Public Transport may not always be seen as the green option
Straying into politics is always dangerous, so you can be reassured that this post is primarily about buses and trains.
But I want to start with a mention of Jeremy Corbyn, because I think he’s a pretty good analogy for the point I’m about to make.
A lot of people have argued that the reason Jeremy Corbyn struggled so badly with anti-semitism is that his entire world-view was constructed on the basis that he was the ultimate in anti-racist. So absolutely certain was he in his own morality, he just couldn’t compute the possibility that he may have a blind spot.
How can the ultimate anti-racist be anti-semitic?
Similarly, the public transport industry is used to being on the side of the angels when it comes to carbon emissions and the environment.
However, I suspect that public perceptions are changing, and the traditional public transport industry risks being stranded on the wrong side of its own preconceptions.
The latest EV vehicle readiness report shows that the UK is the third most prepared country in Europe for electric vehicles. By 2030, there are expected to be more electric than fossil fuel vehicles on the road: the share of new vehicle registrations taken by electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles has doubled in the last year (from 6% to 13%).
Talking to people who care a lot about carbon footprint, I sense an enthusiasm for electric vehicles as the compromise between the convenience of car and the eco-benefits of public transport.
I can shout til I’m blue in the face that a lot of plug-in hybrids are not remotely as green as they’re made out to be (the Which report shows that, on average, plug-in hybrids are 61% less fuel-efficient than the manufacturers promise) and that electric cars still require manufacture and disposal with fiddly batteries using rare metals. The fact is that electric vehicles are seen as green.
I worry that parts of the public transport industry could end up stranded on the wrong side of green public perceptions. The Green campaign against HS2 doesn’t help.
Remember that the public can’t tell the difference between a diesel bus and an electric bus; or a diesel train or an electric train. They just see a big, heavy-looking machine with a large engine.
Diesel or electric? The public don’t know
There are some really good examples of signposting in the bus industry: the Harrogate Electrics being one; some fo the work done by First in Bristol being another.
Clearly signposted electric buses in Harrogate
Public transport needs to do more but also signpost what is already being done.
The vast majority of passengers already travel in electric trains. Do they know it?
Where does the energy come from? Is it sustainable?
Is energy conserved? Some trains return energy to the grid from the braking system. Does anyone know? Some operators reduce the number of coaches off peak to save energy. Does anyone know?
As discussed on The Freewheeling Podcast with Extinction Rebellion activist Roc Sandford, even within the environmental movement, there are people that want to target public transport.
The transport industry should not assume that, when a three-quarters empty 12-car Thameslink train pulls into a heavily-engineered concrete station, the public will always see it as being on the side of the carbon angels.
