Poor quality transport increases congestion, pollution, stress and the risk of accidents. Northern Ireland’s public transport network is underfunded and underdeveloped.

Accessible and affordable public transport is important for sustainability and for social and economic equality. Not everyone who works can afford a car, and people with disabilities are often excluded from transport services.

It’s time to achieve an interconnected public transport network that provides a viable alternative to private transport for every journey. It’s time for a public transport network that serves rural areas and meets the accessibility needs of people with disabilities. It’s time for public transport to work for the public good.

The Green Party will:

• Continue to phase out the current bus fleet to be replaced by electric- and hydrogen-powered vehicles and begin the electrification of rail.
• Expand public transport, especially in rural areas and explore reopening railway connections, to ensure that towns and cities across NI are adequately serviced and connected to each other.
• Retain free public transport for people over 60 and seek to extend it to all under 22.
• Ensure that by 2032 at the latest, every new car and van sold in NI is zero-emission.
• Make walking and cycling a realistic and safe alternative to the car through the creation of segregated cycle lanes and the expansion and connection of greenways.
• Increase pedestrianised areas and one-way systems in town centres.
• Introduce a default 20mph speed limit in residential areas and around schools and widen no-parking areas around schools.
• Suspend new road building projects with a focus on better maintenance of existing road infrastructure and the introduction of wildlife corridors.