As can be seen from stories elsewhere in this issue’s news pages, on Thursday 8 October numerous operators across the country got behind the Clean Air Day UK celebrations. The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) got behind the message, taking to Twitter to highlight the role of buses and coaches in improving air quality.
Clean Air Day UK is an annual campaign led by Global Action Plan and brings together individuals and organisations to improve public understanding of air pollution, build awareness of how air pollution affects our health, and explain the actions we can all take to tackle air pollution.
CPT supported the Clean Air Day UK Twitter campaign to improve public understanding of how new clean, green buses and coaches can contribute to improving air quality, and encouraging people to make pledges to change their travel behaviours to help reduce air pollution. It said that if everyone pledged to switch just one car journey a month to a bus there would be a billion fewer car journeys each year.
CPT’s Head of Policy Alison Edwards said: “Improvements in air quality seen during lockdown are something we want to sustain, and Clean Air Day gives us the opportunity to highlight how buses and coaches can contribute to this.
“We will be encouraging people to make pledges to change their travel behaviours, but to get people out of their cars and travelling by bus or coach instead, we need to put measures in place that keep them out of traffic and ensure they are the most appealing form of travel.
“I encourage everyone to get involved to help spread the messages as far as possible that leaving the car at home and getting on a bus or coach for your journey is the best way to tackle air pollution.”
