MPs urged to use public transport for the conference season

A NATIONAL transport campaign group is writing to 622 MPs about the upcoming party conference season, urging them to use public transport to get to and from party conferences.

Campaign for Better Transport said that travelling by train would help the MPs to reduce the carbon footprints of this year's events.

The organisation claims that if every serving MP drove to their conference rather than travelling by train this would increase their carbon footprint by more than 400 per cent. It added that in order to understand constituents' concerns about fare rises, delayed trains and overcrowding, it believed all politicians should experience rail journeys over the conference season.

Richard Hebditch, campaigns director at Campaign for Better Transport, said: "The Conservative Party promised to be the greenest party ever, the Liberal Democrats made a pledge to keep fares fair and Labour backed a low-carbon revolution.

"The conference season is a good opportunity for politicians to show how they really feel about sustainable travel.

"It will provide insight for any MPs who are adverse to using public transport into a service that many of their constituents need to get from A to B."