Question reference: S6W-17573
- Date lodged: 28 April 2023
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Current status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 11 May 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to reduce car kilometres by 20% by 2030, in light of the Friends of the Earth Scotland's latest report, On the Move: Investing in public transport to meet carbon targets and create jobs, which estimates that, in order to meet Scotland's emissions targets, it would need to shift 6 billion car kilometres a year by 2030 to public transport and active travel.
Answer
We are committed to finding ways to make alternative travel modes more attractive, and supporting people to take fewer journeys by car. The Scottish Government’s plans to encourage the use of public transport and active travel alongside plans to reduce car use, are set out in the draft route map on 20% reduction in car kilometres by 2030, jointly developed with COSLA. We have also set out our future transport infrastructure priorities in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review published on 8 December 2022 which includes a focus on active travel, mass transit and bus priority for mode shift away from the predominance of cars.
However, the evidence is clear that incentivising sustainable alternatives alone will not be sufficient to bring about the behaviour change to deliver the scale of 20% car KM reduction. Therefore as outlined in our draft 20% route map, we have commissioned research exploring equitable options for demand management to discourage car use.
The most direct levers on the cost of buying or running a petrol or diesel car – fuel duty and vehicle excise duty – are currently reserved, and the recent rises in the cost of motoring underline the unfairness of the current, regressive motoring tax regime. As such, we will continue to press the UK Government for a fair and progressive future transport tax system that better incentivises the transition to zero-emission vehicles, reduces unnecessary journeys and raises revenues to fund policies to support a shift to more sustainable travel.
The final version of the route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car km in Scotland by 2030 will be published alongside the public consultation analysis of the responses to the draft version of the route map, and the commissioned demand management research, in the coming months.