Transport

NSW 2021 - A Plan to make NSW number one includes actions for transport that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants and support healthy people and communities. These actions include integrating the planning of our cities and transport systems to improve access to jobs and services, reducing motor vehicle emissions through cleaner fuels and cars, improving public transport, and encouraging walking and cycling.

The Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) is reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport through programs that:

  • reduce the need for avoidable travel, such as planning for jobs to be closer to home
  • encourage the use of lower carbon transport modes, such as active transport
  • explore technology improvements, such as electric vehicles.

Information on transport emissions and sources is shown in the emissions overview.

Reduce the need for avoidable travel

Reducing the need for avoidable travel includes initiatives such as providing more jobs closer to home by increasing to 77% the proportion of the population living within 30 minutes by public transport of a major centre, regional city or Global Sydney, as outlined in the NSW Government's Metropolitan Plan for Sydney 2036.

The Metropolitan Plan is an integrated planning and transport plan, which manages growth to 2036. The long-term growth and development of Sydney will be supported by transport services and infrastructure to create a compact and connected city. A greater focus on more sustainable forms of transport, such as public transport, walking and cycling, will assist Sydney meet its potential as a global city and goals for the economy, the environment and liveability. In addition, the Metropolitan Plan outlines how the planning system will address the long-term impacts of climate change.

Travel can also be reduced through businesses using tools such as video- and teleconferencing and encouraging flexible arrangements such as teleworking.

The RTA’s NSW Teleworking Manual is a comprehensive guide to setting up and implementing a teleworking program.

Encourage the use of lower carbon transport modes

In Sydney, travel by private vehicle is larger than all other modes combined, with around half of all trips 5 kilometres or less. These shorter trips have the potential to be converted to lower carbon modes of transport, such as walking, cycling and using public transport.

  • The Premier’s Council for Active Living has developed a workplace travel planning resource to assist in the implementation of Workplace Travel Plans by agencies and businesses. Workplace Travel Plans can be used to promote ‘sustainable’ travel choices, such as walking, cycling, using public transport and car-sharing, as well as reducing the need to travel by encouraging the use of video-conferencing and remote working.
  • A NABERS Commuter Transport Rating can measure the environmental performance of an organisation’s commuter travel and encourage the use of more sustainable modes of transport. Employee travel to work has both local impacts, such as adding to congestion, as well as regional and broader impacts. The rating aims to clearly communicate the transport performance of the occupants of a workplace on a scale of 1 to 6 stars, setting a standard to encourage more sustainable modes of transport.
  • The Sustainable Mobility Initiatives for Local Environments ('SMILE') program supports local governments in implementing sustainable transport initiatives. SMILE explores the theory that measures to encourage behaviour change (in this case from a dependence on cars to more sustainable modes of transport) will be most effective if targeted towards specific groups of people and their transport needs.
  • The MyRTA DriveGreen calculator helps motorists to calculate the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted from their vehicles each year.
  • The 131500TripPlanner helps commuters and travellers plan their trips on trains, buses and ferries.

Active transport

Active transport, such as walking and cycling, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and local transport congestion while improving local air quality, amenity and social cohesion. Active transport can also contribute to healthy communities and healthy people.

More information is available from:

Exploring technology improvements: electric vehicles

With the large numbers of private vehicle trips taken in NSW each day, replacing the current fleet with electric vehicles could offer significant benefits: cutting greenhouse gas emissions and air and noise pollutants, and reducing Australia’s exposure to crude oil prices and dependency on fuel imports.

Broad-scale introduction of electric vehicles onto the Australian market is expected from 2012.

Electric vehicles:

  • emit less carbon dioxide than internal combustion engine vehicles even when charged from the current NSW electricity grid
  • are ZERO-emission vehicles when charged from renewable power supplies
  • have no exhaust and produce zero greenhouse gas emissions during the drive cycle
  • enable transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, offering reductions in air pollutants and greenhouses gases, and greater fuel security
  • may have the capacity to feed power back into the grid, supplementing the fluctuating supply of renewable energy.

OEH trials

Using electric vehicles in its own fleet, OEH is running a number of initiatives and trials to explore the opportunities and barriers to their use in NSW:

For more information about electric vehicles, visit the alternative vehicle technologies webpage.

Reports and publications

Better use of existing technologies

Enviro-driving

Enviro-driving can reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the driving cycle, bringing greater performance efficiency from vehicles. Enviro-driving optimises car use by driving in a safer, more environmentally-friendly, economical and stress-free way.

Let's Clear the Air has further information about enviro-driving.

FleetWise

The NSW FleetWise Partnership (FleetWise) is a voluntary project with a primary objective to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from fleet vehicles (both light and heavy) in NSW. Other objectives are to reduce both emissions of non-greenhouse air pollutants and fleet costs.

Improving the performance of the NSW Government fleet

In November 2004, the NSW Government Cleaner Fleet Initiative was announced, central to which was a commitment to improve the environmental performance of the Government fleet. The Government set environmental performance targets for all agencies, using the scoring system in the Green Vehicle Guide.

Other transport resources

 

Page last updated: 02 November 2011