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National News
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| 04.06.08 - Carbon Reduction by Transport |
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| Written by Brynle Williams AM |
| Wednesday, 04 June 2008 00:00 |
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I would first like to commend the committee’s work in producing this report, and the recommendations which are, overall an effective way to reduce the carbon footprint of transport in Wales. I would however, like to highlight a few of the issues that I would have liked to have received a bigger emphasis. First of these, is the importance of improving North-South rail links. I’m sure anyone who regularly travels between North and South Wales – Assembly Members included, knows that this journey takes an unacceptably long time. Rail is one of the most sustainable forms of transport - unlike the Transport Minister’s favoured air service from Anglesey – and it’s also one of the most accessible. I am sure that a much improved service, one that better connected North Wales with the South, might also go a little way to drawing the regions closer, and countering the impression that the Welsh Assembly Government isn’t interested in the majority of Wales outside Cardiff and the Valleys. It’s also worth stressing the impact of the Anglesey-Cardiff air-link that the Assembly Government is subsidising. When the public could expect to look to Government for leadership on sustainability, the Government’s actions give the impression it is prepared to give little other than lip-service to it, and how the Minister for Transport intends to change public opinion against unsustainable means of transport, when he himself is such a high profile and frequent user of this short-haul route, I don’t know. There is also the question of priorities in the Assembly Government’s transport policies, over how seriously it really treats sustainability. For the cost of just a single mile of motorway, the Assembly Government could give everyone in Wales a personal travel plan, yet there appears to be little willingness in this Assembly Government to seriously tackle congestion in a ‘smart’ way. There is plenty of evidence of best practice from Sustrans’ work with Peterborough City Council. Early results show car-travel is down 13% in a year, with big increases in walking and cycling – with all the added health benefits. This is clearly a cost-effective option, but so-far it’s one that’s being ignored by this Assembly Government. Finally, I would like to commend the Minister for Transport in accepting so many of the Committee’s recommendations, but this Assembly Government clearly has a long way to go, to back up its rhetoric on sustainability with action. |