DILEMMA: SHOULD BUS TRAVEL BE FREE TO HELP COMBAT AIR POLLUTION?

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1 DILEMMA: SHOULD BUS TRAVEL BE FREE TO HELP COMBAT AIR POLLUTION? 15 February 2019 SHOULD BUS TRAVEL BE FREE TO HELP COMBAT AIR POLLUTION? THE DILEMMA Environmental group Friends of the Earth is calling on the authorities in the UK to make bus travel free in order to help combat the increasing problem of air pollution. Air pollution is the release into our atmosphere of various gases, solids or liquid particles at a rate that is so high that our environment cannot dilute or absorb them. As a result, the amount of the substances in our air often becomes very high and causes problems ranging from smog (an intense fog made worse by pollution) to health problems. It s a particularly bad issue in the UK, but it affects the whole world. The study commissioned by Friends of the Earth looked at two areas: firstly, how much we would have to reduce traffic by in order for the UK to deliver its share of global emissions reductions. Secondly, what could be done with public transport to encourage people to leave their cars behind. The conclusions were clear: The level of traffic on UK roads would have to be reduced by between 20% and 60% by the year 2030 to limit a dangerous global temperature rise. With much less car travel, we will need much better local public transport than we have now. The free bus pass, which is currently given to older people in the UK, should be extended to young adults (those aged 30 and under). Local councils should then consider making bus travel free to all in the future. Children have a fundamental right to grow up in a clean and safe environment that gives them the best possible start in life. The persistent, illegal breaches of air pollution limits across the UK are an unacceptable violation of this. Mike Penrose, executive director of Unicef A smoggy day in London Emissions Polluting substances that are released (emitted) into the atmosphere.

2 FACTS & FIGURES About 7 million people a year are estimated to die as a result of air pollution around the world. UK air pollution is thought to kill as many as 40,000 people a year. 95% of the world s population breathes unsafe air. A record number of people are dying of asthma: in England and Wales, 1,320 people died of it in 2017, a rise of more than 25% since In a recent survey of healthcare workers, 90% said air pollution was harming children in their areas. Young children and older adults are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution. Between September 2017 and September 2018, local bus fares increased by 3.7%. The number of local bus passenger journeys in England was 4.31 billion between September 2017 and September That s a 2.1% drop when compared with a year earlier. Bus use in London, the country s most polluted city, fell by 29 million passenger journeys to 2.21 billion. Local bus fares in England increased by a whopping 75% on average between March 2005 and September The largest city in the world to have a free public transport network (buses and trams) is Tallinn, Estonia, which has a population of 440,000. That s about the same population as Cardiff. In order to make buses free to all in England outside London, the Government would need to spend an extra 1.8 billion per year. In order to make London buses free to all, authorities would need to spend an extra 1.2 billion a year.

3 HEALTH RISK Air pollution has been linked to a lot of health problems by scientific studies around the world. Some of the serious conditions and effects include: Heart disease Asthma Depression Miscarriage (a mother losing her baby before birth) Stunting lung growth in children Depression in young adults A reduction in intelligence TYPES OF AIR POLLUTION There are many pollutants both indoors and outdoors that contribute to air pollution and can harm our health. But the most common and harmful ones are: Particulate matter This is a mix of solids and liquids. Some particles, including dust, soot, dirt and smoke are large or dark enough for us to see. But the most dangerous particles are tiny, with a diameter that s smaller than 10 microns (10µm) that s 10 millionths of a metre. These particles come from a variety of sources, some man-made and others natural. The man-made ones include emissions from diesel and petrol engines, friction from brakes and tyres, and dust from road surfaces. Diesel engines produce much more than petrol engines. Natural sources of particulate matter include volcanoes, sea spray, pollen and soil. Larger particulate matter can get trapped in your nose, whereas the tiny particles can go deep into your lungs. The smallest particles, which can carry toxic chemicals that are linked to cancer, can even enter the bloodstream. The British Lung Foundation says: Particulate matter irritates your nose and throat and may be associated with more severe symptoms in people with asthma. It results in more people with lung conditions and heart conditions being admitted to hospital. It also causes early deaths from lung and heart disease. Diesel A type of fuel used to power diesel engines in cars, buses, lorries and other vehicles. In diesel engines the fuel is ignited not by a spark, as in petrol engines, but by the heat of air compressed in a cylinder, with the fuel injected in a spray into the hot compressed air. Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) This is a gas that comes from vehicles, power stations and heating. Diesel vehicles are big contributors to NO 2 levels, which are highest when traffic is busiest. High levels of NO 2 can irritate the lining of your airways, making asthma worse and causing symptoms such as coughing and breathing difficulties. Ozone (O 3 ) Here s a pollutant that is actually higher in the countryside than in towns and cities. Ozone is a gas and, in the upper level of the Earth s atmosphere, it helps us by absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation. Unfortunately, down here, ozone is made by a chemical reaction between the sun s rays and gases and oxides of nitrogen emitted by cars, power plants, chemical plants and other sources. Ozone can irritate the airways of healthy people as well as people with lung conditions. High levels can cause you discomfort when you breathe, reduce your lung capacity (the amount of air your lungs can hold) and trigger asthma symptoms. When there are high levels of ozone, more people are admitted to hospital with asthma-related health problems, and there is a greater risk of lung illnesses like pneumonia and bronchitis. Source: British Lung Foundation

4 DILEMMA: SHOULD BUS TRAVEL BE FREE TO HELP COMBAT AIR POLLUTION? UNICEF S CALL TO ACTION 15 February 2019 CAN ORDINARY PEOPLE DO MORE? Using more public transport may well be better for the environment, but can we do more to reduce air pollution without the Government spending billions on making transport free? For a start, people can choose to drive less, and to car-pool (share a car journey with others going to the same place). There s also the question of how we use our cars. For example, leaving the engine running when the car is parked contributes needlessly to air pollution. This is particularly a problem outside schools, where parents sometimes take their children in the morning by car. Unicef, the United Nations organisation dedicated to protecting children, has said that the UK has some of the worst air quality in Europe, and that children here are caught in a public health emergency. They point out that the legal limits on pollutants are broken every year, and the Government isn t doing enough to tackle this. So here s what Unicef proposes: To tackle this, thousands of schools across the country have introduced new measures to keep cars away from the school gates. Roads are being closed, walk-to-school initiatives have been set up, and one school started a parkand-stride scheme where people leave their cars away from the school and walk to the gates together. This idea came from the children. Until healthy air quality levels are reached across the UK, the Government has a responsibility to protect children from the harmful effects of toxic air. That s why we re calling on them to: 1. Commit to targets that reduce toxic air in the UK to the legal levels recommended by the World Health Organisation. 2. Create an action plan across UK Government departments, including those with responsibility for the environment, health and transport, that protects children from toxic air. 3. Set up a Little Lungs Fund for Local Authorities to pay for changes to keep children safe from toxic air where they live, learn and play. The UK is home to more children suffering from respiratory conditions than anywhere else in Europe. Every 20 minutes a child experiencing an asthma attack is admitted to hospital. Now child health professionals are warning of the seriousness of this growing health crisis. Mike Penrose, executive director of Unicef A happy car-pool

5 DILEMMA: SHOULD BUS TRAVEL BE FREE TO HELP COMBAT AIR POLLUTION? FREE BUS SCHEME 15 February 2019 AROUND THE WOLRD The Friends of the Earth recommendation for the UK has already been tried out in around 100 towns and cities worldwide. USA More than 30 American towns and cities offer free bus travel. This is paid for by local sales taxes, taxes on people s earnings, parking fees, charges to tourist attractions and student tuition fees. This bus in Dunkerque, France is free to ride France How would a free bus scheme work in the UK? For a start, our buses would have to be regulated. At the moment, our bus services are deregulated. This means they are not controlled by the Government, but by individual operating companies. So decisions about where and when to run services are often made according to whether or not they make money rather than whether or not they help the environment or the people that need the bus route. But, assuming the Government took control of the bus services, how would they then raise the money to make all journeys free? It would probably have to come from taxes. In France, local authorities charge businesses a public transport tax called Versement Transport (VT), which raises 5 billion per year. More than 80% of France s 300+ transport authorities charge VT, and it goes directly to pay for improvements to buses, trams and trains. The companies that pay the tax are therefore directly paying for the transport There are 20 towns and cities in France where buses are free for all. Eight of these have populations ranging between 70, ,000. The VT is going a long way to pay for the bus services in French towns and cities. Estonia A tram in Tallinn The capital city, Tallinn, is the largest city in the world to have made its public transport (both buses and trams) free. The authorities lost 10 million in ticket sales, but received overall revenues of 12 million as more people moved to the city, according to Friends of the Earth.

6 YES, BUSES SHOULD BE FREE TO TACKLE AIR POLLUTION NO, BUSES SHOULD NOT BE FREE TO TACKLE AIR POLLUTION 1. MORE PEOPLE WILL LEAVE THE CAR AT HOME Cars are expensive to run and bad for the environment. Free bus journeys will encourage many people to leave their car at home or possibly get rid of it altogether. 2. IT S A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY There is no more time to waste. Children and adults in the UK are suffering because of our crazy air pollution levels. It s time Government took firm, strong action that gets immediate results and this idea will achieve that. 3. IT WILL MAKE LIFE BETTER There s a massive bonus to beating air pollution by making bus travel free. It will reduce traffic, making roads safer. It will also save people the expensive cost of running a car, while giving them free transport, leaving more money in people s pockets. This is a win-win situation. 1. IT S TOO EXPENSIVE It will cost the Government billions to make all buses free. It s not just about paying for the drivers and upkeep of the buses. They will need to expand bus routes in order to offer all drivers the option of leaving the car at home. It s expensive and unrealistic. 2. THERE ARE OTHER WAYS Instead of free bus travel, why not take other measures, such as banning diesel vehicles, increasing bus services, or encouraging car pools for schools and workplaces? 3. PEOPLE PROBABLY WON T DITCH THEIR CARS Who s to say that making buses free will definitely lead to a big reduction in car travel? Most people prefer the convenience of having their own car, and this is unlikely to change. There s every chance car usage won t fall by very much especially in the countryside. DID YOU KNOW? The earliest known use of public transport within towns occurred in Nantes in western France in It was the idea of the enterprising Monsieur Omnes, who coined the name Omnibus as a pun, to indicate both the purpose and the name of the instigator of this service. In Latin omnibus originally meant for everybody!

7 Do you use buses and other forms of public transport? If so, how many journeys do you take in a week? Do you get driven to school or other places? What would be the positive effects of free bus travel? What could be the negative effects of free bus travel? What other things could be done to reduce air pollution? Why is air pollution such an important issue? Do you worry about the quality of the air you breathe? Do you think making bus travel free would be affordable? Should the Government increase bus services, even if the journeys don t become free? What mode of transport do you prefer using bus, train, car or tram?