Rural communities may be left behind after the 2030 ICE ban unless special consideration is given to these areas.
According to the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), a one-size-fits-all approach to transport decarbonation is likely to have disproportionate societal effects on already challenged rural communities.
Its new report, The challenge of future carbon and emissions reduction for rural communities, explores the rural environment and says why it needs different consideration in policy-making.
This includes differences between rural and urban travel patterns, community and rural business needs and the nuances of public transport in rural areas.
The report says that if battery-electric vehicles are likely to be the main pathway to achieving zero carbon emissions, then consideration needs to be given to how this will be supported in rural areas.
Many rural homes and villages should be able to accommodate overnight charging for family cars or light vans, and some businesses will already benefit from strengthened electrical power supplies to suit their non-transport needs.
But some rural businesses may not have adequate power supplies to charge fleets of LGVs or HGVs and it says these locations must be identified and a strategy to address shortcomings developed. This could include encourage a link to local power generation.
The report also says that to enable car and freight movements into rural areas, widespread provision of charging points in rural areas must be accelerated, noting that distances covered for single trips may be much longer than in urban areas.
And while CILT has long advocated that a national system for road user charging should be adopted, as the Treasury looks to replace the income from road fuels in line with transport electrification, the Government needs to consider whether a road user charging system should use reduced or tapered charging rates in rural areas to compensate for the longer distances involved.
Kevin Richardson, chief executive, CILT (UK), said: “The journey to zero will be difficult without considered communication and engagement with rural communities and businesses from government. If policies do not address the unique challenges of decarbonisation in the rural environment, there is a risk that people and business will suffer further social and economic disadvantage.”
To access the CILT report, click here.
