My Year of Green - Greener Transport
After sharing my last article, one local resident challenged me to publish my annual mileage by car to demonstrate my sustainability. I'm not going to do that mostly because if I did it would be for 2021 and, to be frank, that will not be a true reflection of how much I use my car because we were still in the midst of Covid restrictions for much of the year. However, I am going to take up the challenge this month and be completely honest with you about my transport habits.
I am the first person to admit that I rely heavily on my car. I have a busy life juggling the work I do as Guildford's Lib Dem parliamentary candidate, my paid employment which takes up 21 hours as well as being the primary carer for two active children (11 and 14) who often require taxiing to places. We run two family cars - a necessity for juggling everyday life but also because we have a caravan which needs a larger, family-size petrol car to tow it. But, we were fortunate enough at the start of 2020 to be able to buy an electric car, a Nissan Leaf, which we use for most of our journeys and this helps us to reduce our impact on the environment. A real positive when it comes to greener transport choices is that I live very close to the town centre and train station which means that I am able to choose to take the train to many destinations beyond Guildford and walk to many local events and meetings. This has been a significant change in the life of my family and me - previously we lived in the north of Guildford and public transport was unreliable and getting the train generally meant a taxi too which didn't encourage us to get out of our cars. |
So there you are, a very honest assessment of where my family and I are at in terms of transport and we are far from perfect!
This month, alongside sharing my transport choices (and trying to make greener transport choices), I will also be taking a look at green/sustainable transport options locally and Lib Dem policy. I am a work in progress on this, like so many of us are, but I know that each greener transport choice we make is a step in the right direction. We also have to face the reality that often the sustainable choice is much harder because the options available just aren't convenient or affordable.
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue (good or bad). You can contact me by email at office@guildfordlibdems.org.uk.
My transport choices this week:
Miles by Car | Miles on foot | Miles by train | ||
Tue 1st | School run in the morning and afternoon | 6.4 (EV) | ||
Drive to Shalford to knock on doors | 1.9 (EV) | |||
Attending an event in the town centre | 1 | |||
Wed 2nd | School run in the morning and afternoon | 3.2 (EV) | ||
Drive to/from Lib Dem office and school | 4 (EV) | |||
Thu 3rd | School run in the morning and afternoon | 6.4 (EV) | ||
Meeting with Cranleigh LD councillors | 20 (EV) | |||
Walk into town and back | 1 | |||
Fri 4th | School run in the morning | 3.2 (EV) | ||
30.3 miles | 3 miles | 0 |