Free transport advice clinics to encourage more people to walk, cycle or take a bus instead of using their cars, were unveiled yesterday by the Department for Transport as part of the government's new sustainable transport strategy. But isn't this a case of putting the chicken before the egg?
Although a scheme providing personal green travel plans in Peterborough has had some success with a reported 10% drop in car use among those contacted by the team, people who usually express a desire to get out of their cars and use more public transport, say they can't until they have a reliable and affordable bus or train service. This is a particular problem in rural areas, where a bus an hour is not uncommon, and you're lucky to see one on a Sunday. And even in cities on less profitable routes buses are thin on the ground.
Pteg, which represents public transport in the six large English major conurbations outside of London has been lobbying for local transport authorities to have more powers to ensure that people get properly planned, better quality bus services.
Away from the capital, where not a bus wheel turns without Transport for London determining the fare charged and the service operated, it's a a free-for-all. Anyone can start up a bus service, using whatever vehicles they like and charging whatever fares they like. Sometimes this can mean that city streets become a battleground with rival operators flooding main routes at temporarily low fares to try and wipe out the opposition, says Jonathan Bray, pteg's assistant director.
UK bus wars, between private operators competing over profitable routes, are happening right now In Preston, for example, Stagecoach has recently taken on the local, employee-owned Preston Bus by running services on some of its main routes.
Meanwhile as city centres clog up with a short-term excess of services, elsewhere services at less busy times and on less busy routes are whittled away.
Last year Guardian correspondent Peter Hetherington highlighted the bus free-for-all in Manchester, where an assortment of vehicles are creating rush-hour mayhem by blocking the tracks of the conurbation's Metrolink tram system. In any other county, he points out bus and tram networks would complement each other.
The draft transport bill earlier this year was meant to address this anomaly between London and the rest of England, but it failed to do so.
And the "pro-green, pro-growth" discussion paper launched yesterday by the transport secretary, Ruth Kelly, focuses on a new high-speed rail linking London, Birmingham and Manchester, wider motorways, congestion charging in more cities, and bigger sea and air ports.
One option is for cities to introduce a congestion charge, which Greater Manchester is pushing ahead with, and invest the funds in public transport improvements such as extra buses, trams, and adding extra carriages to crowded trains.
What else could be done? What would get you out of your car? Or should we just be looking at making our cars 'greener'. Then we'd all be driving down those wider motorways at 40mph in our G-Wiz.
But if air travel continues apace, as the government plans, is there any point getting on the bus, even if it is one day reliable and cheap?
