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Transport

Frequently Asked Questions

Tips for: your car, your bike, the train

Background information on transport

Emissions from transport in the EU

Comparison of different transport modes and their emissions

FAQ

Why is it best not to use your car over short distances?

What about longer distances? How much emissions could I save if I took the train instead of the plane for my next holiday?
When does it make sense to switch off the motor of my car while waiting?
Is the transport sector really such a big polluter?
What else can I do to save emissions from transport?
How much do people travel on average?

How much CO2 does transport emit per person?

Is it worth scrapping the old inefficient car and buying a new fuel-efficient model?

How can I find out how much CO2 my car emits?

Why is it best not to use your car over short distances?

Buses and trains are up to 5 times more energy efficient than the car. And also using public transport saves space on our streets. A double-decker bus carries the same number of people as 20 fully occupied cars but takes a seventh of the space. That helps to avoid traffic jams which are especially harmful on our environment. If the average speed decreases from 50 kmh to a walking level of 3.5 kmh the car needs six times more petrol than normal. Cycling and walking are of course even cleaner and healthier!

Also 70% of the emissions from petrol-driven private cars are as a result of cold starts, because cold engines are not efficient and it takes between 5km and 15km to get the engine to an efficient temperature.

What about longer distances? How much emissions could I save if I took the train instead of the plane for my next holiday?

You could definitely save lots of CO2 emissions! A train uses up to 70% less energy and causes up to 85% less air pollution. But in general there are specific circumstances of influence on the efficiency and the pollution of different transport modes. To get an overview see our comparison of transport modes over different European distances. You can also calculate your CO2 emissions per flight

When does it make sense to switch off the motor of my car while waiting?

It definitely makes sense to switch off the motor when you're waiting for longer than 30 seconds. The car will use less energy when you switch it off and on than if you would leave it on for longer than 30 seconds.

Is the transport sector really such a big polluter?

Yes, the transport sector is the fastest growing source of CO2 emissions in the EU. Since 1985 it increased by 47%. And it goes on. In Britain, car traffic is forecast to rise by 22% by 2010 if no action will is taken.

What else can I do to save emissions from transport?

Even if you have to use your car, there are lots of ways you can reduce emissions and save money. One example: by making sure that your car tyres are inflated properly you can reduce emissions and your fuel bill. In fact for every 6psi (pounds per square inch) a tyre is under-inflated, fuel consumption can rise by 1%. You want more tips?

How much do people travel in the average?

The average distance travelled in the EU was 12,125 km per person in 1997. To see how much people travelled in your country have a look at our table Transport in Europe.

How much CO2 does transport emit per person?

There are around 2 tonnes of CO2 emitted per person per year from the transport sector in the EU. For a breakdown by country see tables

Is it worth scrapping the old inefficient car and buying a new fuel-efficient model?

In making this decision, you have to consider the whole life cycle of the car. On some models, the manufacture of the car can make up 40% of all the CO2 emissions emitted from it being built to it being scrapped. See http://www.pembina.org/ccaa/CCAAJul98/Action/fuelconsup.htm

How can I find out how much CO2 my car emits?

There are databases which give you this information. There is a useful database set up by the UK government, which has recently adjusted car tax according to CO2 emissions. You have to beware that the figures it gives are for average driving on an urban/non urban route. Short journeys in a town have emissions much higher than those given in the database. Click here to connect to database

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Tips for your bike:

- For the daily use it is important that it is a comfortable as well as
a suitable type of bike.

  - Keep in mind: The use of your bike is good for your health!

- In case you think about buying a new one please only decide to do
so if your old bike is really destructive, not possible to use anymore
or too uncomfortable.

- You don't have to throw away your old bike. You could still try to sell it or to
give it away as a present. In a lot of cities there certainly are so called "bike garages"
where you can leave your old bike which will be re-used..

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Tips for the train:

- Use every possible reduction in order to save as much money as possible.

- Even if the train takes a bit longer than to go by car it's still more comfortable and
you can for example read the newspaper and relax.

- If the next train or bus station is too far away to walk there or to go by bike you
should use the possibilities of park and ride. Take your car to the next train station and then go by train instead of taking the car for the whole trip.

- Having the timetable at home makes the use of the public transport
system much easier. Nowadays you also can use the internet in order to be able
to  find out the train or bus connections you are looking for or you can get the
timetables of the public transport system on CD.

- Also if you are planning to go on holidays you should consider the fact that
the bus as well as the train is an environmental friendly, mostly comfortable
and also quite cheap possibility to travel.

- Try to avoid as much as possible to use the plane!
That goes especiallly for short distances. If you take the train for distances
which are less than 500 kilometres you will use less energy and produce
less harmful substances. Besides that there is often not much time difference
between the train and the plane if you take in account the time you need to
get to the airport, the time you have to wait there etc.

Calculate the emissions of any flight!
 
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The responsible use of your car:

- Starting the car
Don't let your vehicle warm up in a standing position.
If you go immediately, the motor will be able to reach its
working temperature quicker, saving petrol and emissions.

- At level crossings
where you have to wait for more than 30 seconds it definitely makes sense to
switch off  the motor in order to save petrol, money and reduce the fumes.

- Roof racks
increase the air resistance and therefore they cost petrol! So please check  if
it's necessary to drive around with your roof rack all the time even if you
don't use it .

- Shopping tours
Use public transport in the city: that saves a lot of
time and money (no parking charges!). A German study on city traffic shows that on  Sundays with open shops 75% of the whole traffic is people trying to find a parking space!

- A balanced driving style
takes care of the environment and saves petrol; if you change gear at the right
time and also do without strong braking and accelerating, you will avoid
unnecessary noise, fumes, emissions and you will be able to save up to about
45% of petrol on the same distances!

- The gears
Don't put too much strain on the gears. Put in as often as possible - even in the city traffic - the
most economical 4th (or even the 5th) gear. For example with a constant speed
of 50 km/h a normal car uses per 100 km 7.5 litres of petrol in the second gear,
5.5 litres of petrol in the third gear and about 4.5 litres of petrol in the fourth gear.

- Try to fit your car into the rhythm of the traffic lights so that you don't have to
brake and accelerate all the time because of a red light. That not only saves a lot
of energy but a lot of money as well.

- While stopping for a longer time because of a level crossing, a traffic jam
or a traffic light switch off the motor! That saves petrol and protects the environment.

- Don't drive at the highest speed level, especially not on the highway. You save
petrol and avoid noise und exhaust fumes; moreover you increase the standard of
safety and also the lifetime of your car.

- Don't go by car for short distances. A cold motor uses about 40% more
energy on such distances as usual. Choose to walk or cycle.

-Switch off after 30 seconds
Even when a car is in neutral it uses petrol and pollutes the air. After half a minute in neutral
the motor will ahave produced more exhaust fumes than it would have done
by switching the motor on and off.

- The tyre pressure
has to be right. Too little pressure in the tyre leads to more risks as well as to a higher
petrol consumption. With 0.5 bar too little pressure in the tyre  you need 5%
more petrol and you also cause higher emissions. Therefore check the tyre pressure regularly!

-The safe distance
is not only important for your safety within the traffic but also helps to prevent
unnecessary braking and accelerating, because you have enough time to react.
So you are able to drive with the need of less petrol.

-Don't carry extra baggage - Any additional weight increases the use of fuel and the exhaust fumes.
For 100 kg useful load you need for 100 km about 1 more litre of petrol.
Therefore you should avoid to driving around with useless luggage and from
time to time you should clean up the back of your car.

- Traffic jams
are not only annoying but also expensive. If the average speed decreases from
50 km/h to a walking level of about 3.5 km/h you will need six times more
petrol than usual. Therefore please try to find another way if you know that there is
a traffic jam. If you are already in a jam keep in mind that you will save petrol and
also help the environment if you switch off the motor in case you have to stop for
a longer time.

Car-pools:
Suggest that people car-pool to work.

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Background Information

Transport is the fastest growing source of carbon dioxide emissions and the road sector is a particularly big polluter. In 1998 road transport contributed 20% of total carbon dioxide emissions in the EU (source: EEA). Since 1985 energy use for transport increased by 47%.

Air transport makes up 12% of global CO2 transport emissions and is growing at 3% per year. Per passenger kilometre, air travel is the most polluting form of transport. Check out how much CO2 you emit on a normal flight.

Comparison of different modes of passenger transport over European distances

For travel between European cities, coach is the least environmentally damaging, then train. Car and plane are the most damaging to the environment. This is how the statistics work out on average, but occupancy rates and type of fuel also affect the outcome. Below are some calculations for journeys between European cities.

Amsterdam - London (361 km)

The calculations for Amsterdam - London were made for an aircraft, B737, train, ferry, car and coach. Going by coach will emit the lowest amount of CO2, namely 31g per passenger km (with 70% occupancy rates). If you're taking the train instead of the plane you can save more than two thirds of the plane's CO2 emissions (by plane: 170 g per passenger km, by train: 52g per passenger km). The car emits nearly the same amount of CO2 as the plane (137 g/pkm).

Amsterdam - Oslo (918km)

These calculations were made for aircraft, train, ferry and car. In this case the train had the best results: it is emitting 49 g of CO2 per pkm, the ferry between Amsterdam and Oslo emits 76 g/pkm. In this case the car is even worse than the plane (car: 170 g/pkm, plane: 126 g/pkm). Again, you can save more than two thirds of CO2 emissions when you go by train instead of the car

Amsterdam - Paris (428 km)

Calculations were made for train, plane, coach and car. Again, the train is the best possibility with 26 g/pkm, the coach emits nearly the same with 29 g/pkm. Over this distance the car has lower CO2 emissions than the plane (car: 143 g/pkm, plane: 161 g/pkm. The difference between train and plane in this case is even bigger than before - with the train you're emitting a sixth of the amount you're emitting when you take the plane

Amsterdam - Rome (1297 km)

Over this distance coach emits the lowest amount with 24 g per passenger km, the train emits 67 g per passenger km and car and plane are almost the same (118g per passenger km for the plane and 119g per passenger km for the car.

 Summary
Train and coach are almost always less environmentally damaging than plane or car. If you have to choose between plane and car, try not to use the plane for less than 1000 km. Landing and take-off are very heavy on fuel. Over short distances this leads to very high emissions of CO2 per passenger km.

On all connections rail transport is more energy efficient and cleaner than aircraft. Energy consumption is 40-70% lower and air pollution slightly and up to 85% lower. Over short distances and with the assumed occupancies, coach and rail travel are twice and three times more energy efficient than air transport, over longer distances the difference is slightly less.

All the calculations above were made by the Centrum voor energiebesparing en schone technologie in the Netherlands. The figures were calculated in a difficult but accurate process, the system of calculations can be looked up in "Energy and emission profiles of aircraft and oher modes of passenger transport over European distances" by the Centrum voor energiebesparing en schone technologie, 1997.

Transport in the EU

average, highest, lowest

In the table above you see the CO2-emissions coming from transport in all EU member states. In the first column the percentage of all CO2-emissions caused by transport is shown. This percentage differs from 19.6% in the Netherlands to 40.1% in Sweden. The average of all member states is 26.4% - member states below the average are Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands

In the second column it is shown how many tonnes of CO2 are emitted per capita within the transport sector. The average of all member states is 2.74 tonnes of CO2 per capita. The very high per capita (10 tonnes of CO2 per person) in Luxembourg is due to neighbouring motorists crossing the border into Luxembourg to take advantage of the lower fuel taxes. This makes a high figure for Luxembourg and a lower figure for the neighbouring countries!

The third, fourth and fifth cloumns show the evolution of transport demand in billion passenger kilometers from 1970 till 1997 - that means which distances were covered by every inhabitant of this country (e.g. if two people are flying 1000 kilometers in a plane it is counted as 2000 passenger kilometers). These figures do not include the amount of freight transport in each country. It shows that - with one slight exception - all amounts of travelling increased during the last 30 years. The exception is Finland which managed to decrease their amount of travelling from 1990 to 1997 by 0.1 billion passenger kilometers. The country with the highest distances is Germany, the one with the lowest amount of travelling is Luxembourg

To make the results more universally valid we calculated the amount of travelling per capita in all member states. In the last column it is shown that the inhabitants in Denmark travel the longest distances while Greece has the lowest amount of kilometers covered by every inhabitant. The average of all member states is 12,125 kilometers that each person covered in 1997.

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