Delivering more sustainable travel
Personal mobility is essential for our wellbeing as well as our economic health. However, society faces major challenges in moving towards more sustainable mobility patterns.
As a public transport operator we are in a position to actively support the delivery of more sustainable transport solutions.
services which are global in scale and local in approach.
Supporting a strong economy
Public transport services are central to a strong economy. This year we asked leading transport consultant Steer Davies Gleave to seek to quantify this contribution. They estimate that our businesses contribute £1.2 billion in GDP to the UK economy annually and our activities generate a further £6.9 billion in wider economic benefits. Over half a million British people travel to work each day using our services. Our services also keep around 1.8 million cars off the road each day in towns and cities, helping to reduce the economical impacts of congestion.
Bringing communities together
Our services connect people to each other and bring communities together. We provide a vital social role in providing people with the access they need to jobs and services required for full, active lives.
Reducing environmental impacts
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face and vehicle emissions are one of the biggest contributors. Public transport offers opportunities to reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions, as buses and trains produce lower emissions per passenger journey than cars. The use of public transport services is also a vital part of keeping congestion under control.
Challenges
Delivering more sustainable travel is not without its challenges. Along the way we must work hard to balance a number of elements.
We need to deliver excellent customer service despite our limited control over issues such as road congestion and the condition of the rail infrastructure. Partnership working is therefore essential to our business model to ensure any external barriers to service delivery can be overcome.
We must balance investment requirements with affordability, and the needs of the individual with those of the community. Our role is to provide an effective public transport network to serve as wide and representative a sector of the community as possible.
Recent changes in regulations and legislation mean that newer vehicles tend to be less fuel-efficient than their predecessors. We must balance this with the reduction of our environmental impacts. We are now working with our suppliers to address this issue and the next generation of vehicles will be more fuel-efficient.
We will continue to address these challenges going forward and are confident we can achieve the outcomes necessary to achieve ever more sustainable travel.