The failures of Norhtern Ireland's public transport service have been highlighted by a recent survey by the Engergy Saving Trust which found over a third of drivers would like to use their cars less but believe there is no alternative. It also found 56% of vehicle owners were thinking about the possibilities of buying a cleaner vehicle at some stage.

Follow up:

Obviously in this sort of survey it's all very easy to give the 'right' answer, but the lack of transport services here is quite astonishing. Where I grew up, despite there being a bus stop at the top of the estate, it was only served by about 8 buses a day. I had to walk a further 15-20 minutes just to get a bus into Belfast to get to Queen's. This wasn't exactly a rural spot either - about 10 miles from Belfast there wasn't a single gap in housing between my house and the city centre.

The buld up of estates there began 10 years ago with hundreds of houses being built along a short stretch of road. Yet, to my knowledge, the number of buses passing by hasn't increased.

It may simply be a case of crossing fingers and hoping that vehicle manufacturers can develop production models in the near future, rather than forcing us all to wait for the NIO and/or Translink to get their act together. In the mean time, the EST have published Ten Tips to help motorists drive greener.