Transport
Carbon dioxide emissions from transport are still growing. They grew in the EU by 32% between 1990 and 2005, while other sectors declined by 9.5% over the same period. We need better planning to enable people to access facilities closer to where they live and public transport that is convenient, affordable, and accessible.
The Green New Deal commits investment to a major expansion of public transport. We will:
• Double the size of the bus fleet through an investment of £3 billion to buy 30,000 new buses and create 70,000 jobs.
• Provide a further £2 billion to subsidise bus fares and get new services operational.
• Bring the railway system back into public ownership and spend £2 billion on new track and rolling stock, and on urban tram schemes - together creating 20,000 jobs.
• Reduce UK rail fares by one third to bring them in line with the European average through a £3 billion subsidy.
There is some spending that we would not accept. The Green Party would not allow any more airport runways, including the third runway at Heathrow, and we would not build any more major new roads. These are transport solutions from the past; we must invest in the future.
In the EU, Green MEPs will also work for:
• An aviation fuel levy on all planes arriving in, or departing from, EU airports, including UK domestic flights, thereby ending the exemption of aviation from the fuel tax that motorists pay.
• The imposition of VAT on aviation, so ending an unfair subsidy to aviation, which when taken with fuel duty, is worth £10 billion per annum in the UK alone.
• Much tougher provisions on the inclusions of air travel in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, in part to take account of the fact that emissions have a worse warming effect when they take place high in the atmosphere.
• The promotion of walking and cycling in EU transport policy.
• The introduction of a core UK rail freight network that includes the Channel Tunnel to connect with European networks.
Related stories
- Green Party wants full railway nationalisation
- Labour is "losing the eco-war," says Sustainable Development Commission
- The Liberal Democrats: consistently inconsistent about the environment
Related reports
- London's Lawless Roads
Londoners are being put at risk of death and injury on the capital's roads, according to a report by Jenny Jones - Labour's Legacy
How noise levels from Heathrow have increased dramatically under Labour - Deserted Highways: London's waterways are a neglected and wasted resource
A report by the Green Party Group on the London Assembly
More detail
Transport section of full policy document
