Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 23 February 2022
Mr Kerr seems to think that we should look at electric vehicles and public transport in isolation. We need to look at emissions in the round. We are taking a hugely important step, and the provision is about empowering local authorities to do the work.
As I mentioned before Mr Kerr interrupted, I agree that roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure has a role to play. On 26 January, we announced a new draft vision for the public charging network, along with plans for a £60 million fund that will double the size of the public network over the next few years by levering in commercial investment.
Measures to make public transport more efficient and affordable are also a priority. Mr Simpson made mention of that in his opening remarks and it was highlighted in our route map to reducing car use, which was published last month. The measures include provision of free bus travel for under-22s and our fair fares review, which is hugely important and will consider options for change against the background of the costs of car travel declining and public transport costs increasing.
We are also investing record amounts in active travel. However, we need to get folk out of their cars. This is about behaviour change.