The environmental impact of different types of transport

The table shows the carbon footprint per kilometre of various types of transport.

Domestic flight	246g	Electric car	47g
Diesel / petrol car	170g	National rail	35g
Long-haul flight	148g	Tram	29g
Bus	97g	Walking /cycling	<15g

Note: Figures show grams of carbon dioxide-equivalents per passenger kilometer - source UK Government 

Here are some thoughts on this table.

Planes versus petrol cars

You might be surprised that long-haul flights have a lower footprint per kilometre than a petrol car. It’s the long distances that change the picture. A single return flight to Singapore for example which involves a distance of 20,000 kilometres has a bigger impact than a whole year’s driving by a typical UK driver.

Electric cars

As more electricity is produced by renewables then the footprint of electric cars reduces. Electric cars are a small percentage of vehicles on the road and even last year only about 14% of new cars were fully electric. At the moment electric cars are relatively expensive but at least in rural areas most residents have access to off road parking where chargers could be located.

Trains and trams

Trains and trams are very environmentally friendly and they have the potential to carry huge numbers of passenger journeys. Currently only 10% of passenger journeys are by rail. In comparison in Japan 33% of passenger journeys are by rail. Many parts of our railway system need significant investment to increase capacity but the UK seems incapable of addressing this.

Buses

Buses are also environmentally sustainable but there has been a massive decline in bus services since 2010 especially in rural areas. New legislation promises to give all local transport authorities across England new powers to run their own bus services and this might see new initiatives being launched.

Walking and cycling

Increasing the number of journeys by walking or cycling is key to improving the environmental footprint of transport. This means we need more footpaths and cycleways to improve safety and accessibility. Holland has built their cycling infrastructure over decades and in many areas of Holland over 35% of journeys under 5k are taken by bike. This indicates that given the will a massive increase in cycling would be possible.