In a Scottish Conservative-led debate on Wednesday, MSPs will highlight both the importance that road transport plays in fuelling Scotland’s economy and the damage which the Tories allege SNP policies are causing.
Shadow transport secretary, Sue Webber, will point to what she describes as the negative impact of Low Emission Zones (LEZs) on businesses and individuals in big cities in Scotland, as well as the “proliferation of controlled parking zones and exorbitant fines”.
She wants ministers to scrap their plans to introduce 50mph speed limits on single carriageway roads, and increase the rate of resurfacing of Scotland’s roads as well as future-proofing the charging network for electric vehicles (EVs).
Ms Webber said: “The SNP must stop viewing car drivers as bogeymen and end their war on Scotland’s motorists.
“The insidious, drip-drip effect of anti-car policies is hampering our economy and connectivity and punishing already hard-pressed Scots.
“LEZs are a cash cow for councils desperate to make up for a shortfall in funding caused by the SNP’s savage cuts to their budgets, while motorists are also faced with the expansion of controlled parking zones and eye-watering fines.
“At the same time as being charged more, drivers are having to contend with more pothole-scarred roads and snail-paced roadworks. The SNP need to get their act together and ensure roads are upgraded far more quickly.
“Their ludicrous plans to introduce 50mph national speed limits are just another example of how out-of-touch the SNP are.
“If SNP ministers want motorists to play their part in an affordable transition to net zero, they must dramatically improve and expand Scotland’s woefully inadequate EV charging network.
“The Scottish Conservatives will always stand on the side of motorists, in contrast to the left-wing parties at Holyrood who treat them with contempt.”
But ahead of the debate Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell said that if we are to reduce the number of cars on our road we must ensure that transport is “affordable and accessible for all”, says “.
Mr Ruskell said: “Scotland is on the road to climate chaos. We’ve known for decades that to tackle the climate emergency, we need to cut car use, but SNP and Labour governments have failed to act.
“Transport emissions remain the largest source of pollution in Scotland, and private car use makes up a huge share of that, but action has been lacking. Just last week, the Scottish Government scrapped their target to reduce car journeys by 2030.
“We need to ensure that public transport is always affordable and accessible. That means cheaper trains and buses, better connections for rural communities, and an end to spending on new unnecessary road building schemes.
“Scottish Greens have been working to make your commute cheaper by scrapping peak rail fares whilst in government, securing a bus fare cap and introducing free bus travel for young people.
“We all benefit from having less cars on the road. It means cleaner and safer streets and communities and less congestion misery for commuters.
“There are many who want to play their part in reducing our carbon emissions, but the cost is simply too high for them.
“We need to deliver even more radical change to make public transport more accessible for all, and that can only be delivered with more Scottish Greens in Holyrood.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
