Scots ignore pleas to get on their bikes as car use rises
THE number of cars on Scotland’s roads has increased despite millions being sunk into green schemes to get motorists off the road.
Figures released yesterday revealed that more than half of Scots now prefer to use their cars over public transport despite a string of expensive initiatives aimed at promoting bikes and buses.
Fewer than one per cent of Scots use a bicycle as their main mode of transport, while bus use plummeted to its lowest level in a decade.
The figures come as a blow to Scottish Government chiefs, who last year pumped £60million into schemes promoting public transport, cycling and walking.
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Recently, ministers pledged more than £17million worth of public money to fund a “cycling action plan” over the next year, while £4.4million is being spent on a “green bus fund”.
Published by Scotland’s chief statistician, the figures show that 51 per cent of Scots used a car as their main form of transport in 2009, up one per cent on the previous year.
But only 8.6 per cent of people relied on buses and 0.9 per cent on cycling.
Yesterday critics insisted that the Scottish Government was “wasting time” on green schemes as they fail to persuade the public to give up cars.
A spokesman for the Association of British Drivers (ABD) said: “When are these numbskulls going to realise that people pay out a lot of money to buy a car and pay for tax, repairs and petrol and do not want to leave it to sit there doing nothing just to stand in the freezing cold waiting for a bus?
“Having a car gives you freedom, but I can’t understand why so much is spent on attempting to remove this freedom from people.
“It’s socialism gone wrong. And as the winter comes in, they’re wasting time trying to get people to give up their cars, as most people would rather brave the cold in the comfort of their vehicles.”
It comes just months after homes across Scotland were lectured about climate change and public transport by “personal travel advisers” under a £15million Smarter Choices, Smarter Places scheme.
And earlier this year, ministers produced a document encouraging town planners to introduce cobbles, more speed humps and chicanes to drive motorists from Scotland’s roads.
A Transport Scotland spokeswoman said: “We are fully committed to reducing road congestion whilst continuing to provide people with real alternatives to the car.
“That is why we are investing record levels in public transport and looking towards the innovative in our efforts to encourage people to make the switch to more sustainable modes of transport.”
