everyone. Its 96 lively illustrated pages are crammed with tips, advice and simple steps to get people walking, cycling and using public transport. Sustrans also suggests car sharing as a viable option, though perhaps not to the extremes of Cuba where as many as
eight people might share four wheels; this compares with average car occupancy of around 1.6 in the UK.
The benefits of cycling and walking are explored, with a handy cartoon reference chart to help calculate the time it takes to travel a range of distances. And, if the book's 'Common-sensist Manifesto' has inspired its readers to get out and make a difference in their local area there are pointers for how to make their voices heard by the people in power.
Sustrans' Policy Director Peter Lipman: "We're extremely keen for humans not to dream of electric cars. We'd encourage governments to look at the alternatives, for the £250 million investment currently earmarked for ultra low carbon vehicles, we know Sustrans could work
with 12.5 million households and reduce their car use by at least 10 per cent. This could be as many 3.5 million car trips per day taken off the road and changed to ones made by foot, bike and on public transport - surely a much more attractive vision for us to dream of?"
Consider the following: 430 car trips per per person per year (NTS, 2006) means that a 10% reduction would equal 43 car trips per per person per year replaced by walking, cycling or public transport applied to half the UK population of around 30m people, which in turn equals out to 1,290 million car trips replaced per year. This equates to around 3.5 million car trips per day taken off the road. Would be nice, would it not.
At the same time all those that are replacing the car use by walking or cycling – or even public transport – would also end up, maybe, just maybe, a little healthier, as even with public transport use there is some walking involved.
"Do Humans Dream of Electric Cars?" is published in Alastair Sawday's Fragile Earth series on 25 June. It costs £4.99 and is available from the Sustrans shop, www.sustransshop.co.uk and all good bookshops.
© 2009
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Our transport future need not be car-shaped
