To have any hope of reaching 2030 emissions targets, TUC trade unionists posit, we would need to reduce total car mileage by “at least 20 percent.” Just transitioning to electric cars won’t get us there.

What will? “A modal shift to public transport” that includes a 120 percent increase in journeys by buses and trolleys and an 80 percent hike in rail journeys. A shift at that bold a level, the new TUC report details, would create huge gains in economic productivity and create 140,000 new UK jobs working directly in bus, trolley, and train operations. Some 830,000 additional jobs, between now and 2035, would come from creating the new infrastructure needed for this shift to public transport.

But the benefits wouldn’t stop there. Over a third of low-income UK households now have no access to cars. The shift to a much more vibrant public transport infrastructure “will extend social and economic inclusion by increasing routes and reducing journey time, aiding journeys for accessing work, public services, retail, leisure, family, and friends.” And a greater reliance on public transport will bring multiple health benefits, with many of those coming from the walking and cycling needed to access public transport pick-up points.

“Investing in public transport,” stresses TUC general secretary Paul Nowak, “will help us meet net zero targets and reduce the threat of catastrophic climate change.”

“Commuters will have faster and cheaper journeys to work,” Nowak adds. “New connections will bring new businesses to places where people need economic opportunities. We will save lives with cleaner air. And we will reduce loneliness and isolation by making everyone better connected, wherever you live.”

The one thing more public transport most definitely will not do? Ensure auto industry top execs ever more years of mega-million paydays.

To have any hope of reaching 2030 emissions targets, TUC trade unionists posit, we would need to reduce total car mileage by “at least 20 percent.” Just transitioning to electric cars won’t get us there.

What will? “A modal shift to public transport” that includes a 120 percent increase in journeys by buses and trolleys and an 80 percent hike in rail journeys. A shift at that bold a level, the new TUC report details, would create huge gains in economic productivity and create 140,000 new UK jobs working directly in bus, trolley, and train operations. Some 830,000 additional jobs, between now and 2035, would come from creating the new infrastructure needed for this shift to public transport.

But the benefits wouldn’t stop there. Over a third of low-income UK households now have no access to cars. The shift to a much more vibrant public transport infrastructure “will extend social and economic inclusion by increasing routes and reducing journey time, aiding journeys for accessing work, public services, retail, leisure, family, and friends.” And a greater reliance on public transport will bring multiple health benefits, with many of those coming from the walking and cycling needed to access public transport pick-up points.

“Investing in public transport,” stresses TUC general secretary Paul Nowak, “will help us meet net zero targets and reduce the threat of catastrophic climate change.”

“Commuters will have faster and cheaper journeys to work,” Nowak adds. “New connections will bring new businesses to places where people need economic opportunities. We will save lives with cleaner air. And we will reduce loneliness and isolation by making everyone better connected, wherever you live.”

The one thing more public transport most definitely will not do? Ensure auto industry top execs ever more years of mega-million paydays.