A perhaps not-so-simple question posed to various students and campaigners in the fields of environment and transport.
Well, it’s official. Cardiff is one of the most polluted cities in the United Kingdom, according to a study of traffic pollution levels by Birmingham University. The air quality here is apparently worse than London, and that’s saying something.
We’re all thinking it. I hope. If the problem is transportation, then the question is obvious. How do we make public transport in Cardiff more sustainable?
In our pursuit of answers to this complex question, we took to the streets our email and Zoom accounts, and got some interesting ones from a range of people.
Emma, Spokesperson for Strategic Planning and Transport
Interviewer: Ganshi Gao
“To make Cardiff transport more sustainable and greener, we need to rethink the priority we give to transport modes in the city. Currently, much of the transport space in this city is allocated to cars, leaving little room for buses, bikes or journeys on foot. We also need to consider as individuals whether we can make changes to how we move around the city, to try and reverse the trend of the car being the automatic transport mode for many for all occasions.”
Rae, Marketing student
Interviewer: Irina Krasteva
“I believe that through strategies such as marketing, the business can help solve local environmental issues. By fighting for the local environment with business we can target those with the financial means and power to make a real difference for the environment.”
Jingbei, Global Society student
Interviewer: Fangyi Liu
“I think setting up more sites of Sharing Bicycles in the city is a good choice. It is cheap and very convenient for people to use in daily life. I know they already have some sites, but I think we may need more of it.”
Dlfera, Social Work student
Interviewer: Fangyi Liu
“Maybe more taxi & bus companies can use clean energy, such as electric cars instead of fuel-efficient cars. Or create some incentives for people who use public transport, like gift vouchers or cash vouchers.”