We move around the region using mass transit and active travel
Car journeys are on the wrong trajectory in this region – anyone who has been stuck in traffic will recognise this. While there has been a small fall in overall emissions, the improving efficiency of vehicles means that the number of car journeys has actually increased.
It is not practical to transfer this use over to electric vehicles. The Regional Energy Strategy sets this out: the 42,547 GWh of energy currently delivered to vehicles in the region as petrol and diesel (24) is nearly equal to the amount of energy delivered through the entire gas network in the region and almost twice that delivered by the electricity system. The implications for local energy infrastructure of shifting transport fuel use from petrol to electricity or gas are significant. As such, a lot of that demand will need to be met or otherwise eliminated by mass transit or active travel.
If this carries through, by the time we reach 2041, a majority of people will not own cars, with most car use taken up on an ad hoc basis through electric car clubs. All other journeys are completed by walking, cycling, scoots, and use of buses, Metro and trains.
(24). Worth around £3.3bn per year