Savings from the roads budget will subsidise increased investment in public transport and rail freight. We will undertake major road-building only when the benefits are clear and with a full assessment of alternative public transport schemes.

In many rural areas cars cannot be replaced by public transport, and we will minimise environmental damage by cutting Vehicle Excise Duty on cars that pollute less, increasing it on those that pollute more. We will encourage more cities to extend congestion charging (first proposed by Liberal Democrats), linked to investment in better public transport, giving millions real alternatives to driving cars.

We will extend free off-peak local bus travel to all pensioners and disabled people, as introduced by Liberal Democrats in Scotland and Wales.

To encourage more fuel-efficient aircraft and to discourage half-empty planes, we will press for international agreement on extending emissions trading to aviation, implementing per-aircraft, not per-passenger, charges. We oppose the construction of international airports on new sites, and their expansion in the South East.