“Increasing road capacity discourages the use of public transport and puts thousands of acres of countryside under threat” – Jonathan Bartley
Air pollution causes thousands of early deaths each year. The Greens are calling for substantive action to improve air quality.
Investing in public transport
- Making public transport cheaper would encourage people to get out of their cars and into electric trains and buses. Electric coaches use would also be encouraged through the introduction of new routes.
- We would create a golden age of train travel by improving journey times and frequencies, enhancing capacity and reaching unconnected rural areas.
- The Greens would invest in high-quality walking and cycling routes in new housing developments so residents can access local services and shops without the need for a car.
Clean energy alternatives
- The Greens would incentivise the replacement of diesel and petrol vehicles with electric ones – our priority is reducing overall mileage and the number of vehicles on our roads; those that are on the roads would produce the very minimum amount of carbon emissions.
- Behind a significant reduction in road traffic would be the incentivisation for people to work from home, more business teleconferencing and more car club schemes.
Power to local authorities
- Local authorities would control bus services and be supported to restore lost bus routes and open new ones. They would also be encouraged to explore the implementation of tramways to facilitate a sustainable transport system.
- The responsibility of running short-distance passenger rail franchises would be given to councils, meaning local communities have a greater say in the running of the services they depend on.
- Introducing Low Traffic Neighbourhoods would further decrease carbon emissions.
For the North Tyneside Borough Green Party response to the Tyneside Air Quality Consultation – please see our article dated 1 November 2019 (link below).