Increased investment in sustainable travel alternatives, better integration of transport with spatial planning and reviewing future motoring taxes are among key actions urged in a new report to “unhook” people from car dependency.

The report ‘State of the Nations: Transport Planning for a Sustainable Future’ was launched yesterday at a virtual Parliamentary reception.

“If we are going to achieve transport decarbonisation the report recognises that we need to unhook from this car dependency and give people more choices when it comes to sustainable transport,” one of its authors Dr Scott Copsey of the University of Hertfordshire told the event.

He emphasised that while the Government’s decarbonisation plans are to be welcomed, transport and spatial planning must be better linked to help create sustainable and attractive places.

The report says London’s system – where statutory transport, economic and spatial plans are developed in tandem by the mayor – should be applied to local and regional authorities.

Authorities should also be given a broader range of powers to raise revenue for transport, it adds, and calls for a review of future ways to charge for vehicle ownership and road use, which could pay for improved and cheaper public transport.

The report also urges a national transport strategy for England and says spending needs to be reprioritised away from projects that increase carbon emissions – such as major roads – in favour of low and zero carbon alternatives.

Further recommendations include that local authorities should have long term funding regimes in place for transport, while Government should seek to reform transport scheme appraisal methods to ensure projects support key policy objectives, including decarbonisation and promoting active travel.

Member of Parliament for Nottingham South Lilian Greenwood of the Transport Select Committee welcomed the report and said the most important issue to address in decarbonising transport remains “our reliance in the UK on motor vehicles”. Reducing car dependence will require a mixture of ‘carrots’ and ‘sticks’ she added, with investing in viable alternatives considered crucial.

She pointed out that Covid-19 has provided a glimpse of what cities could be like with less traffic and prompted people to try walking and cycling. “But it has also made us feel that public transport is unsafe and pushed many people back into their private cars,” she said, adding that changing the dominance of cars is “politically very difficult”.

However she concluded: “The prize is worth having and those brave political decisions need to be taken if we genuinely want to use our cars less.”

MP for Brentford & Isleworth Ruth Cadbury of the committee agreed with the need to “give people the choice to make sustainable and alternative travel decisions” and welcomed the Government’s focus on walking and cycling investment.

“It is not about telling everybody to get rid of their car and always go by public transport or always cycle, but it is about enabling more people to have more options,” she said.

MP for Paisley & Renfrewshire North Gavin Newlands said there is a still a long way to go to improve public transport enough to incentivise people away from private cars outside of London. MP for West Dorset Chris Loder agreed that rail travel in particular is not the “comfortable, enjoyable experience” it needs to be to encourage modal shift.

The report was commissioned by the Transport Planning Society. Its chair Stephen Bennett commented that the document “makes clear that to create a sustainable system and healthier places for people, we need to release ourselves from car dependency.

“That means Government seriously shifting resources to sustainable transport, ensuring this is integrated with the planning system and reducing the cost of using public transport.

“We need to make sustainable modes of transport the easiest and safest choices, resulting in cleaner air, healthier lifestyles and potential savings.”

(Photograph: Lana Elcova - Shutterstock)