'Tinkering' with buses won't work
IN THE recent debates about Guernsey's transport policy, much has been said and written about trying to force people out of their cars and onto buses. But what is so special about buses? From an environmental perspective, buses burn fossil fuels and emit as many pollutants as any other large diesel-powered vehicle.
There is no mystery about why most buses in Guernsey drive around empty most of the time. Buses are designed for transporting large numbers of people who want to travel in the same direction at the same time. When these conditions do not apply, the buses will be sparsely used and no amount of wishful thinking or legislation will alter this fact.
This does not mean that nothing can be done about Guernsey's transport problems, but we need to be far clearer about which problems we are trying to solve and why.
1. If we are trying to reduce our use of fossil fuels, we should transfer the States subsidy from the buses to a subsidy for electric vehicles and encourage the installation of domestic solar panels. We could also create a network of roads reserved for cyclists only.
2. If we are trying to encourage people to drive smaller cars, we should reintroduce an annual road tax with higher charges for larger cars. It needs to be an annual tax rather than solely levied at the time of purchase, otherwise it simply becomes an incentive to postpone buying a new car.
3. If we are trying to reduce rush hour congestion into and out of Town, we should provide a number of out-of-town park and ride hubs and a frequent and rapid shuttle service from these hubs to Town. Commuters do not want to start and end their working day driving nose to tail into and out of Town, but the alternative has to be convenient and reliable. The communal shared taxi service, so popular in many other countries, could also be useful.
4. If we are trying to raise revenue from motorists, an increase in the tax on fuel is a far more effective way of raising money than making people buy a new parking clock each year. It is impossible to avoid and requires no new expense on administration.
5. Those who do not drive in this island face very real problems in getting about. Though some of their transport needs can be met by the buses, for many, possibly most, of their journeys, they are dependent on friends to drive them. They could be helped to gain far more independence if they could register for a discount taxi card under which a proportion of their taxi fares would be subsidised by taxpayers. This would direct the States transport subsidy to the people who actually need assistance with transport and give them the freedom to use this subsidy at times and to destinations convenient to them.
The politicians need to get real about buses in Guernsey.
No amount of tinkering, whether it is 'free' bus fares or paying for parking clocks, will make people use a transport system that does not take them where they want to go as or more quickly than they can get there by other means. Guernsey should stop subsidising the buses and start thinking creatively about transport for the future.
MARGARET MACDONALD,
Les Chantoiseaux,
Les Rues,
St Saviour's,
GY7 9FN.
