Cars don't fit in cities

The Indian Express: "With capacity to accommodate parking for barely 15 per cent of the number of four-wheelers registered in the city, illegal parking on footpaths and roads have led to deaths of pedestrians and disrupted traffic movements in the city. Parking problems, identified as a prime concern by the Mumbai traffic police, are set to worsen over the next two years if unchecked."

To address #climate, downsize transport - Lokayat

...It is thus the global capitalist system that is responsible for the global ecological crisis. It is the ruling capitalist classes – who control the levers of power in the developed and underdeveloped countries and who for

their profiteering are interested in maintaining this system – who are preventing humanity from making the bold decisions needed to tackle this crisis.



This can be easily understood with the help of an example. The transport sector is the biggest user of fossil fuels in the global economy. In order then to drastically reduce the global consumption of fossil fuels,

the transport sector will have to be severely downsized. This means reorienting the way the global economy runs today: it would mean replacing private vehicles with public transport and promoting use of cycles for

short distances – but these measures would severely affect the profitability of the car and truck manufacturing companies as well as the oil companies; it would also mean decentralizing production to reduce

transport of raw materials and finished products over long distances – but the giant multinational corporations who dominate the global economy today believe in hugely centralizing production to reduce costs...



read more here: http://lokayat.org.in/content/english-booklets/Crisis-of-Global-Warming-second-edition-2011.pdf

Delhi - 700 more cars every day

Are we doers or chokers? Capital’s air quality hinges on the answer - Hindustan Times: "The government has to provide decent travel alternatives and then take tough measures. The 12-year-old Delhi Metro ferries 2.5 million passengers daily. Yet at least 700 new cars hit Delhi’s roads every day. Clearly, not many of those who can afford to buy cars are using the Metro."

Cars vs. Buses: Do we have a choice any longer?

Lokayat : "If governments can spend billions of dollars bailing out corporations, they can surely spend a few million dollars on taking steps to drastically reduce the number of private vehicles on the roads, as that would sharply reduce global warming which is pushing the world towards catastrophic conditions. In fact, the need of the hour is to make public transport entirely free. The benefits are huge. Leave aside the consequent drastic improvement in quality of life due to improved air quality, no congestion, huge open spaces even in cities which can then be converted into gardens, peace of mind due to drastic reduction in risk of accidents, all of which cannot be measured in monetary terms; for a country like India, this is also a very viable proposition commercially. For, the foreign exchange savings, savings in oil consumption, and savings in medical bills from improved air quality and reduced accidents will be far more than the cost of providing this free transport. "

India needs free public transport

Mail Online : "From an environmental standpoint they are a disaster. Controls over urban layouts, building heights, movement within the city, markets and production of goods – they need to be reassessed.

Should people be fined for commuting long distances in the city and adding to pollution? Should the municipality collect a tax from cars parked on public land at night? Shouldn't city residents who own no vehicles be allowed to travel free in public transport? The answers may generate new urbanity.

Certainly, expansion of towns like Bangalore and Lucknow, the new towns planned in the industrial corridor between Delhi and Mumbai, unless built to new standards of environmental design, will further squalor and decay. "

India Politics and Transportation Issues

Sustainable Cities Collective : "Should buses and public transport be given importance only during formal inauguration? When buses are given due respect similar to that of a marriage bride, shouldn’t’ the father and mother of bride (here, politicians claiming to be mother and father of buses) also take care? Is the role of fathers and mothers only limited until the inaugural sessions? Isn’t it the duty of politicians to also look after sustainability of public transport? Neglecting public transport is like celebrating the birth of child with great pomp and joy and then leaving the child on its own to grow up and become a goon or dacoit.For a developing nation like India, which is world’s second most populous country and has to depend on external aid for meetings 80% of its crude oil demand, it is now a high time that politicians, godfathers and godmothers of different states and political parties think seriously towards the investments made in public transport and act towards sustainability and promotion of public transport, come out of the old fashion of thinking public transport and new buses as the subject of ‘Inauguration Only’. If India wishes to achieve cost cutting in fuel consumption, oil imports and carbon emissions, 'politicians' will have to play a pivotal role in leveraging public transportation. "

Kathmandu is literally paving paradise

Nepal News Portal: "There is no possibility to widen roads infinitely. Therefore, Nepal needs to learn from the experiences of other cities to promote public transportation systems immediately. Public transport has the capacity to solve the challenges of increasing mobility, improving quality of life, controlling road accidents and traffic accidents. Nepal is in dire need of a public transport system that is safe, secure, reliable, integrated, smooth, comfortable, economical, efficient, and affordable. Once the level of service of public transport reaches close to the levels of private vehicle use, people will automatically shift from private to public transportation. Bus Rapid Transit in Curitiba, Bogota, Jakarta, Ahmedabad etc. has delivered results and has set examples. Economically sound countries have opted for metro, tram and buses and the developing countries have focused on bus transit. A well developed bus transit is economic to implement and has the capacity to satisfy mobility needs of the people. It is a well-accepted fact that there is no alternative to developing public bus services in Nepal. The solution is to move people by public buses, walking, and bicycles. - See more at: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php? "