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Transport
Transport generates 21 per cent of the United Kingdom’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy use and emissions from road transport for personal, business and freight travel continue to increase.
Local authorities are ideally placed to influence a significant proportion of these emissions, in particular those that originate in the local authority area. The provision and location of facilities and infrastructure can play an important role in encouraging a modal shift, whilst communications and awareness campaigns will influence the behaviour changes necessary to lock in reductions from local transport emissions.
The pages in this section will provide you with an overview of key action areas through which to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from road transport. You should look to all of these to help you achieve area-wide reductions:
Local transport plans and strategies - England
In England, the third round of Local Transport Plans places a clear requirement on local authorities to reduce carbon emissions from transport. It is one of five key goals that must be addressed by local authorities in a longer term plan than has previously been required. The rest of the pages in this section will all contribute to ensuring your LTP3 delivers these reductions.
Local transport plans and strategies - Scotland
In Scotland, one of the key aims of Local Transport Strategies is to contribute to the national objective of protecting the environment in a local context. Reading all of the pages in this section on reducing emissions from travel will put you in a good position to ensure that your strategy achieves this aim.
Local planning - development of sustainable infrastructure
Planning is a powerful tool that should be used to deliver sustainable transport infrastructure to new communities and regeneration areas. Planning can help to deliver the infrastructure that will support a modal shift but also make sustainable transport choices the logical option for residents.
This can be achieved through making sustainability a priority of good spatial planning as well as using planing conditions and powers to support sustainable infrastrucure.
Fleet Management
The Energy Saving Trust offers a number of free transport advice services to help local authorities better manage their council fleet. Our fleet advice consultants have expertise in all aspects of fleet management and can help you find savings throughout your transport operations. Many councils rely heavily on employees using their own vehicles and reimbursing them for fuel. This is known as a ‘grey’ fleet and can be a large source of unmanaged emissions. Our transport advice consultants can help. They have years of experience managing ‘grey’ fleet costs and emissions and can help you find the savings you need.
Council fleet and staff travel
Another portion of transport emissions for councils comes from staff travel by commuting to and from work. By encouraging initiatives such as walking to work one day per week instead of travelling by car a member of staff can reduce their commuting emissions by 20%.
Travel plans - reducing personal travel
Local authorities can influence constituents to reduce their transport emissions by promoting modal shifts (walking, cycling and the use of public transport) where possible and, where driving is still considered necessary, promoting smarter driving techniques and choices. Working with partners within and across your authority should also help you identify projects or initiatives that will deliver on multiple objectives as well as emissions reductions, including and health, wellbeing and accessibility, whilst making the most of available council resources.
Business and other public sector transport
To be successful in achieving area-wide emissions reductions, it will be vital for local authorities to work with businesses and other public sector organisations. Work with your Local Strategic Partnership or Community Planning Partnership and other appropriate forums to build on existing relationships and, where you are working with private or other public sector stakeholders, encourage the same high standards for all project partners.
Policy and legislative information
Funding
- As well as national funding, you may wish to explore the following sources of European funding:
- CIVITAS Initiative – co-financed by the European Union, the CIVITAS Initiative works to promote cleaner and better transport in cities. It supports innovation, market development, uptake of integrated packages of policy and technology measures and funding demonstration projects.
- INTERREG IIC – an EU funded programme that helps Europe’s regions form partnerships to work together on common projects.
Case studies
- Nottingham City Council public transport.
- One Planet Sutton.
- Richmond Borough Council.
Links and resources
- The Department for Transport Sustainable Travel pages and Carbon Pathways – Informing development of a carbon reduction strategy for transport.
- Scottish Government sustainable travel pages: Sustainable Travel Page.
- Campaign for Better Transport: helps secure transport policies and programmes to improve quality of life and reduce environmental impact.
- The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE): Making the case: improving health through transport.
- EU Urban Mobility Action Plan (30 September 2009) in response to a consultation on ‘Towards a new culture for urban mobility’ Green Paper.
