How we travel
The Issue
In Merton 33% of us travel to work by car. 14 out of 15 of these cars have only one occupant.
Nationally total road traffic has grown by 82 per cent since 1980
Transport is the fastest growing contributor to CO2 emissions in the UK.
The Solution
Walking can make a real difference to your health, the community’s health and to the local environment.
Cycling is all those things plus it’s fast, it’s convenient, it gives you freedom and independence, takes you from door to door, allows you to double park, is reliable, and even allows you to make eye contact with fellow human beings!
Leave the car at home for short journeys.
Share car journeys and reduce single occupancy car travel as much as you can.
Turn off your engine if our car is stationary for two minutes or more.
Checking your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure can save as much as 5% on your fuel bill.
Remove unnecessarily heavy loads from the boot or roof of your car (they just make us use more fuel)
Choose a duel fuel vehicle (eg petrol/gas or petrol/electricity) or choose the most fuel efficient vehicle you can.
Investigate local car club schemes - book any car in the fleet online or by phone, and then use your Streetcar smartcard to pick up and return the car. It costs as little as £4.95 per hour or £35 per 24 hours.
Wherever you’re going, taking public transport instead of the car helps save money and the environment. It can also lower stress levels, be faster and save hassle trying to find somewhere to park. Take the train or bus to replace at least one car journey a month and at work, arrange meetings around public transport timetables.
Holiday in the UK or visit Europe by train. Airliners burn huge quantities of fossil fuel and are now the fastest-growing contributor to global warming. As well as emitting far more CO2, airliners emit the CO2 directly into the upper atmosphere, where it does twice (in fact, 2.7 times) the damage of CO2 emitted at ground level Apart from producing 10 times less CO2 than an equivalent flight, Eurostar has now pledged to reduce its own emissions by 25% by 2012, and to offset every traveller’s CO2 free of charge as from November 2007, making Eurostar journeys carbon-neutral.
If you travel overland by train, you not only do the planet a favour. In an increasingly globalised world, where every flight is the same, trains and ships show you more of the country you’re visiting. You might just find a train journey a more interesting and rewarding experience.
What you can do
Share you car journeys. Contact 0871 8718 880 www.nationalcarshare.co.uk
Check you tyre pressures www.thetyrepressuremonitor.com/
Hybrid cars - www.greencarsite.co.uk
Feul Efficiency comparison - www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk
Car clubs
- www.streetcar.co.uk 0845 644 8476
- www.citycarclub.co.uk - 0845 330 1234
National rail timetable – 0845 748 4950
Online train booking - www.thetrainline.com
Journey planner - www.tfl.gov.uk
Free adult cycle training is provided by Merton Cycling Campaign, call 020 8543 3442 www.mertoncyclists.org.uk
Pollards Hill Cyclists provide weekly guided leisure rides around Mitcham and the surrounding areas. Mark@pollardshillcyclists.org.uk
Merton Healthy walks - leisure@merton.gov.uk 020 8545 3663.
‘Walking Works’ Co-ordinator at Living Streets, 020 7820 10110, felicia.conner@livingstreets.org.uk
Holiday in the UK - www.visitbritain.com
Europe by train - www.seat61.com
