Fuel Crisis Should Spur Support For Active And Public Transport – College

The New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine believes that rising fuel prices and vulnerability to fuel supply disruption from conflict in the Middle East should spur urgent action to support active modes of transport such as walking and cycling, as well as public transport.

Road transport is the largest single source of fossil fuel use in New Zealand.

College President Sir Collin Tukuitonga says that making active modes of transport such as cycling and walking safe and attractive should be a vital part of the Government’s fuel response plan as it reduces demand for fossil fuels.

Tukuitonga points to a number of approaches that can be readily adopted at low cost. These include low-traffic neighbourhoods, pop-up cycleways and free bike schemes. Many of these approaches have already been piloted in parts of New Zealand and we have evidence from evaluations to support their rapid implementation elsewhere in the country. Tukuitonga says that such approaches have also been successfully adopted by cities around the world as part of the COVID-19 response. Changes at the neighbourhood level to street space can rapidly shift how people get around locally, and can be made quickly using affordable infrastructure such as planter boxes, bollards, tape, and road cones.

Importantly, interventions that support active and public modes of travel have major co-benefits for population health through greater physical activity, reduced exposure to pollution, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Tukuitonga believes there is need for far more joined-up policy making. “Action on transport is a key way to relieve the pressures on our overstretched health system. The health benefits from greater use of active transport need to be given much greater weighting by policy and decision makers involved in transport, urban planning, energy security, as well as climate policy” says Tukuitonga.

The College is calling for a co-ordinated approach involving the Government, transport agencies, and local authorities to fast-track the infrastructure needed to support more active transport, alongside measures to make public transport more accessible, efficient and affordable.

For more information, see our Transport Policy Statement.

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