Transport

Cycling to work is great if you can, but it is not that suitable for shopping, picking up the kids, people who physically struggle, and it’s awful in the rain and cold! It is a solution for very few. Also many in Surrey travel long distances regularly for appointments, school and work. Cycling is not the same powerful solution here that it is in London. Also adding cycle lanes to roads which do not have the space just causes accidents and traffic, and traffic causes more pollution. Surrey would do better to improve the awful and expensive bus system and encourage the use of electric or hybrid cars, the use of carpooling to reduce journeys and limit traffic in town centres to reduce air pollution in crowded areas. Cycle lanes should be invested in where roads have capacity and linking residents to town centres.

Instead of large buses on limited routes which are mostly empty, use the Middle East system of minibuses with flexible routes, flexible stopping points and plenty of them.

Cycling infrastructure needs to be built into standard road developments. Where existing roads have no cycle lanes, these need to be added. Example Esher Centre: The most cycle unfriendly and car centric road.

Given the fact that the Government has given the go ahead for electric cars to have an EV number plate with a green flash on it. It makes sense to allow electric cars to use bus lanes therefore reducing the amount of traffic in the main lanes. London uses this system and it works rather well.

I’d also like to see charging hubs at park and ride places which means electric car users could charge up while doing their shopping etc using an electric bus to get into the city.