The Decarbonisation Dividend: The economic, environmental and social benefits of more bus and coach journeys

The Confederation of Passenger Transport, the trade body for the bus and coach industry, has commissioned WPI Economics to analyse the role that switching car journeys to bus and coach journeys (“modal shift”) may have in achieving the country’s net zero emissions goal. This report summarises the result of the first stage of the project, demonstrating why modal shift is necessary to ensure a just transition to net zero and desirable for its multidimensional benefits, while the next report will assess different policy interventions to demonstrate that modal shift is possible.

Read the report in full

Download the executive summary

Read our media release in full

Modal shift is necessary to ensure a just transition to net zero

The UK’s net zero commitments require a decarbonisation of the transport sector, the highest emitting sector and the only one whose emissions have increased since 1990. This requires ambitious action to tackle car greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which account for the majority of surface transport emissions. While the electrification of the car fleet has a role to play in this, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and others have established that technological change alone is not enough. Decarbonisation also requires limiting demand for car travel in favour of lower-carbon modes of transport.

In short, the UK will not meet its net zero ambitions without shifting some of the demand for cars into buses and coaches.