pteg calls on EU to put big city traffic restraint at heart of new transport policy

pteg Chair, Geoff Inskip, has called on the EU to make urban traffic restraint a key theme in its new forty year transport policy.

Geoff Inskip said:

'There is much to be welcomed in the EU’s new transport white paper. It is bold and clear on the need for transport to make its contribution to carbon reduction, including through plug-in vehicles and by all urban areas having their own mobility plans which contribute to this wider goal.

However, in its current form the White Paper has ducked the need to ensure a wider shift from the car to walking, cycling and public transport. Converting the car fleet to low and zero carbon technologies is important, but a green traffic jam is still a traffic jam. The de-carbonisation of vehicles needs to go hand-in-hand with strategies for restraining traffic growth and encouraging a shift to more sustainable modes, where practical. What’s more there’s a danger that if the EU gives undue weight to supporting the greening of the car fleet, then there is a risk of encouraging a shift away from under-resourced public transport networks, which in turn will fuel rising levels of congestion on urban roads.’

pteg is backing the Union of International Public Transport (UITP)’s ‘PTx2’ campaign for a doubling of public transport’s market share by 2025

ENDS

For more contact Jonathan Bray on 0113 251 7445 / 0781 804 1485

Notes

The White Paper - ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area - Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’ can be downloaded here:
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/strategies/2011_white_paper_en.htm