Transport
Greens are campaigning hard inside and outside parliament for a radical overhaul of Scotland's transport infrastructure and transport culture. Transport is at the heart of the Green vision for social and environmental justice, and one of the key issues in addressing climate change.
Real Investment
The Executive claims to be spending 70% of its transport budget on public transport. Greens have shown that these figures are massaged, and include subsidy of lorries and their huge road-building programme.
Motorway Madness
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have embarked upon an orgy of motorways. As well as the now-notorious M74 Northern Extension, Greens have campaigned against the M80 upgrade in Central Scotland and the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.
The M74 is a relic from 1960s planning. One billion pounds of taxpayers' money will go towards producing five miles of road across some of the most polluted land in Glasgow, a city where over half of the population do not have access to a car.
The case for the M74 was conclusively demolished by the Executive's own Reporters in the Public Local Inquiry. LibDem leader, Nicol Stephen, over-ruled the PLI report for no good reason. This was the subject of a legal challenge by JAM74, a coalition of local campaigners which included Glasgow Greens, and FoE Scotland.
Congestion Charging
Although the scheme proposed by Edinburgh City Council was not ideal, Greens backed the congestion charging scheme to the hilt as the only option on the table to tackle car growth, transfer investment to public transport and combat climate change.
Greens were the only party to campaign unecquivocally for congestion charging. The Labour council was badly let down by the Labour-dominated Executive, who did not allow an introduction such as was successfully managed in London. The Liberal Democrats in Edinburgh went against their own party policy in opposing the measure.
In the wake of the congestion charging, we are seeing shortfalls in money for the Edinburgh tram network, additional closure of Princes Street and ever-worsening congestion.
More information