Travel to France
The European Bike Express - the "bike bus"
Cycling is zero carbon transport. For longer journeys, combining cycling with rail or bus is much more carbon efficient than a journey using car or aeroplane.
Instead of driving: | Save in return journey |
|---|---|
| Cycle 3 miles each way | Save 2 kg co2 | (Cycle to work) |
| Cycle 2 miles to station at each end of 12 mile train journey | Save 4 kg co2 | (Yatton to Weston super Mare) |
| Cycle 3 miles to station at each end of 100 mile train journey | Save 32 kg co2 | (Weston - Birmingham) |
| Cycle 6 miles on folding bike and coach journey of 140 miles | Save 57 kg co2 | (Weston to London) |
Instead of flying: |
|
|---|---|
| Cycle 6 miles, train, ferry and the "bike bus" 600 miles to south of France and back | Save 740 kg co2 |
| Cycle all the way to south of France and back | Save 980 kg co2 |
| That's a ton of carbon dioxide gas |
Go to work by bike - a 3 mile return journey every work day saves nearly HALF a TONNE (500kg) of carbon dioxide per year.
More information on climate change:
An article by the Daily Telegraph's motoring correspondent John Whitmore of 2 December 2006 A Stern warning
"Clearly those who can, and who need to for health reasons, should start walking and cycling, at least to school, the shops and the station. That is why the fortunate majority of us have legs, after all"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2006/12/02/mfwhit02.xm
And one by Nicholas Crane, travel correspondent - "Why we must give up flying" 29 July 2006
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2006/07/29/etnofly29.xml
- Rail travel emits only one fifth the greenhouse gases of flying
- Local rail travel emits 8/10 the CO2 of driving with one person in the car.
- Express Coach emits half the greenhouse gas of rail travel
- Cycling emits no CO2 at all
(but taking the train rather than letting it run with your seat empty will save a great deal more)
(source of primary data: Mayer Hillman)