Not much too much to disagree with there though some of the other (besides London) large metropolitan areas do have relatively good public transport. Are BEV’s good? I see massive ones on the road and so I’d say they’re not really any better than a smaller petrol car and to that be ‘green’ BEV’s need to be ‘Golf’ sized (so no bigger than actually necessary). Electric assisted bikes seem to almost be the ideal BEV, in that there’s emphasis on assist and that they’re the smallest of motors and batteries.wheelyhappy99 wrote: ↑9 Mar 2024, 9:01pmI expect this is motherhood and apple pie stuff supported by most people on this forum, including, for the avoidance of doubt, me. Though to be clear, the smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient vehicles should, according to every report I've come across, be BEVs not ICE powered.More importantly what are your views on the alternative ways forward that I suggested?
Arguably the better ways of reducing emissions include : reducing the need to travel; active travel; the use of public transport; and smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient vehicles.
Reducing the need for travel is perfectly feasible if communities are designed to provide services and facilities within reach by active travel. 15 minute cities anyone? WFH helps of course, though not everyone can do that. But for 50 years proactive planning and local authority powes have been stripped away so developers are free to throw up low density 'executive' housing in car dependent locations, and the last few months have seen the current government deriding efforts to make it safer. 'War on motorists' was the last three word slogan.
Public transport outside London has been wrecked by rail privatisation and bus deregulation. Anyone recall Thatcher's remarks about bus users?
These deliberate central govt policy choices make it much harder for individuals to choose the alternatives you listed. In lower density rural or semi rural areas there is no prospect of public transport providing the varied range of services to meet residents differing needs. All the authoritative evidence is that BEVs (and I'd include electric assist bikes if the roads are safe enough, many aren't) are the least worst current alternative.
I’m very much of the mind that the issue of commuting is tackleable and that via sensible park and ride schemes many more people can be moved out of their cars and onto public transport. This stuff really isn’t rocket science. Should homes ever be built where there is no local employment for the occupants? I’d say that it’s madness to build into new developments the need to travel long distances to places of work and likewise to services such as schools and shops. Indeed, but two generations ago a massive proportion of the population would expect to use active travel (primarily walking but some cycling too) to reach their places of work, shops and schools, etc.
