Bus limits

John Roughan may be right about the Government’s plans to use light rail to

the airport, but he is not right to say buses can do it all.

Seventy to 90 per cent of all air pollution comes from road transport. At least 20 per cent of this is from dark dust particles from tyre dust. What is not breathed in goes into our waterways. Tyres then become the second-highest contributor to microplastics in our oceans.

Buses are the least efficient “mass transit” system and light rail is the most efficient. Light rail is the best intra-urban “mass transit” system, and heavy rail the best inter-urban “rapid rail” system.

Niall Robertson, chair, Public Transport Users Association.