A graphic of two green footprints

Sustainable Transport Alliance: a vision for the future of transport

Nine walking, cycling, public transport and shared mobility groups have come together to support and galvanise work to cut greenhouse gas emissions and ensure inclusive, sustainable mobility for all.

The NGOs have formed the Sustainable Transport Alliance, a new UK-wide alliance for green and fair transport, to work collaboratively with transport partners, government and communities.

With a year to go until the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, the alliance said rapidly reducing private car use is ‘crucial to safeguarding our climate and tackling air pollution’.

Greenhouse gas emissions from road transport currently make up around a fifth of the UK’s total emissions, and transport is the largest-emitting single economic sector.

Private car use needs to be cut by between 20 and 60 per cent by 2030, which requires a transition to healthier, greener modes of transport: walking and cycling; community, public and shared transport such as car, cycle or e-scooter sharing schemes.

The Sustainable Transport Alliance has been established by: Bus Users UK; Campaign for Better Transport; Community Rail Network; Community Transport Association; Greener Journeys; Living Streets; Sustrans; London Cycling Campaign; and Collaborative Mobility UK (CoMoUK).

The alliance has set three top priorities:

  • Communicate that public, shared and community transport, alongside active travel, is beneficial and aspirational, crucial to recovery, our climate and communities.
  • Create opportunities for collaboration and innovation across the transport field, involving local, national and devolved governments, and putting communities at the heart of positive change.
  • Bring partners and evidence together to galvanise strategic and systemic progress on sustainable, inclusive transport in the build-up to COP-26.

In a joint statement, the Sustainable Transport Alliance said:
“We want to ensure that public, community and shared transport, alongside and connected with walking and cycling, is prioritised, celebrated and developed, so everyone can access opportunities, get around, and live their lives by sustainable means.

“This is crucial to health and wellbeing, community cohesion and resilience, sustainable economic development, and responding to the increasingly-urgent climate emergency.

“It’s about creating the future we all want, and our children deserve. That’s why we’re working together to support and empower communities, and advise policy and decision-makers, to help to unlock the great benefits of sustainable and inclusive transport for all.

“We are asking governments at all levels, our partners in transport and within communities, to work with us.

“We are at a critical point: we must work swiftly to ensure we have our transport priorities right, based on communities and environment, health and wellbeing.â€

The alliance was agreed at the recent annual collaborative mobility conference, hosted by shared transport charity CoMoUK. The event explored the challenges facing the UK ahead of COP26 next year and how to hit the country’s legally binding net zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050.

The Sustainable Transport Alliance has been established by the following organisations:

Key facts

  • All motor vehicle traffic has risen by 29% since 1990. Source.
  • Transport is the UK’s biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, mostly from cars and vans.Source
  • Emissions from road transport have risen by 6% from 1990 to 2017, against a cut in the UK’s overall greenhouse gas emissions of 32%. Source.
  • Road transport is the main cause of air pollution, linked to 40,000 early deaths per year and £22.6bn in negative health impacts. Source.

Read the Vision Statement from the Sustainable Transport Alliance

Bus Users 2021-01-27T16:37:11+00:00