Extinction Rebellion's Double Decker Leads Bus Cuts Protest
Part of a national 'Summer Uprising' by climate action group
Bikes and scooters accompanied the open top bus on its trip
The local Extinction Rebellion group has taken part in a ‘Summer Uprising’ climate festival on board an open top bus which travelled across south London.
Showing the destination ‘Climate Justice’ and with banners proclaiming ‘Cut Carbon Not Buses’ and ‘Transport Change Not Climate Change’ hung from either side, the bus was accompanied by a flotilla of bicycles, scooters and cargo bikes, XR flags waving.
Starting from Wandsworth Town Hall, it stopped off at Battersea Park in Wandsworth and Clapham Common in Lambeth, ending at Burgess Park in Southwark. At each stop-off point Extinction Rebellion members set up stalls, gave out leaflets and talked with members of the public about the climate emergency, proposed bus cuts and the need for a carbon-free public transport system. They encouraged people to take part in TfL’s consultation on the bus cuts, to join local XR groups and to come to the next big XR gathering in London starting 9 September.
Dr Christianne Guillotte from Doctors for XR spoke about the effects on health of climate change focusing on air pollution. Figures indicate that over 9,000 Londoners die prematurely every year from air pollution, to which emissions from transport is a major contributor. She said, ‘It is my duty as a doctor to speak out about air pollution because it is a clear and avoidable cause of illness, disability and death,’ she said. She quoted data showing that children in London are growing up with lung volumes up to 10% lower than the UK average and one in 11 develop asthma.
‘It’s important to remember that these effects are not felt equally,’ said Dr Guillotte. ‘Areas of deprivation, vulnerable groups, and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by toxic air.’
‘Electric cars are not the answer,’ said Pete Knapps of Scientists for XR, a researcher on air pollution. Wear on tyres and brakes causes air pollution, sometimes more than from petrol cars. We need most people to stop using cars, leaving roads free for essential cars and buses. Reduced congestion will allow buses to travel faster and leave space for bicycles. If public transport in your area isn’t good enough, he advised, talk to your MP and your local councillors, or join a local campaigning group.
The day’s events were part of a nationwide series of actions by local XR groups under the umbrella of the ‘Summer Uprising’.
Extinction Rebellion’s climate bus travels across South London with the message ‘Cut Carbon Not Buses’
Transport for London (TfL) has announced proposals to make the biggest reduction in London’s bus service ever, with 250 buses and 16 routes axed. These cuts could lead to the loss of 800 jobs, in the middle of the worst cost-of-living crisis for decades.
In addition, TfL wants to cut 600 jobs across the Tube network to meet a government target of saving £400 million across the network. The government is demanding savings of £400 million from TfL and this is what London Mayor Sadiq Khan has come up with.
XR describe cutting public transport in a climate crisis as crazy and is calling for a London free of all but essential cars, a city-wide network of safe walking and cycling routes and a free, integrated, carbon-free public transport system all by 2030.
While London is the most expensive city for public transport in the world, Germany has just introduced a radical summer experiment to encourage public transport use. For just €9, Germans will be able to travel aboard regional rail, bus and subways for a whole month.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
July 29, 2022