The transport system is in a mess. There is too much traffic on the roads, trains are expensive and overcrowded, and buses are too few and far between, particularly in the countryside. This has to change. Liberal Democrats believe in public transport: it’s part of a fair society and the best way to cut carbon emissions from transport without trying to limit people’s opportunities to travel. We are different because we are the only party to have identified real money to allocate to improvements in public transport. We will cut rail fares by renegotiating the deals made with the train companies. We will improve bus services by giving local people more control over fares and routes. And we will use the tax system to reduce carbon emissions from transport.

Cut rail fares and rail replacement bus services – We will make sure that regulated fares go up by less than inflation, meaning prices will come down, and we will make Network Rail refund a third of your ticket price if you have to take a rail replacement bus service.

A National Infrastructure Bank to invest in public transport like High Speed Rail – Britain needs new High Speed Rail links to encourage people not to take domestic flights. We will set up a national infrastructure bank to help attract private finance for infrastructure projects like this.

Improve local bus services – There aren’t enough buses for people to get around, especially for older people who can’t drive. We will give councils greater powers to regulate bus services according to community needs, meaning local people get a real say over routes and fares, in order to produce an effective transportation system that accurately reflects each individual area.

Tax pollution, not people – As part of our plan to cut income tax for millions of people, we will ensure polluters pay for the damage they cause. We will replace Air Passenger Duty with a per-plane tax that will help to stop planes flying half empty and encourage people to use less polluting means of travel within the UK. No 3rd runway at Heathrow – Heathrow is big enough. There must be no third runway and no expansion of other airports in the South East either.

Sustainable methods of moving freight – We will ensure good rail paths on key strategic freight corridors, facilitate the maximum use of inland and coastal waterways and encourage research and development into low-carbon technologies for freight vehicles.

More power to local authorities – Labour has failed to tackle congestion in Britain’s towns and cities. Town planning should be used to minimise the need for car use. We will include promotion of safer cycling and pedestrian routes in all local transport plans. We will end the highly centralised planning approach and empower local authorities to deal with issues such as traffic target resolution and the regulation of local bus services.

Green zero-carbon vehicles – We will set a zero emissions target for all new cars by 2040. We will also extend targets to all other vehicles, to ensure that by 2050 all freight vehicles are running on electricity, sustainable biofuels or other renewable fuels.