Transport policy

Scots ignore the green message and take to their cars

SCOTTISH drivers clocked up a billion more kilometres last year than in 2005, the largest increase for four years, official figures have shown.

The Scottish Executive admitted that, despite repeated efforts to persuade people to make more use of public transport, more people were choosing to travel by car.

The Greens accused John Swinney, the finance secretary, of having his "head in the sand" because he was planning on building new roads.

But despite the criticism, Mr Swinney last night pledged to push ahead with a policy that Executive-commissioned research said would increase traffic levels even further - abolishing tolls on the Forth and Tay bridges.

Figures in the Executive's Main Transport Trends document, published yesterday, showed road traffic increased last year by 3 per cent from 42.7 to 43.8 billion vehicle kilometres. This compares with a rise of just 12 million in 2005.

Last year's traffic increase was accompanied by a slackening of passenger growth on Scotland's railways. The total carried by First ScotRail was up by more than two million, but this growth was just one third as much as in preceding years.

Patrick Harvie MSP, the Greens' transport spokesman, said: "It's frankly bizarre for the minister to appeal to people to leave the car at home whilst at the same time investing in roads which attract people into their cars. The minister appears to have his head in the sand.

"Congestion causes economic damage as well as environmental problems, and pursuing policies which make it worse is simply absurd."

A spokeswoman for the Executive said: "More and more people in Scotland are choosing to travel by car.

"This government will continue to invest in infrastructure that tackles congestion, improves connectivity and reduces journey times."