Save carbon through walking, cycling and Bee Network
The Bee Network
Get moving and get greener.
You have the power to save carbon (and get healthier, too)
When thinking about climate change, it can be hard to see how we can make a difference in our everyday lives. But there are always options open to us, including the choices we make about how we travel. Does your family take the car for short journeys? How do you travel to school, college or work? When you visit friends, do you go by car – or is there another way?
And small changes can make a big difference. This article published by Sustrans includes information from the first published study on how changing the way we travel in urban environments can help save carbon. For example, did you know that switching just one trip a day from a car to a bike can reduce someone’s carbon footprint by half a tonne a year?
Want to know more about which forms of transport have the lowest carbon footprint? Check this information from 2023 from Our World in Data, where they have identified that “using a bike instead of a car for short trips could reduce your travel emissions by around 75%”.
You can find out more about how to calculate how much the way you live (including how you travel) impacts on the environment using a online calculator, such as this one from WWF.
But I don’t know how to ride a bike!
There’s help out there for you. Bike Right has free courses outside of school hours for young people age 7 upwards that you can book online. New ones get added all the time, so keep checking back to see if there’s one in your area. You’ll need to bring your own bike and helmet, and be accompanied by an adult. But don’t worry – you can find out here about how you can borrow, hire or rent a bicycle from a bike library to take with you.
If you’re aged 12 and over, you can also look for free cycling courses on TfGM’s website, some of which are at the weekend. On these courses, a bicycle and helmet are provided for you when on the course, and if you are 16 or under, you’ll need to bring an adult with you.
You might also want to talk to your school about how they could arrange for bike riding courses for you and others, through working with Bikeability, who can offer this to schools. Check their website for more information and see if your teachers can help.
Where can I find out more about where I can go walking?
Walking more is one of the simplest things that many of us can do to improve our health. As well as just choosing to walk more in our everyday lives, you can look up walking routes near you on the GM Walking website. You can search for walks from easy to challenging, and filter by specific features such as being wheelchair or buggy accessible, or being close to public transport.
Still need to be convinced of the benefits of walking? Have a look at this film from TfGM to think about what you could do with an extra seven years of your life!
If you can’t travel by bike or walk, public transport is your next best bet for saving carbon
The Our World in Data website notes that “If you can’t walk or cycle, then public transport is usually your best option”.
And it’s getting easier to travel by public transport around Greater Manchester. You can plan your journey online in advance through the Bee Network Website, and don’t forget to download the Bee Network app to check for latest departures near you and to rate your journey. You can also buy tickets through the app, but don’t forget that young people can also get free or discounted travel. If you’re under 16, you can apply for an igo card to get free or discounted travel. Our Pass is available for 16–18-year-olds, and as well as free and discounted travel, you can get exclusive leisure offers like theatre tickets and snacks!
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