Bolster bus services, build cycle paths, impose frequent flyer levies and reopen old railway lines to decarbonise the UK transport system, environment experts are urging, as the Labour party begins to lay out its plans.
The government’s proposals for rail nationalisation are likely to feature in the king’s speech on Wednesday – but experts warn far bolder steps will be needed to overhaul the UK’s creaking infrastructure to meet the net zero carbon goal.
The railways bill will set up Great British Railways, a centralised authority that will replace the array of private operators, as the government takes back control of rail franchises when they come up for renewal.
The move is highly popular, according to polling, and should help longsuffering passengers by replacing the bewildering variety fare types with a more rational system – but the government will need to make sure prices and services are attractive, according to Mike Childs, the head of policy at Friends of the Earth.
Reviving the northern leg of HS2, the high-speed railway that was originally due to run from London to Manchester before the previous government curtailed it to Birmingham, would require significant new investment, making such as move unlikely, despite calls from businesses, local authorities and some environmentalists.
But there is more Labour could do on rail without the HS2 northern leg, according to the Green party, which has presented a list of local rail links that have been closed but could be reopened, as well as calling for more cycle routes and better support for walking routes.
“Transport choices account for about a quarter of carbon emissions, and so are vital in any plans to reach net zero,” said Ellie Chowns, one of the four new Green party MPs elected to parliament. “Despite this, public transport provision continues to decline, often leaving it as inaccessible or unaffordable for many.”
Richard Hebditch, the UK director of the Transport & Environment thinktank, suggested the government should look beyond the railways bill.
“Public transport is very important but rail is only 8% of travel, and there is a big danger that it becomes all-consuming,” he said. “It’s already a massive part of the Department for Transport, in terms of personnel and ministers’ time, but they also need to look at electric vehicles, aviation, shipping and other transport issues.”
Bus services are also in for an uplift, with Labour committed to putting control of franchises back into the hands of local authorities. Outside London, bus services have halved over the past decade, and many people who are priced off the railways struggle to pay bus fares or are forced into cars by the lack of available services.
Campaigners say new investment will be needed, despite the tight grip on finances that Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has promised.
Paul Morozzo, a senior transport campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “If you want economic growth investing in public transport and shifting journeys away from congested roads, getting people to jobs and meeting up by travelling on rail and bus is one of the best ways of getting it.
“We need serious investment, a drastic reduction in train fares to boost rail usage and encourage people away from car use, a continuation of the bus fare cap and construction of an electric vehicle charging network good enough and cheap enough to support and encourage the transition away from polluting petrol and diesel cars.”
Meanwhile, the government will need to show its hand on the problematic issue of aviation: the proposed expansion of Luton airport, a decision put off by the Conservative government, will be nearing the desk of the transport secretary, Louise Haigh, with a significant deadline on 4 October.
This could be another source of tension between Reeves and Haigh – the chancellor has spoken favourably of airport expansion but to do so could put the UK in breach of its legally binding carbon budgets. Expert advice to the government is clear: there can be no expansion of airports unless there is a correspondingly large reduction of emissions elsewhere.
Keir Starmer has focused his administration on five important “missions”, the second of which calls for the UK’s electricity supply to be decarbonised by 2030, which experts have said will be difficult to achieve.
There is a slight paradox at the heart of the target: transport and buildings each contribute about a fifth of the UK’s emissions but those emissions come from petrol and diesel fuel, and gas for heating. Reducing them will require electric vehicles and heat pumps, therefore pushing up the UK’s electricity needs.
Labour has said there is no conflict and it will meet all of its green targets. However, it remains to be seen how this “mission-driven” approach will work in practice. Hebditch said: “The mission focus is welcome but there is a risk that it becomes all-consuming.”
Even more challenging for Labour will be the potential for backlash against strong green transport policies, which campaigners say should include frequent-flyer levies, more low-emissions zones, and encouraging people out of cars altogether, electric or not.
Childs said: “Labour will need to take some measures that are unpopular with some people [including some drivers and air passengers], and they will need to face down that opposition if they are to make progress on greening transport. You can’t try to fix all the problems we have with transport, the climate crisis and air pollution and still be popular with everyone.”
