It's clear that we need to find a long-term solution for the congestion around Newport, and no-one is denying that; no-one has ever denied that. If the Welsh Government is serious about achieving their goal of a multimodal, high-quality, integrated and low-carbon public transport system, then now is the opportunity to make a meaningful and significant step towards achieving that: £1.4 billion of capital investment has been freed up—just imagine what can be achieved if that is used effectively. The future generations Act requires public bodies to think about the long-term impact of their decisions, to work better with people and their communities and to mitigate persistent problems, such as poverty, health inequalities and climate change. Transport in Wales accounts for 14 per cent of current carbon emissions. If we're genuine about reaching our carbon reduction targets, then it's almost impossible to do that without investing in smart, greener public transport, and this is something that the Government here is lagging behind on.

In the next 10 years, to achieve a reduction of 43 per cent in transport emissions, it's obvious that we've got to do a lot more. We also need to make it much easier for people to change their habits. In 2013, the Government published figures highlighting that 43 per cent of journeys made on the section of the M4 in question were, in fact, under 20 miles, or, in other words, considered to be local journeys. We should aim to be reducing that number to 0 per cent, and that means creating a public transport system that's fit for the twenty-first century European nation that we are. Can we blame people for opting to use their own cars over public transport when it's expensive and in constant decline? We can't even guarantee toilets on certain services now, can we? Now, that feels like going backwards, not forwards, to me.

It's also worth noting that 10 per cent of the traffic on this stretch of the M4 is responsible for the congestion. As we look for solutions to the congestion problem, we should, as a priority, tackle these local journeys. And tackling those local journeys has the potential to reduce that congestion in a big way. Investment in public transport also has the added benefit of making society more equal. Investment in car-based transport systems does little to tackle transport poverty, as it excludes those who do not have access to cars. Welsh Government's own data shows that 23 per cent of households in Wales do not own a private car, and that will, no doubt, correlate with low income or deprivation. A car-dependent transport system is cutting many of Wales's poorest people from employment, from education, from community and social activities. So, investing in an integrated transport system that is affordable and accessible would mitigate transport poverty, as well as increase local economic investment. 

Equal access to public transport, both in social and geographical terms, is essential to achieving effective, sustainable mobility in Wales's urban environments. It's something that can be done and other nations across Europe provide great examples. Luxembourg provides high-quality public transport, and is now going to provide free transport for its citizens. Luxembourg City, the capital, suffers from some of the worst traffic congestion in the world. It's home to around 110,000 people, but a further 400,000 commute into the city to work, and a study suggested that drivers in the capital spent an average of 33 hours in traffic jams in 2016. The Government plans to invest in transport infrastructure, and it's new mobility strategy, Modu 2.0, envisages a public transport network that carries 20 per cent more people by 2025, with reduced rush hour congestion. The plan includes rail network modernisation, better cross-border connections and the new train-tram-bus exchange hubs, as well as road-related initiatives, with state investment of €2.2 billion by 2023. If it can be done there, then it can be done here, and, with this opportunity that we now have, we urgently need to invest in our public transport.