Walk, ride or cycle - the greener ways to get to work in London

Rush-hour commuting is a fact of life for most. But we can lessen our carbon footprint, says David Phelan

It's 8.15am. You're going to be late for work, if you're not careful. Again. At this time of day the truth is that you're more concerned with whether you remembered to iron your shirt, feed the cat or prepare for that important meeting than with the environmental impact of the journey to work. But, according to new research commissioned by EDF Energy, the rush hour is boom time when it comes to consuming carbon, adding up to 29.7 million tonnes of CO2. And if that's not making you cough and splutter already, that's the same as 280,000 lorries driving 100,000km each year.

Surprisingly, Greater London comes at the top of the table for the least emissions (1.3kg of CO2 per person per day), largely because there is strong public transport availability - 43 per cent of London's rush-hour trips are serviced by public transport. Professor Nigel Brandon of Imperial College London says: "The research commissioned by EDF Energy has indicated that a large use of public transport, walking and cycling in Greater London has managed to make the busiest UK city the leader in reducing harmful carbon output from travel commutes. Often thought of as one of the biggest strains on the environment, London has shown that it's doing its bit in reducing the carbon footprint and other regions across the UK should follow its lead."

The highest emissions by region are the East Midlands (2.5 kg) and Eastern (2.51kg), more than twice that of London, with rural locations in the North- East emitting the most carbon of all, measuring 4.64kg of CO2 per person each day.

However town and country have one common denominator: gas-guzzling vehicles. London has the most, with 48 per cent of cars from Band J and higher, while rural areas aren't far behind at 44 per cent. The most efficient vehicles (Band E or better) are found in Scotland (14.5 per cent) followed by the East Midlands and the North- East, both at around 12.5 per cent.

But we can improve our carbon levels - and even our fitness - by thinking differently about the rush hour. Your journey is probably unavoidable, but could you do it in a more carbon efficient way?

Gareth Wynn, director of EDF's London 2012 programme, says: "Team Green Britain is about encouraging people to change the ways in which they use energy every day - particularly in the home and in their modes of transport. We firmly believe that the take-up of low-carbon transport is crucial to Britain meeting its carbon reduction targets and it is an important part of helping to reduce the country's carbon emissions. By following the example set by our Team Green Britain ambassadors we hope this will inspire people to look at an alternative, more carbon-friendly route to work."

Walking is obviously much better for carbon emissions but unless you're walking from one end of the village to the other, it's scarcely practical for most of us. Cycling is similarly carbon friendly. Many companies have responded to the Government's Cycle to Work scheme which offers big discounts to employees buying bikes. Paul Whitehead from BikeBuddies (bikebuddies.com), a company set up to encourage us on to our bikes, knows that not all employers are the same. "It's more than just providing bike racks so they can tick boxes to show improved environmental performance. BikeBuddies is a corporate onestop shop. The barriers to cycling are convenience, safety and cost. We can offer travel advice, provide briefings on safety and more."

Services include a buddy arriving at your home to escort you to work on your first day on the bike, to show you if your journey would feel less pressured if you choose to go through a park, say. There are also mobile maintenance teams which can service bikes at your place of work. Whitehead encourages companies to see that cyclists need showers, lockers to keep their bike kit in, racks which are secure and accessible and even vending machines where you can buy essentials such as inner tubes.

"Companies which are more proactive see significant increases in employees cycling to work," Whitehead says. "We can provide quarterly road-worthiness tests, tightening brake cables and so on. Cycling is fun and entertaining, so we help people see that. And of course we advise them on how to stay safe: a whistle on a lanyard is much better than a standard bike bell for making yourself heard, for example."

Employers are coming up with original ways to change the commute. One company, London-based communications agency Forster, bought four Brompton fold-up bikes which are made available to staff, and the company offered five minutes of extra holiday per return journey made on foot or by bike (every little helps). These provisions, plus others including cycle confidence training and 40p per mile expenses for business cycling, saw commuting by bike increase from 13 per cent to an impressive 31 per cent! What's more, taxi bills dropped by around 10 per cent.

GlaxoSmithKline is another example: by partnering with a local cycling business that set up an advice centre and shop onsite and introducing training sessions for cycle newbies, the number of registered cyclists commuting to work rose by 70 per cent and now accounts for 15 per cent of the 3,200 staff. Pressure on car parking is reduced, too.

Cycling or walking won't suit everyone, of course, and there may be things about your commute that just can't be improved, but just thinking about the journey in new ways is refreshing in itself.

So you'll still need to remember to walk the dog and make sure your shirt is clean in the morning, but follow one of these ways to get to work and your carbon footprint is one less thing to worry about. Which is good news for all of us.

More methods of reducing car use

Bikes aren't the only way to reduce car use, of course. Car pooling may not have taken off as it has in the States where car pool-only lanes are more commonplace but it's still a great way for neighbours to save petrol and carbon footprints.

Think outside the box: is there a waterway near you that would mean you could row to work (there's ambitious) or if your boss makes it easy to shower at work, could you jog or run in to the office?

Remember, all wheels will get you there even if some look dangerous to onlookers - skateboarding is popular among the fit and young (and show-offs) in flat environments. Others just seem downright peculiar: do you really want an excuse to put that evening class in unicycling to good use?

And if you must use your car, maybe it's time to consider an electric one: EDF Energy has partnered with Peugeot UK and Citroën UK so that residential users who buy a Citroën C-Zero or Peugeot iOn are offered a package including a charging point that's faster than a regular socket, a smart meter and a statement showing how much charging the car has cost. There are offers for business customers, too.

How to make a small change for a big difference

Dr Tim Brabants, Team Green Britain ambassador and former kayaking champion, cycles to work. He gives the following tips to those who want to lower their rush-hour travel carbon footprint in a pain free way:

Don't forget breakfast
Good nutrition and hydration are vital in helping provide the energy boost you need before physical exertion - if you're not taking in enough fluids then fatigue and tiredness can strike and the body can be more prone to trauma.

Slow but steady wins the race Your body needs time to adapt to heightened levels of activity, so make sure you build up to longer distance and intensities, allowing the body time to recover between rides
Mix it up
If you live too far away to walk the whole distance, why not park a little further away than usual, or swap your car journey for a mixture of public transport and walking.