Transport question for prospective Melksham and Devizes MP

[whole diary]

[grahame]

I am drafting a question to potentially be put to our parliamentary candidates at the hustings next week, in the Melksham and Devizes constituency.  Within the seat boundaries are current stations at Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham and Avoncliff.  The West of England main line passes through, and the proposed site of Devizes Gateway is in the constituency.  Former station sites at Lavington, Limpley Stoke, Beanacre, Broughton Gifford, Holt, Staverton, Box and Box (Mill Lane) are also in the constituency

Transport is the largest emitting sector of greenhouse gas emissions, producing 26% of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s total emissions, and it's the most stubborn sector to reduce. Rail and road public transport are by far the most efficient way, emission wise, to move people around. Government figures estimate (London to Glasgow example) 175 kgsCO2 per single passenger journey by plane, around 90 by car and under 30 by either train or coach.  Train and coach travel, with many people per vehicle, reduce congestion too.  And almost one in five households in Melksham don't have a private car or van at all.

But our public transport is underused, and many consider it to have problems. On the trains in the constituency:
* Melksham - 10% cancellations on an already thin service
* Bradford-on-Avon - through trains from London were withdrawn
* Devizes Gateway - business case for new station rejected last year
* Long distance fares are unfathomable and tend to be very expensive
On buses:
* The £2 flat fare has done wonders, but does it revert in January to £6 single Melksham to Devizes?
* The last bus from Chippenham to Melksham is at 17:30
* Buses and trains do not connect - no bus at all to the station in Melksham

What would you and your party do to reduce the carbon footprint of transport across the uk, and bring better mobility to those without and with their own vehicles in this and other constituencies?

(figures from census data and from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-and-environment-statistics-2023/transport-and-environment-statistics-2023 )

I will probably shorten the question / blurb if I get to put it - but before I do, do members here have any comments they could usefully add?

The government stats page concerns me slightly as I don't believe how high the direct emissions from a train are from London to Glasgow.   It looks to me like they have take the figures from a voyager doing the journey - diesel under the electric wires all the way, and I thought that practise had ceased?

[Noggin]

Perhaps the question to ask yourself is what do you want to learn about the candidate and their attitude to public transport? They can parrot the party line, say they support station reopenings etc, but what will show the punters their true colours?

e.g. What's the closest bus route to your home and when was the last time you took it? What will be the best way to tax electric cars in the absence of fuel duty?   

[Chris from Nailsea]

I'm posting this as a complete outsider, but someone with an interest in public transport issues in Melksham.

A couple of points from me, then.

I don't know anything about your prospective local audience, or the candidates, but I think their eyes may start to glaze over if you quote them figures for Glasgow, for example.  Do you have a more local figure?

I agree with Noggin: it's perhaps better to hit them initially with your bus service needs - then add on the need for the bus service to link to the railway service.  That will be a bit like giving them both barrels from a shotgun to deal with - metaphorically, of course!