§ Mr. Ian Lloydasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what estimates he has made of the fuel consumption savings which might be obtained, as a percentage of the total energy consumed in transport, by a 50 per cent. transfer of commuters to dedicated bus services;
(2) what estimates he has made of the fuel consumption savings which might be obtained, as a percentage of the total energy consumed in transport, by the use of car pools by 50 per cent. of those presently commuting by car;
(3) what estimates he has made of the fuel consumption savings which might be obtained, as a percentage of the total energy consumed in transport, by a shift of 50 per cent. of inter-city car passengers in equal proportion to bus and rail;
(4) what estimates he has made of the fuel consumption savings which might be obtained, as a percentage of the total energy consumed in transport, by a shift of 50 per cent. of inter-city lorry freight to British Rail;
(5) what estimates he has made of the fuel consumption savings which might be obtained, as a percentage of the total energy consumed in transport, by the reduction of urban traffic congestion by 50 per cent.;
(6) what estimates he has made of the fuel consumption savings which might be 449W obtained, as a percentage of the total energy consumed in transport, by the achievement by 50 per cent. of all road vehicles of a 30 per cent. reduction in fuel consumption;
(7) what estimates he has made of the fuel consumption savings which might be obtained, as a percentage of the total energy consumed in transport, by the conversion of 50 per cent. of the car-using passenger population to small cars;
(8) what estimates he has made of the fuel consumption savings which might be obtained, as a percentage of the total energy consumed in transport, by a 50 per cent. success in limiting vehicle speeds to 50 mph;
(9) what estimates he has made of the fuel consumption savings which might be obtained, as a percentage of the total energy consumed in transport, by a shift of 50 per cent. of short-haul air passengers to surface transport;
(10) what estimates he has made of the fuel consumption savings which might be obtained, as a percentage of the total energy consumed in transport, by a transfer of 50 per cent. of current car users to walking or cycling up to a distance of five miles instead of driving.
§ Mr. PeytonOnly very broad estimates are possible. Although these measures are so radical that their practicability would be doubtful, the resultant energy savings would in general be relatively small.
For journeys on which a steady speed can be sustained most cars might use between 25 per cent. and 30 per cent. less fuel by cruising at about 40–50 mph instead of 70 mph, but this would affect only a fraction of road traffic.
A 30 per cent. reduction in fuel consumption by vehicles using about half the energy used on the roads would save between 10 per cent. and 15 per cent. of the energy used in transport. If all the cars on the road were small, using about 40 miles per gallon, about 15 per cent. of transport energy would be saved.
Car pooling for half of urban car commuters might save about 2 per cent.-3 per cent. of transport energy. If urban traffic were halved, about one-fifth of transport energy would be saved. A transfer of half of current car users to walking or cycling up to a distance of five miles would apply mainly to urban 450W areas and would save about 10 per cent. of transport energy.
The saving obtainable from a 50 per cent. transfer of commuters to dedicated bus services, of inter-city car passengers to bus and rail, of short-haul air passengers to surface transport, and of intercity lorry freight to rail would depend on many factors, notably the origins and destinations of the journeys involved, and seems likely to be comparatively small for the last three.