Try sustainable transport during Better Transport Week 2024

17 June 2024

Better Transport Week (17-23 June) is an annual week-long celebration of sustainable transport organised by transport charity Campaign for Better Transport. With events, positive actions, competitions and special offers the week aims to celebrate sustainable transport in all its forms and encourage more people to choose less polluting transport to help tackle climate change.

In the UK, transport is responsible for more carbon emissions than any other sector producing more than a quarter (26 per cent) of the UK’s total emissions, so choosing to travel sustainably is one of the most effective things we can do to look after our environment.

Paul Tuohy, CEO of Campaign for Better Transport, said: “We launched Better Transport Week to celebrate the sustainable transport that makes our communities better places to live and work. With over 100 partner organisations taking part this year there’s lots of ways to get involved and find out how you can make the change to more sustainable transport. Buses and coaches, trains and trams, bikes, e-scooters and shared transport are ready to take us to a greener future – so let’s all get on board.”

Virgin Trains Ticketing are headline sponsors for Better Transport Week 2024. Mark Plowright, Director at Virgin Trains Ticketing, said: “Virgin has always been passionate about train travel as a more sustainable form of domestic transport. We are delighted to support Better Transport Week and the important work that Campaign for Better Transport is doing to expedite fares reform. It’s crucial that we encourage more people in the UK to travel domestically by train and we can only achieve that by putting passengers first and making the train the most attractive and rewarding way to travel.”

The official launch of Better Transport Week 2024 will take place at Wolverhampton Railway Station. The event will feature guest speakers, discussion on community rail initiatives and a chance to look around the new-look Wolverhampton Railway Station.

Charlotte Ritchie, from West Midlands Trains which is hosting the launch, said: “We are delighted to partner with Campaign for Better Transport to launch Better Transport Week 2024. Public transport plays a vital role in connecting people and places, providing access to jobs and skills and enhancing our local communities. We want to celebrate the positive role of the railway, as well as sharing ideas on how we can make it simpler and easier to use, to encourage more people to travel in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.”

Public transport, shared travel, walking and cycling all produce less carbon emissions than cars and help improve air quality and reduce congestion, but changing the way we travel can be daunting. Yet, swapping just one car journey for a more sustainable mode of transport can make a big difference:

• If everyone switched just one car journey a month to bus, there would be a billion fewer car journeys and a saving of two million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year
• Switching just one, average car journey to the train saves the same carbon as boiling a kettle up to 455 times.

Sustainable transport does amazing things. It shrinks traffic jams, cleans up our air and tackles climate change. It improves our health and boosts our economy. It connects us to the things that matter.

• Just one car club vehicle typically replaces 20 private cars on UK roads
• A single full double-decker bus can replace up to 75 cars
• One rail freight service can remove up to 129 HGV movements from our roads, cutting congestion and pollution.

This Better Transport Week let’s celebrate the transport that matters. Some ideas to consider during Better Transport Week include organising a sustainable transport challenge in your workplace, at school or in your local community. Or why not take the week as an opportunity to review your commute and travel options. Is there a more sustainable way to travel for work, school, shopping or leisure?

Better Transport Week is organised by transport charity Campaign for Better Transport and runs from 17 to 23 June. Get involved with Better Transport Week on social media using #bettertransportweek or visit bettertransportweek.org.uk for more information and to download free materials to help promote the week.

ENDS

For further information please contact the press office on 07984 773 468 (calls only no texts) or communications@bettertransport.org.uk.

Notes to Editors

1. Better Transport Week 2024 is being supported by Virgin Train Ticketing, AtkinsRealis, Rail Delivery Group, BVRLA, Hull Trains, Lumo, Mobilityways, Worldline, C2C, Caledonian Sleeper Trains, Google, JFG Communications, Lime, Rail Industry Association and more than 80 other partners. See the full list here.
2. Just one car club vehicle typically replaces 20 private cars on UK roads, CoMoUK.
3. A single full double-decker bus can replace up to 75 cars, CPT.
4. If everyone switched just one car journey a month to bus, there would be a billion fewer car journeys and a saving of 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, CPT.
5. One rail freight service can remove up to 129 HGV movements from our roads, cutting congestion and pollution, Rail Partners.
6. Switching just one, average car journey to train saves the same carbon as boiling a kettle up to 455 times, Campaign for Better Transport.
7. Rail is one of the greenest ways to travel: only 1.5% of all transport carbon emissions come from rail, BEIS.
8. Virgin Trains Ticketing is a more rewarding way to book train travel on any train to anywhere across Great Britain. We’re all about saving our customers money and giving them rewards on top. With Virgin Trains Ticketing, you can earn Virgin Points on every £1 you spend on travel. And those points can be used to unlock discounts on future train travel, as well as giving you access to hundreds of different rewards from across the Virgin family and beyond with Virgin Red. (A free Virgin Red membership is required to earn and spend Virgin Points). On top of that there are zero booking fees on all tickets, and split ticket options on many routes to find you the same journey for less.
9. West Midlands Trains operates passenger rail services under the West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway brands. More than one million passenger journeys are made every week on WMT services across a network including Liverpool, Birmingham, London and the wider West Midlands. WMT operates 150 stations across its network, including Wolverhampton, and is investing more than £1billion in new trains and infrastructure to improve passenger journeys.
10. Campaign for Better Transport operates in England and Wales. Campaign for Better Transport’s vision is for all communities to have access to high quality, sustainable transport that meets their needs, improves quality of life and protects the environment. Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust is a registered charity (1101929).