Why is Transport a Transition Issue?
When we think about energy we tend to think of heating, lighting, cooking, possibly industrial use. Actually, transport in the UK uses the equivalent of around 54 million tonnes of oil (Mtoe) in a year. That’s nearly 40% of our total energy consumption. Worse than that, while other uses, particularly industrial use, have dropped, the amount of energy we use for transport is actually increasing.
The biggest use by a long way is road transport. Some of that of course is moving goods around, but over half of it comes from cars. Which means that if we’re serious about reducing energy consumption and our carbon footprint we have to tackle the energy we use for transport.
Plus, while there are growing numbers of electric vehicles around, and a few electric buses or even ones that run on gas produced from sewage, the vast majority of vehicles still run on petrol or diesel, and so, as we have seen, are vulnerable to external factors beyond our control.
Also see our article on Electric car charging:
What Can We Do About it?
As individuals, the really good news is that we can do a lot. We can choose active means of travel which are much better for our physical and mental health. Opting to cycle or walk for all those short journeys will do a surprising amount of good for us and our carbon footprint.
Almost all of us can also make much better use of public transport; buses and trains use a lot less fuel per passenger mile than private cars, and what’s more they’re safer and you can make use of the time to read or work while you travel. We can reduce the number of flights we chose to take. We can definitely avoid short haul flights – greenhouse gases emitted at high altitude have a much bigger impact on the climate than those emitted at ground level. Transition Buxton supports the reduction of aviation subsidies in favour of ground transport.
Transport energy is another very good reason to think very carefully about where what we buy has come from and buy locally produced goods when we can, see the Local Economy page:
What is Transition Buxton doing about transport?
Transition Buxton is working with the Town Team, Friends of Buxton Station and the 2 Councils (Derbyshire County Council and High Peak Borough Council) on a “Sustainable Travel Plan” for the whole town. A key focus of this is a “Shared Walk and Ride” network for the town. We recognise that fears about safety prevent a lot of people from choosing active modes of transport. The network will change this by providing off road routes connecting schools, places of work, shops and tourist attractions across the town. Whilst ideally these would be separate for cycling and walking, it is impossible to do this in an old market town where roads and pavements are narrow. It will therefore be “shared routes” and we will be working to ensure that everyone is considerate to others in their use of the network.
As part of this collaboration we are also working to improve bus provision within the town and its surroundings and campaigning for better rail services, making it easier for residents and visitors to choose public transport.
How can you help?
This is all being done by volunteers and with your help we could do more! We need you to get involved to being these plans to fruition and get Buxton on the move sustainably.
Volunteer by emailing contact@transitionbuxton.co.uk
