Drive 5 Miles Less a Week
The Government has launched a new campaign which illustrates that even small changes in our travel habits can add up to a big difference.
‘Drive 5 Miles Less a Week’ is part of the Act on CO2 energy saving advice programme and is the subject of a current media advertising campaign which highlights some of the things we all can do to reduce the number of miles we drive.
Car travel is the single biggest source of personal CO2 emissions in the UK. More than half of all car trips are five miles or less, accounting for approximately a fifth of household car CO2 emissions.
As a first step, if all UK drivers reduced their driving by five miles a week, we could collectively save around 2.70 million tonnes of CO2 per year. They are suggesting five main ways of doing this, which are:
Know before you go – using a journey planner can help you find the quickest and easiest route to travel by either car or public transport.
Plan ahead – to combine car trips as part of the same overall journey rather than lots of separate trips. By reducing travel, the CO2 and fuel cost savings add up, and make best use of precious time.
It’s good to walk – it is tempting to use the car to travel just a mile down the road, but it is the perfect distance to walk. As well as health benefits, walking the one-mile trips instead can save you over £160 each year in fuel.
Life on two wheels – nearly a quarter of all car trips are under two miles. Cycling instead can take just 12 minutes and a great way to exercise – each two-mile trip can burn up over 100 calories.
Car Share – travel by car with friends and family, for all or part of a trip.
For more information about the ‘Drive 5 Miles Less a Week’ campaign and to watch videos of the adverts, go to the Act on CO2 Website.
