Media Centre

York rail firm backs car-free day at city HQ

17 Sep 2009

York-based train operator National Express East Coast is showing its support for next week’s Car Free Day by closing its staff car park at its headquarters building.

The 24-hour closure on Tuesday 22 September is being aimed at encouraging staff who currently drive to work to try other forms of transport, including bicycles, buses – and trains!

National Express East Coast managing director Susan Goldsmith said: “Many of our staff already use environmentally friendly means to commute to work every day – including the train for those who live further from York.

“Next Tuesday we’ll close the car park within our headquarters building, East Coast House, to encourage everyone to try a more environmentally friendly alternative transport for their journey to and from work.

“Train travel is already one of the most environmentally friendly forms of transport. For example, research commissioned in 2008 showed that a single journey with us from London to Newcastle generates an average 19kgs of carbon dioxide per passenger, compared with 55kgs by car and 68kgs by air.

“We think Tuesday is a good opportunity for us to think about our own travel and consider greener alternatives. We hope other York-based companies will join in”.

Andrew Bradley, from City of York Council's Transport Planning team, said: "This is the first Car Free Day for York and we're delighted with the support from residents and businesses. I hope that National Express' team will find using more environmentally friendly forms of transport easier".

Tuesday will see York joining in the international car free day for the first time, with local bus companies offering travel discounts within the city to encourage people to leave their cars at home.

The day will coincide with European Mobility Week, which runs from 16 to 22 September, and is aimed at highlighting the problems caused by urban traffic congestion.

More details of the day in York are available online at: http://www.york.gov.uk/transport/carfree/

ENDS.

Note to editors:

Commissioned by National Express, the 2008 environmental research was produced by Best Foot Forward (BFF), one of Europe’s leading sustainable consultancies, to highlight the green travel benefits of choosing the train instead of the plane or car for long distance domestic travel.