Often, when we talk about sustainable or eco-sustainable solutions, we focus mainly on proposing mobility alternatives that reduce air pollution. Although reducing pollution in urban centers is fundamental to reversing the effects of climate change and improving public health, at Grupo Castrosua we believe that our mobility proposals must also favor decongesting traffic in cities, reducing noise pollution, and ensuring universal accessibility. This is how we understand eco-sustainable mobility in Castrosua:
The urgent need to reduce atmospheric pollution
As we discussed in the previous post about Castrosua’s strategies to curb climate change, cars and motorcycles are responsible for around 50% of emissions recorded in urban centers. It is therefore urgent to rethink the model of our cities and encourage quality public transport (comfortable and with a variety of schedules and routes) that encourages people to leave their private vehicles at home for routine travel.
The use of buses can prevent the pollution generated by 50 passenger cars. In this interview with Jesús Herrero, general secretary of Atuc Movilidad Sostenible, the expert in urban public transport describes the pollution levels in cities as “intolerable”. For these to decrease, public transport is a primary support, as it can save up to 20 tons of CO2 annually in cities.
Grupo Castrosua, on the other hand, believes that efforts should not be limited solely to promoting the use of public transport. To a greater extent, to reverse climate change, we build buses powered by less polluting fuels such as natural gas, in addition to having a hybrid bus on the market, the Magnus H, or our new commitment to electromobility, the Nelec, recently presented.
Reducing emissions is one of Castrosua’s main objectives, relying on innovation and technology; however, eco-sustainable mobility must also aim for less traffic congestion and less noise pollution for reasons explained below.
Putting a stop to traffic congestion and accidents
In the study ‘Urban traffic congestion: Economic and social causes and consequences’, Alberto Bull and Ian Thomson describe traffic congestion as “the condition that prevails if the introduction of a vehicle into a traffic flow increases the travel time of others”. In the cities of the future, designed with an eco-sustainable approach, travel required for productivity and economic efficiency must coexist with a good quality of life for people. In this regard, public transport once again presents itself as the most sustainable option.
The increase in the number of vehicles in Spain and the convenience many people find in using their own car for regular journeys results in congested traffic which has terrible consequences for citizens:
- Loss of time for citizens which directly impacts their productivity, both in their work and private or family lives. Leaving earlier in the morning for fear of getting stuck in traffic can also reduce their sleep hours.
- The time lost and the tense atmosphere of traffic jams cause drivers stress and irritability.
- In traffic congestion, vehicles waste fuel. These journeys become even more polluting.
- Cars and motorcycles suffer significant wear and tear if they are stuck in traffic jams daily.
- Congested traffic is also an obstacle to the passage of emergency vehicles.
In short, the widespread use of private vehicles in cities leads to a disproportionate volume of traffic that demands more space than is available on the roads. What would be more convenient, then, than to use public transport to avoid the inconvenconveniences of traffic congestion? The commitment to eco-sustainable mobility in Castrosua considers that traffic congestion would disappear if we all prioritized urban and interurban public transport.
Furthermore, the use of public transport and less road occupancy reduces accident rates. According to various reports from the National Road Safety Observatory, passenger cars are involved in four out of every five accidents, 56% of the total; on the other hand, buses are only involved in 1.5% of accidents with victims.
The dangers of noise pollution
Reducing vehicle traffic will also mean limiting noise pollution, the second biggest environmental problem in Europe after air pollution by particles, according to the World Health Organization.
Noise pollution is the noise generated by the increasingly frenetic activity of cities. Industrial or business activity, leisure activities, and especially road traffic are involved.
This combination clearly affects the well-being of citizens. In fact, there are studies that link high noise levels with cardiovascular diseases, stress, sleep disorders, deafness, hypertension, cognitive impairment, and other health problems.
European laws establish that noises with an intensity above 55 decibels (dB) emitted during the day and 50 dB during the night are polluting. The ideal according to the World Health Organization is that they do not exceed 53 dB during the day and remain below 45 dB at night.
In this infographic on traffic noise from the General Directorate of Traffic, we see that heavy traffic generates noise with an intensity of 80 dB. If we were to replace this congested traffic with smooth traffic (the goal of eco-sustainable mobility), the noise intensity would drop to 55 dB.
Source: DGT
Spain has too many cities where a significant portion of their inhabitants endure noise levels above 55 dB during the day and even at night: Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Malaga, A Coruña… This situation could improve if we prioritize public transport over cars and manufacture quieter vehicles, such as Castrosua’s CNG buses.
Eco-sustainable mobility in Castrosua must be accessible
Our group works to consolidate barrier-free bodywork models that make buses accessible to everyone, accessibility must be universal.
In the 1990s, Grupo Castrosua began manufacturing the first low entry or fully low-floor bodyworks. Access to the interior of the bus for travelers with reduced mobility must also be guaranteed with the incorporation of automatic and manual access ramps. Furthermore, the customization of Castrosua bodyworks allows for the incorporation of wheelchair anchors and other elements and systems that facilitate travel for people with mobility limitations.
Achieving increasingly cleaner and more inclusive public transport must be a commitment we all make. Eco-sustainable mobility must exist for the benefit of society and will only be 100% sustainable if it is accessible to the entire population.
The ‘Guide to Urban Mobility’ recently prepared by the World Economic Forum paints a future scenario in which, around the year 2050, 2.5 billion more people will live in cities. Isn’t it worth involving these cities in eco-sustainable mobility that will make them more friendly spaces for the environment and humans? At Castrosua, we think the effort is worthwhile and we feel particularly involved. Would you like to join us on this journey?
