How we get around affects our health as well as our climate. Using a car less helps you to get healthy and cut air pollution as well as doing the right thing for our climate.
Your first action:
- Go without the car – change one journey a week and try the train, bus, cycling or walking (Google Maps can usually offer ways to complete journeys by public transport).
- Cycle or walk more: discuss how to use the car less with other people in your household – work out which journeys can be made most easily by other means. Visit Cycle Streets and Sustrans to find quieter and traffic-free cycle routes.”
- If you have a bicycle, set yourself a target to cycle at least four days a week (this will be good for your health!)
- Walking local journeys is also good for your health – set a walking target of 7000 steps a day (apps to measure your paces can be downloaded for your phone).
- Is there a way in which you can start car sharing? This could be from home or at your workplace. Liftshare can also be a palce to find ways to sahre. as an example.
- If you’ve not got a bicycle yet, why not hire one for a journey to start with? If you’re nervous about cycling you can get training and advice from local organisations like Cyclox and Broken Spoke .
Taking it further – set your own actions and tell us about them!
- Could you do without a car by joining a local car club or car-sharing scheme – some offer electric cars.
- The biggest part of many people’s ‘carbon footprint’ – their annual emissions – comes from flying. Can you plan a holiday that involves ferries and trains rather than planes?
- Cyclists get sweaty: does your workplace have a changing room and shower for cyclists? If not, ask the management to invest in one.
- If you are worried about the safety of cycling for children, why not get together with others and ask for cycle training at your children’s school?
- Make your next car an electric car – petrol and diesel are going to be phased out, so look to the future.
Why does travel matter?
37% of the ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions in Oxfordshire come from transport – cars, buses, trucks and more. There are also other air pollutants that cause all sorts of health problems and there are many places across the county where pollution levels break official limits. The Oxfordshire Clean Air Charter has been developed by local groups and sets out what needs to change.
If you’re a keen cyclist or want advice join Cyclox, Oxford’s cycling group who also run rides and other events.
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