[SGP News] POOR CHOICES SHOW SNP CAN'T BE TRUSTED ON TRANSPORT
From: greencomms@scottish.parliament.uk MEDIA RELEASE GREEN MSPs 12 September 2012 POOR CHOICES SHOW SNP CAN'T BE TRUSTED ON TRANSPORT Scottish Greens are astonished by the claims of Transport Minister Keith Brown that his government is 'finding the right balance' on transport spending. A report by sustainable transport charity Transform Scotland called Warning Signs highlights what Greens have long warned of - poor choices by the Scottish Government such as cutting funding for buses, rail projects and active travel infrastucture. This has resulted in rising CO2 emissions, worsening air pollution, and soaring bus and rail fares. Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian, said: "This government has its foot to the floor on the most polluting and unfair transport policies imaginable, cutting funding for buses and cycling and scrapping vital rail projects. If this is the minister's idea of balance I suggest he gets his inner ear inspected. "Keith Brown tried to defend his daft choices by claiming maintenance is required. But the reality is our streets are littered with potholes while the councils responsible are constrained in their spending by his Government. The backlog will only get worse with new roads. "He also claimed his spending on roads would help cyclists but who in their right mind would want to cycle on the M74 or a dual carriageway A9? Bikes will in fact be banned from using the new Forth Road Bridge. "Politics is about trust and it's clear the SNP simply can't be trusted on transport. They have an opportunity to do a U-turn and start to make amends when they put forward their budget proposals next week." (Ends) Transform Scotland report: http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/GetFile.aspx?ItemId=586 Keith Brown comments were during Good Morning Scotland on Radio Scotland this morning Jason Rose Head of Media The Green MSPs – Patrick Harvie and Alison Johnstone MG05 The Scottish Parliament Holyrood Edinburgh EH99 1SP 0131 348 6360 07500 792995 @greenmsps _______________________________________________ SGP News mailing list. See http://lists.scottishgreens.org.uk/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/news for information and list options. List owned and maintained by the Scottish Green Party. Queries and problems: news-owner@lists.scottishgreens.org.uk list-unsubscribe: news-request@lists.scottishgreens.org.uk?subject=unsubscribe _______________________________________________