STEWART Stevenson, the Holy rood transport minister, was accused of failing to make good on his own promises yesterday when it emerged that he has made more than one trip per day in his ministerial car - after promising to use public transport as much as possible.
Mr. Stevenson took office in May, pledging to use the vehicle as little as possible. He said he had asked civil servants to schedule meetings so he could walk between them.
And he added: "I am not saying I will never use an official car, but I like walking and, where possible, that's what I'll do."
However, it emerged at the weekend that Mr. Stevenson has taken 165 trips in his ministerial car in his first five months in office - 33 trips a month.
Some of his journeys - including one from Parliament to government headquarters seven minutes away on foot - could have been made without a car.
Mr. Stevenson is the second government minister to come under attack over ministerial car use.
Just two weeks ago, it emerged that John Sweeney, the finance secretary, took a ministerial car on a 200-yard journey from the Parliament to the BBC studios next door. The car was kept running for the 20 minutes he was in the studio.
Stuart Hay, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth, said: "We have yet to see a minister make good on promises to ditch the ministerial cars in favor of green alternatives."
A spokesman for the Scottish Green Party also said: "It now looks as if most of the walking the ministers do is down to the car park."
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "Ministers do use public transport and walk to engagements whenever possible."
And she added that Mr. Stevenson made a "conscious effort" not to use the ministerial car service.
Source:
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/A--car-trip-a.3786703.jp
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