Wales’ net zero emissions target will require a significant shift from car journeys to bus and coach, according to a new report from Confederation of Passenger Transport Cymru.
Its Decarbonisation Dividend in Wales report, compiled with WPI Economics, found that if every person in Wales switched two car trips to the local bus each month (31 per year), there could be savings of 900 kg of CO2 by 2050 – the highest per capita savings in Great Britain.
The findings of the report also identified health and societal benefits that could be reaped across Wales in years to come. Cumulative health benefits could exceed £140m if one car journey was switched to bus by 2030 (15 per year). Whilst almost £860m in health benefits could be saved by 2050 if two journeys were switched to bus – representing £272 per capital – almost enough to build two new NHS hospitals.
Shifting two journeys from car to bus would achieve significant societal benefits derived from reduced congestion. This would exceed £1.7bn by 2050 – the equivalent to Ceredigion’s total GDP in 2019.
Joshua Miles, director of CPT Cymru said: “The report shows that small changes in the way we travel can create a big difference. To unlock these benefits, each of us needs to switch just one journey per month from car to bus by the end of this decade, two journeys per month by 2050. That’s it.
“The encouraging findings from the report and our consumer research demonstrate that the shift from cars to buses and coaches is necessary, desirable and, most importantly, possible.”
Additional consumer-focused research conducted by CPT Cymru shows that inconvenient routes, infrequent services, slow journey times and unreliability were key factors behind buses not being a viable option for travel. Whilst a third of Welsh (31%) do not know how much a single fare is in their local area.
However, two thirds (64%) admitted they’d be more likely to use the bus in their local area if the services were better.
Moreover, 40% of car drivers in Wales have considered taking the bus more compared to this time last year, with half of those (50%) doing so to be greener.
Mr Miles said: “Our findings show that almost half of the people of Wales in our survey want to have a more balanced mix between using their car and taking the bus or a coach. This will require us being bold and investing in speeding up journey times providing an opportunity for people to start shifting some of their journeys. Plus, getting more people on buses allows operators to invest in zero emission, increase network capacity and reduce fares resulting in a better service for Wales all round.”
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