The Green Guide: Tip No.6 – Transport 🚗

Tips and tricks for making environmentally friendly swaps today!

As lockdowns are easing, chances are we are going to be moving around a little more. Can we be more critical of what transport we use and when to reduce our carbon emissions as we travel? Here is a list of when you might consider using a certain type of transport to help you see if you can make any swaps to your travel arrangements…

• Walking – the simplest form of transport. If your location is within walking distance, then do just that! If you are physically able to, walking not only produces no waste or emissions, but benefits your own mental and physical health. Best for: popping to the shop, very short distance trips and gentle exercise.
• Cycling – another great option for exercise and environment. If you own a bike and want to travel to places a little further or that perhaps are difficult/time consuming to walk, cycling is a good option which also reduces emissions. Best for: visiting nearby friends/relatives, commute to work and slightly more rigorous exercise.

• Bus – if you live in an area with suitable bus links, these can be great for times when walking and cycling are not applicable. Familiarise yourself with your local bus timetable and services so that this form of transport becomes more comfortable to you, then see if there are any of your usual car routes that you could swap with a bus journey. Best for: journeys with heavy items (e.g. supermarket shopping), student travel and longer distance journeys including scenic day trips.
• Car – for many people living in higher- income countries, driving a car is considered the norm and the most favoured form of transport, often used even when alternatives are available as a means of convenience. If driving is your main form of transport, consider reducing your environmental impact by reducing the amount of short car journeys you travel, keeping your vehicle in good condition to sustain the use of your vehicle and driving efficiently to prevent wasting fuel. Other options include car sharing, such as with colleagues, or organising lifts so that the person picking you up already has the car in use from another journey, e.g. corresponding shopping with extra-curricular activities. You may wish to consider choosing an electric vehicle when you next need to buy a vehicle, which helps to reduce pollution by emissions, although the best option, and one which will hopefully increase in the future, is to use an electric vehicle where the electricity is produced by renewable sources, to minimise carbon emissions. Best for: medium-long journeys where public transport is not available.

• Train – according to Network Rail (World Environment Day: five positive impacts of the railway – Network Rail), travelling by train consistently produces less CO₂ than travelling by car, taxi, plane or HGV. Electric trains are also becoming more common and though new developments can have negative environmental consequences, utilising our existing services can help us to cut down on single person car journeys. Like buses, familiarise yourself with local train services and see if you can make any swaps: is there a train station near your place of work or a friends house you could use instead of driving? Best for: commuting and medium-long distance journeys.
• Plane – aviation is another means of transport commonly known for its damaging environmental impacts. It makes sense that it takes an awful lot of energy to keep people up in the air and travel long distances. With many of us not having flown in so long now, it is time to question our need to frequently fly? Do you need a foreign holiday as often as you took one? Do you need to fly for meetings or can online platforms provide an alternative? Can you travel by boat instead to your destination? Can you prioritise how products arrive to you from overseas, e.g. picking companies that use efficient shipping rather than by plane? Best for: time sensitive long-distance travel where there are no available alternatives.

Other options include sailing, taxis, coaches, motorcycling and many more that I could go into but will leave to your own consideration (for extra information, read this Climate change: Should you fly, drive or take the train? – BBC News). You will know what transport you use the most, so are best placed to evaluate the sustainability of your choices. Try writing out all your journeys and see where you could swap to an alternative option. You could start by fencing off one journey for walking, and with increased exercise, build up to cycling, and then going further distances. Maybe you’ll end up using a mix of different types of transport, which is fine too. Be critical of your transport options and remember to enjoy the journey! 🚲