How long are you willing to travel on a bus for in promise of a new, interesting, beautiful place? A person’s answer to this question depends on three things: price, available free time and where you were born. Since embarking on year studying abroad in Australia, my perception of a long journey has vastly increased. At home, a two hour drive is considered simply not worth it, here, it’s a daily commute.
I’m writing this on an eleven hour coach journey from Sydney to Melbourne during my time off from studying. My choice to jump into this rolling box for half a day was based purely on price; sustainability didn’t cross my mind. Only in hindsight did I realise I’d made the better environmental choice as coach travel can produce up to 80% less CO₂ per passenger than flying the same route. I expected the journey to drag on like chatting to a neighbour when you’re already running late, but I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of it.
I started to wonder if this “slow” option is any less convenient than the oil guzzling, pollutant spraying, panic inducing flying scheme we call air travel. Take a typical short haul flight, the journey looks quick on a booking app, but once you add on getting to and from the airports, security queues, waiting around, faffing with suitcase weight, hunting for tiny bottles of shampoo and lying awake stressing about the whole process. It transforms into a long painful event. Compare that to rocking up to your local bus station and being dropped right in the centre of your destination with free scenery the entire way. Suddenly the “slow” option becomes much more appealing.
An Aussie girl in my class, when she found out I was from Derbyshire, very excitedly recalled her tales of travelling to my hometown: visiting Chatsworth House, Pride and Prejudice filming spots and hikes around the Peak District. All places I would never have assumed people would’ve travelled for; but would have wanted to after listening to her descriptions and stories I had a desire to see them again. Cultural essayist Kevin Kelly we should “treat our hometowns like tourists” to remain curious and appreciative of our neighbourhoods but I say go one step further and read the reviews of tourists in your hometown to truly see the wonder of your surroundings.
Studying abroad has made me realise sustainable travel isn’t a trend but a way of thinking, making intentional decisions to improve your own life and the planet’s.
