The UK population is on the move and, as individuals, we are travelling further and more often than ever.
Transport is one of the country's fastest growing sources of greenhouse gases, so common sense says this trend is not sustainable - something has to change.
Most people think improving car efficiency is the solution. While this is critical, it's not the answer to reducing CO2 from transport. real reductions will only come from using lower carbon forms of transport.
Walking and cycling are the most ecofriendly ways of travelling, but they are only practical for a small amount of journeys.
Next to these, coaches provide the lowest-carbon way to travel, with trains and buses close behind. If customers choose to use public transport instead of the car or plane, then there are considerable CO2 savings to be made.
Paul Bunting, strategic marketing and planning director for National Express, says: "One of the most important steps anyone can make in reducing their carbon foorprint is to switch to low-carbon transport. Having a workable and integrated public transport system is essential to encourage more people to want to use it and, as a public transport business, we are working to increase its appeal and encourage its use.
"We must also tackle the growing problem of congestion on our roads."
Partnerships between national and local government, transport operators and town planners are key to achieving this.
At National Express a huge variety of initiatives are already in place. At all National Express West Midlands bus garages, energy use has been reduced by around 40 per cent in the last three years. As a complement to this, the business has switched to green tariff electricity so that all site and depot energy comes from renewable sources.
The green tariff also provides electricity for the Midland Metro resulting in the line becoming the first light rail system in the UK to be effectively emissions free.
To succeed, people's expectations need to be met. These include more flexibility, different options, real-time information, accessible services and the security of knowing you will get where you want to go, on time and in safety.
"Our job is to meet those expectations and to stay a step ahead," says Paul.
Last year, National express launched a brand new network of coach services to the Wembley Stadium.
As a public transport destination, the stadium wanted to encourage travel by coach instead of car and now more than 30,000 people have used the services.
National Express is also investing in new, more efficient vehicles, which have the added benefit of being much more modern and comfortable with features to help people with disabilities to travel more freely.
Paul says: "We want to make travel simpler, more convenient and more relaxing. We want to attract people from cars on to low-carbon options such as coaches, trains and buses. We have the opportunity to make a big difference and we are working to make this happen."
National Express sees an exciting future for public transport. Not only can it improve the quality of people's lives, it can also play a major part in tackling climate change."
www.nationalexpress.com
