Support the TIF bid
The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) are consulting until 10 October on their proposals to invest £3 billion in Greater Manchester's transport system.
Respond
in favour of the proposals, but why not suggest they do
more to cut greenhouse gas emissions by investing more in walking,
cycling and personalised travel planning, and by linking the cost
of the congestion charge to vehicle emissions...
Toughen up EU emissions standards
Road transport makes up nearly a quarter of Europe’s carbon emissions, and most of this comes from cars. More fuel efficient cars would help cut emissions, but the car industry is missing its voluntary emission reduction targets and continues to build big, high-powered cars.
The European Parliament will soon be voting on mandatory standards for carbon dioxide emissions from cars and, predictably, the car industry is lobbying fiercely against this.
Ask
your MEPs to vote for tough emissions standards to ensure that
the car industry delivers its fair share of the CO2 cuts
needed to tackle climate change.
Tell
the UK Government
that you'd like to see tough legally-binding standards to increase
car fuel efficiency and cut emissions.
Email
Jacques Barrot, European Commissioner for Transport, to call
for tough new fuel efficiency targets to be introduced for car manufacturers.
Get on your bike
25% of car trips in the UK are less than two miles and 58% are less than five miles, and the catalytic converter only starts working after 2 miles. Bikes are ideal for short journeys. Check out the Love Your Bike website for inspiration...
Use public transport
One litre of fuel will carry a person 4 miles in a large car, 5.5 miles in a small car, 31 miles in a bus with 40 passengers and 34 miles in a train with 300 passengers.
Share your car
If you feel you need to make a particular journey by car, then see if you could share it with someone (perhaps a colleague) who is making the same journey. Or join a car club to get access to a car near you when you need one - WhizzGo have recently started operating a scheme like this in central Manchester.
(Certain actions taken from 'Go MAD!', published by The Ecologist)