April 2009 Fact Sheet
Issue 3
Theme: Transport How low can you go? Reduce your mileage… Transport – the greenest mile is the mile not travelled
Traffic levels have risen in Gloucester City by 9.1% over 1997-2004. The resulting congestion increases costs for employers due to increased travel times as well as reducing the quality of life for all who live and work in the city. If Gloucester is to deliver the Regional Spatial Strategy (this includes 13,000 more dwellings by 2016) major change to the way we all travel is essential. A target GCC currently has is to reduce business mileage by 5% pa. Encourage your colleagues to help toward this by doing some of the actions in this fact sheet. Rural mileage issues – plan your route. AA Route Planner allows you to plot numerous stops and the best route to take. transportdirect.info allows you to plot routes for cars AND public transport, with a tool to show how much CO2 would be generated by the length of your journey and the varying modes of transport. The route can be plotted to show the most fuel economic journey. You can check the Highways Agency website (www.highways.gov.uk/trafficinfo) to get the latest traffic information when planning journeys to avoid delays – this may mean re-planning your route to get there in a shorter space of time.
Transport facts
Taking older cars into account, UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) stated in a recent report that the average carbon dioxide emissions of a private UK car are 167.2kg per kilometre. Transport is the only sector in which CO2 emissions were greater in 2005 than 1990 (up 10%) If half of UK motorists car-shared one day a week pollution would be reduced by 10 per cent and traffic jams by 20 per cent Just one employee using tele/videoconferencing rather than travelling from Gloucester to London once a month would decrease CO2 emissions by 1.1 tons each year and save the company £3,500 (80% of savings due to being more productive in ‘lost time’). (Energy Savings Trust) Average daily cyclist has the fitness level of someone 10 years younger (everydaycycling.com, 2008) Around 100 bicycles can be produced for the same energy and resources it takes to build 1 car. (TravelWise) Ninety per cent of people in England live less than a 13-minute walk to a bus stop (South Gloucestershire Council, 2009) Overall levels of car traffic have increased ten fold since 1955. (RAC Report, 2003) In 2001, the average Cambridgeshire car commuter would have saved over £1000 per year by sharing their driving costs. (Travel for Work survey/AA 2001). Between 1999/2001, 61% of all journeys between 1 and 2 miles were made by car. (National Travel Survey)
The county council and transport
The Council provides staff with the following for staff: A range of discounted bus tickets and interest free loans for annual bus and rail season tickets Public transport information on the county council web pages Bicycle user allowance Secure cycle parking facilities Cycle Maps Showers and lockers Park & Ride facilities Car share scheme – visit the carsharegloucestershire.com or call 08700 111199 Visit Staffnet to find out more about these schemes and services.
Take action!
Don’t drive one in five – if everyone found another way to travel to work or school just one day a week, there would be 20% less traffic on the roads – it’s that simple! Car share – Set up a car share scheme in your office. Have a chat with colleagues and see if anyone lives local to you. It could halve your petrol costs! Coordinate with colleagues travelling to external meetings – another chance to car share and reduce costs and CO2 emissions! Do you need to travel? Can you achieve the same result by: o o o
Email Telephone conference call Video conferencing
Thinking of buying a new car? Check out the Act On CO2 website to find out which cars are the most green and cost effective.
Walking and pedal power
Why walk? Walking regularly can:
Improve stamina, energy levels, concentration and general well-being Reduce the risk of ill health later in life, particularly the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stress, strokes and osteoporosis Improve weight control and muscle tone
Walking 1 mile in 20 minutes uses as much energy as:
Running a mile in 10 minutes Cycling for 16 minutes Swimming breaststroke for 10 minutes Weight training for 17 minutes
Event: Walk to work week starts on 27th April
Why cycle? Cycling regularly will build up your strength and stamina, gradually increasing your fitness. With regular cycling you'll be less likely to suffer from heart disease and high blood pressure. According to The British Medical Association, exercising for only 30 minutes per day can significantly add to your life expectancy. Travelling short distances on your bicycle is far better for the environment - cycling is pollution free and doesn't contribute to the increasing congestion and traffic on our roads. It is also one of the most economical forms of transport. Event: Bike to school week starts on 20th April Don't be a taxi-driver, let your kids cycle to school! Cycling kids are confident kids, more independent and brainier to boot. Just 15 minutes cycling to and from school could make a real difference to your child's fitness, establishing habits of healthy activity that could be life-long. One in three kids wants to cycle to school. In England 8.3 million children travel to school every day. Research has shown that only a tiny proportion of pupils cycle to school (under 2%), despite the fact that one in three children would actually like to.
Date for your Diary: The First Quarterly Meeting
The first quarterly meeting of the Climate Change Champions will be held on Thursday 23rd April from 10-12 in the Council Chamber, Shire Hall. Get in touch if you would like anything added to the agenda e.g. share ideas and report on any projects you have done or schemes you have set up. An agenda will be circulated in due course. For those of you outside Gloucester, it would be great if you could car share or take public transport. Find out if there are any other Climate Change Champions in your area using the list on Staffnet.
A Champion taking action!
Climate Change Champion, Agi Kosuda from the Business Services Centre has been doing some sterling work to communicate her role to her colleagues: Agi put a simple A4 poster on notice boards, so everyone was aware of her role and knew how to contact her with any questions/suggestions. Download a template to use yourself from the Climate Change Champions pages on Staffnet. She did a short presentation of her role in a management meeting to increase awareness and support. Every other week Agi sends out a self-styled fact sheet to all her colleagues using the facts and information from the Champions fact sheets. Receiving an email from a work colleague has much more impact than an impersonal or corporate approach! She has had great feedback from colleagues who have been asking lots of questions and are getting involved in the initiative.
If you’ve got something to share, please let us know what’s working for you: climatechange@gloucestershire.gov.uk