Research has revealed that 9 out of 10 car trips could be replaced by walking, cycling or public transport.
That’s why in September Welsh Conservatives announced that we would use money raised by the plastic bag levy to fund an expansion in the cycle and walkway networks across Wales.
By investing £4 million over a period of four years, we hope to encourage people out of their cars, to walk and cycle to work or school instead.
This would give each of us every encouragement to pursue a healthier, more active and environmentally-friendly way of life as well as helping us to cut down on transport emissions.
At the South Wales Conservative Policy Forum on Saturday I announced a further measure to encourage cycling.
We would support Cardiff’s flagship Smart Bikes scheme and extend that scheme in Cardiff and other parts of Wales.
The free-to-use bike scheme is an exciting carbon reduction measure, which Cardiff Council has partnered with the Assembly Government.
A similar scheme launched in three cities in England in 2005 found that car journeys went down by 12%. Walking increased by 17% and cycling was up by a third.
Cardiff has the potential to do the same, but at the moment the scheme is too small.
We will provide the financial backing for the programme to be extended from 70 bicycles to 500 in total.
This will help to generate lasting improvements in reducing emissions in our national capital.
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