Low carbon travel in 2030 - steps we can take now

Maritime routes

Continents and islands are very poorly connected by maritime ways, which are much easier to decarbonize than flights. Remaining ferries often exist mainly for passengers wishing to haul their own cars, which make them oversized and more difficult to decarbonize. Passengers arriving by train and bus can feel like unwanted guests, having to navigate between cars through uninviting corridors. There is much room for improvement in maritime travel. Even if just a small percentage of holiday makers start to take the low carbon route, it helps normalizing the alternative. Some first steps:

- Connect Shetland and the Faroe Islands by ferry again, for example with an extra Smyrill line stop in Lerwick. This way Iceland will be connected by ferries to the British Isles and a combination of destinations will be possible

- Create a (non-cruise) ferry connection between Iceland and Greenland and Greenland and Canada.

- Create a foot-passenger-oriented ferry connection between Greece and Egypt, for example between Crete and the small port of Marsa Matruh, to minimze distance and connect to Egyptian high speed rail.

- Facilitate integration of foot passengers with cargo ships and customs regulations. Especially on ports that create strategic maritime and overland routes, like Port-Said.

- Choose maritime corridors that provide a short connection between main land corridors and create connections for foot-passengers only.

- Start a fair-pricing system on car and passenger ferries, based on emissions relating to weight of cars versus foot-passengers and their respective required services.

- Stop airport discounts for car rental agencies and facilitate locations in ports or near main train or bus stations.

- Create inviting infrastructure for train / bus - boat transfers and allow for comfortable transfer of luggage.

- Stimulate marketing for low-carbon maritime travel, including multimodal low-carbon transportation packages.

Long distance overland travel

Travelling overland to a more sunny destination is still the exception. Even though it is very doable in a comfortable way. Commonly known efforts are: fair taxes on flight emissions, better integrated booking systems for trains and stimulating employers to facilitate extra time for low-carbon holidays. On the destinations themselves and their marketing, many steps for a rapid shift away from flights can be taken now:

- Facilitate public transport travel to the most scenic national parks. Especially where they compete with images of far-flung destinations. So you can actually get there without a fly-drive.

- Organize marketing of cities' qualities as a stopover for a part of a day or a night. For example: promote that late afternoon drink in a scenic background in key midway destinations like Basel or Montpellier.

- Stimulate easy access to lockers, urban bike-rental systems and - where needed - electric vehicle rental on train stations.

- Stop focussing on Interrail or Amtrak holidays where sitting in trains for many hours is glorified. Focus on a new target group with no natural love for trains and promote fastest and most comfortable connections and ticketing.

- Maximize the network of daytime connections and integrate marketing with bus connections where needed, especially on important low-frequency routes in North America.

- Speed up efforts to avoid complicated cross-city stopovers, like in Paris. Reshuffle schedules and build that extra platform in Marne-la-Vallee to allow fast connections between long-distance trains.

- Invest in the pioneer group that extends the frame for overland travel possibilities. Reliable daytime train and bus connections can take a European tourist to Mauritania, while Senegalese company Dem-Dikk struggles to provide new international, comfortable and fixed-schedule connections from there to capitals further south. This connects Europe to lush and tropical areas, a symbolic win if this can now be done in comfortable, reliable and future-proof fashion.