Environmental Transport

Empty seats
Cars emitted more than any other form of transport with the notable exception of off-peak buses, which often carry few passengers. The researchers found that travelling 1 kilometre on a nearly empty bus during off-peak hours emits eight times more per person than taking the same bus at rush hour – suggesting peak-time commuters may suffer, but they do less harm to the environment.

There is some interesting research on total life costs of various types of transport, a small section of the article is included below.  The interesting thing for the Gyratory scheme is the off peak buses, which are worse than cars.

Empty seats

Cars emitted more than any other form of transport with the notable exception of off-peak buses, which often carry few passengers. The researchers found that travelling 1 kilometre on a nearly empty bus during off-peak hours emits eight times more per person than taking the same bus at rush hour – suggesting peak-time commuters may suffer, but they do less harm to the environment.

The full article is here and the research material is here

So why would we want to send more cars on a longer journey when there is no traffic problem (most of the time) through a residential area? A quick google map shows me that a right turn from Oxford Road to go to Leeds is less than 100metres, but the new “improved” journey will be 800m, through residential streets and past schools. 8 times the emissions

The “Improved” Journey


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1. Head southwest on Oxford Rd toward A61/Leeds Rd 3 m
2. Turn left at A61/Leeds Rd 0.3 km
3. Turn right at St John’s N 0.2 km
4. Turn right at A650/Wentworth 0.4 km
Total Over 800m

The current journey


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1. Oxford Rd toward A61/Leeds Rd 3 m
2. Take the 1st right onto A61/Leeds Rd 0.1 km
3. Turn right at A650/Leeds Rd 17 m
Total 100m