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Eco-friendly methods of transport

With many people reliant on transportation within their day to day lifestyles, the world is under significant pressure to develop new, more sustainable ways to cope with the current demands. The department for transport highlighted how, in 2017, 808 billion kilometres were travelled by passengers in the UK alone – the highest volume ever recorded. So, although some people turn a blind eye and often dismiss sustainable transportation methods, as they’re regularly seen as less convenient or a slower method, it still remains an issue that needs addressing.

Yes, jetting off abroad to luxurious locations and driving expensive flashy cars provides the ultimate snapchat story and looks good for the ‘gram, but maybe we should try and explore new methods of eco-friendly transport that can still get us from A to B, whilst causing less harm to the environment.

Sustainable transport can be a bit confusing; so, to put it simply, sustainable transport is any form of transport that doesn’t rely on dwindling non-renewable sources and instead relies on green energy sources that have little or no impact on the environment.

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Getting around

When travelling around, the easy option can often be to jump in a taxi, saving time and more importantly avoiding getting lost. But why not try and walk there? Walking was the original form of transport that worked for millions of years, so there’s probably no harm in giving it a go! Yes, it may take an extra 10 minutes to reach the destination, and hopefully you don’t end up walking around in circles, but it’s also a good health kick. Secondly, walking may actually give you the opportunity to see and explore the country’s natural beauty and discover things you may not have seen whilst driving in an old cab at fast speeds.

The only alternative transport isn’t just walking, cycling is just as good, maybe even better if you want to tone up those thighs. Not only can cycling be quite a fun form of transport, but it’s also very efficient and causes no harm to the atmosphere (apart from the odd bit during manufacture). Surprisingly enough, once you get going, you can get up to quite a quick speed and will arrive at your destination in no time. Besides, you might even start to enjoy cycling! In some countries such as India, you can even get cycle rickshaws. These are human powered through cycling and are a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers through the city (we recommend you give them a go).

Rickshaw

But hey, we know walking and cycling isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. There are still other eco-friendly methods of transport you can take. Although public transport runs at set times and doesn’t always drop you off exactly at the ideal spot, it’s still a good form of transport that you can use to contribute to a more sustainable world. Although buses and trains do use non-renewable energy sources, they’re still more eco-friendly than driving your car. Every time you step onto a train or bus you are contributing to increasing its efficiency, as it’s transporting more people yet with the same amount of fuel.

Nevertheless, if these ideas still aren’t ticking the boxes, then why not try carpooling? Whilst driving a car isn’t eco-friendly, we can still try and increase the efficiency by sharing the car journey with as many people as possible.  If you and your partner are meeting up with other couples abroad, why not hire a car to share, rather than two separate cars per couple. This will not only save you a few pennies (which you could spend on a cocktail or two) but is also kinder to the atmosphere.

Once they’re gone, they’re gone

The time when fossil fuels will be a thing of the past is fast approaching, so we need to make changes now. While there is a chance, we could find new reserves for fossil fuels, it’s anticipated that if we continue to burn fossil fuels at the current rate than these will be extinct by 2060.

It gets worse, different fossil fuels are depleting at different rates and, unfortunately for us, the demand for oil is continually increasing, which means not only does this drive up the price but it also means that our known oil reserves are estimated to be dry by 2052.

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