New report: EVs alone won’t get Wales to net zero

SMALL CHANGES TO HOW WE TRAVEL ESSENTIAL TO HELPING THE ENVIRONMENT IN WALES, DEMONSTRATES NEW REPORT 

·       Shifting journeys from car to local bus twice a month would see Wales make the highest per capita CO₂  savings in Great Britain  

·       Two thirds of Welsh people would take the bus more if services were better 

·       Just one fully loaded bus can take 75 cars off the road 

Switching car journeys to bus and coach is essential to achieving Wales’ net zero emissions goal, according to a new report released today from the Confederation of Passenger Transport Cymru. 

Wales’ net zero commitments require a decarbonisation of the transport sector. This requires ambitious action to tackle car greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which account for the majority of surface transport emissions in the country.  

The Decarbonisation Dividend in Wales report, created alongside WPI Economics, found that if every person in Wales switched two car trips to the local bus each month (31 per year), there could be savings of 900 kgCO₂ by 2050 – the highest per capita savings in Great Britain.   

The findings of the report also identified health and societal benefits that could be reaped across Wales in years to come. Cumulative health benefits could exceed £140 million if one car journey was switched to bus by 2030 (15 per year). Whilst almost £860 million in health benefits could be saved by 2050 if two journeys were switched to bus – representing £272 per capital – almost enough to build two new NHS hospitals.  

It also emerged that shifting two journeys from car to bus would achieve significant societal benefits derived from reduced congestion. This would exceed £1.7bn by 2050 – the equivalent to Ceredigion’s total GDP in 2019.  

Commenting on the report launch, Joshua Miles, Director of CPT Cymru said: “Without shifting demand from cars to buses and coaches, Wales will fall short of its net zero ambitions. 

“The report shows that small changes in the way we travel can create a big difference. To unlock these benefits, each of us needs to switch just one journey per month from car to bus by the end of this decade, two journeys per month by 2050. That’s it. 

“The encouraging findings from the report and our consumer research demonstrate that the shift from cars to buses and coaches is necessary, desirable and, most importantly, possible.” 

Additional consumer-focused research conducted by CPT Cymru unearthed Welsh attitudes toward bus and coach travel.  

It emerged that inconvenient routes, infrequent services, slow journey times and unreliability were key factors behind buses not being a viable option for travel. Whilst a third of Welsh (31%) do not know how much a single fare is in their local area.  

However, two thirds (64%) admitted they’d be more likely to use the bus in their local area if the services were better. 

In an increasingly green-conscious age, over four in ten car-driving Welsh  people(43%) have considered taking the bus more compared to this time last year, with half of those (50%) doing so to be greener. 

Joshua Miles continued: “Our findings show that almost half of the people of Wales in our survey want to have a more balanced mix between using their car and taking the bus or a coach. This will require us being bold and investing in speeding up journey times providing an opportunity for people to start shifting some of their journeys. Plus, getting more people on buses allows operators to invest in zero emission, increase network capacity and reduce fares resulting in a better service for Wales all round.”