Announcements from Britain's travel operators included two of its biggest airlines, BMI and EasyJet, who are now instructing pilots to fly more slowly to conserve fuel. The two operators have reduced flying speeds by up to 2% over recent weeks: "It's like travelling in a car. If you take your foot off the gas slightly, you use less fuel" said an EasyJet spokesman. Their strategy is similar to that which has been adopted by other airlines across the globe. Air New Zealand, Air Canada, Brussels Airlines and a number of US internal carriers have all recently announced their intentions to cut the speed of their aircraft.
While we might be forgiven for assuming that reduced speeds and longer journey times might lead to delays or a reduction in services, BMI have indicated their expectation that changes will not inconvenience their customers: "Though this adjustment in speed makes our fuel burn more economically, it does not jeopardise flight punctuality." said a BMI spokesman. Other travel operators however, have been more explicit about the impact on the quality of their service. Stena Line, for example, will be dropping cruising speeds on its two high speed routes, adding up to twenty minutes to journey times. Nigel Tilson, communications manager at Stena Line, said: "We're going to save several thousand tonnes of fuel across the year. We wouldn't be doing this if we weren't going to be saving a considerable amount of money."
Nigel Esdale, managing director of P&O Cruises, said that the operator was implementing similar measures to reduce its costs. "Careful itinerary planning, whilst maximising time in the most popular ports and reducing engine speed are just some of the ways we control our fuel consumption." he said.
Bus and rail operators are also taking steps to reduce fuel usage. FirstGroup, one of Britain's largest rail operators whose franchises include First Great Western, is training drivers to drive more economically by accelerating more smoothly and avoiding sharp breaking. Drivers on its Trans-Pennine Express service have also been encouraged to `coast` down steep gradients, and in some cases are running on less than full engine capacity. A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said: "We're helping ensure that best practice is spread across the industry, and that includes driving more efficiently."
It is not just large travel operators with heavy fuel costs that are changing their practice however. There is an increasing amount of evidence to show that individuals are also adapting their habits with a view to saving their pounds and pennies. LiftShare, a car-pooling website, is one of the many organisations who are seeing first-hand the changes taking place in people's attitudes to travel. The rate of people joining the site has doubled over the last month and is now nearly four times faster than it was at the start of 2008.
Initial evidence also suggests that people are driving more slowly. There are fewer speeding fines, road-deaths are expected to fall and bicycle sales are up on previous months. A poll of AA group members, conducted by the organisation last week, also showed that nearly two-thirds of people had cut back on car journeys. A third were walking instead of driving to shops, one in three had stopped visiting out of town shopping centres, and nearly a quarter no longer drove their children to school.
Edmund King, president of the AA, said we are seeing a change in the relationship people have with their cars. "Now, probably for the first time, people are thinking the car is not as easy as it used to be: it does cost more to run, it's harder to park. Gradually people are thinking: are there other ways we could use our car? Could we get a smaller car? We could maybe cut some journeys, perhaps share some journeys."
Guardian Observer
