From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Mon Mar 5 14:53:52 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 13:53:52 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: Conversion of diesel buses to CNG Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A0092FD@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> A request for information from the Centre for Science and Environment in India. Can anyone help them with this? Paul -----Original Message----- From: Chandrachur Ghose [mailto:chur@cseindia.org] Sent: Monday, 5 March 2001 1:31 To: sustran@po.jaring.my Cc: bsantono@cbn.net.id; kuki@pelangi.or.id Subject: Conversion of diesel buses to CNG To Paul BARTER SUSTRAN Network Dear Paul Barter We are urgently looking for some information on conversion of diesel buses to run on CNG. We would be very grateful if you could kindly give us some information whether any Southeast Asian country has undertaken such projects, along with the time and cost involved. It would be great if you could also suggest names and contact addresses of conversion agencies, so that we may be able to contact them. Looking forward to hear from you soon. Regards Chandrachur Ghose Right to Clean Air Campaign Copies to:- 1. Dr Bambang Susantono, and 2. Ms Moekti H Soejachmoen CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT ( CSE ) 41, TUGHLAKABAD INSTITUTIONAL AREA, NEW DELHI- 110 062 TELE: 608 1110, 608 1124 608 3394, 608 6399 FAX : 91-11-608 5879 VISIT US AT: http://www.cseindia.org Email: chur@cseindia.org From FUENYR at ecu-01.novell.leeds.ac.uk Mon Mar 5 05:58:42 2001 From: FUENYR at ecu-01.novell.leeds.ac.uk (FUENYR@ecu-01.novell.leeds.ac.uk) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 5:58:42 GMT0BST Subject: [sustran] [sustran] FW: Conversion of diesel buses to CNG Message-ID: <1F1DEC31AD5@ecu-01.novell.leeds.ac.uk> Hello. This is an automatic reply from: Néstor Y. Rojas Thank you for your message. I am not in Leeds at the moment, so I will reply after the 18th March 2001. Regards From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Mon Mar 5 15:50:44 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 14:50:44 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: [sustran] FW: Conversion of diesel buses to CNG Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A009300@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Dear Nestor Rojas I have had to suspend you from sustran-discuss because your auto-reply seems to be misconfigured. Your replies are going to the whole list. Please contact me when you return to get back on the list. You should also contact your computer admin people about fixing the problem before future trips away. Best wishes, Dr Paul Barter Visiting Fellow Department of Geography National University of Singapore 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570 Tel: +65-874 3860; Fax: +65-777 3091 E-mail: geobpa@nus.edu.sg I'm also known as A Rahman Paul Barter > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org > [mailto:owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org]On Behalf Of > FUENYR@ecu-01.novell.leeds.ac.uk > Sent: Monday, 5 March 2001 1:59 > To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org > Subject: [sustran] [sustran] FW: Conversion of diesel buses to CNG > > > Hello. This is an automatic reply from: > N?stor Y. Rojas > Thank you for your message. > I am not in Leeds at the moment, so > I will reply after the 18th March 2001. > Regards > From susdev at eurofound.ie Fri Mar 9 09:08:07 2001 From: susdev at eurofound.ie (SD Online) Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2001 16:08:07 -0800 Subject: [sustran] SD Online new listings Message-ID: Dear Reader, After a short break SD ONLINE is back with its free regular updates on sustainable development initiatives around the world. NEW CONFERENCES We have just added 39 New conferences to the databases - an overview is provided at the end of this message. UPDATING SD ONLINE During March two further updates to the databases are planned - covering Sustainable Development Networks, Tools, Training and SME Support Initiatives. NEW SD ONLINE URL (WWW ADDRESS) Please change your book marks to http://www.sd-online.net to access SD ONLINE. The old URL ( http://susdev.eurofound.ie ) still works for the moment. PROMOTE YOUR SITE 'Submit' your own SD web site (and support activities such as eco-design, industrial ecology, LCA, etc) or recommend one to SD ONLINE. It will be reviewed by our team and be available to the thousands of visitors to SD ONLINE every month. WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT: SD-ONLINE is designed and developed by EDEN B.V. on behalf of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (an autonomous publicly funded agency of the European Union). Learn more about EDEN's database driven websites and how EDEN can help you. For example, publish and edit YOUR OWN NEWSLETTER as and when you want without knowing a single line of HTML. Email: eden@antenna.nl 39 NEW CONFERENCE LISTINGS (Go: http://www.sd-online.net ) 18th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture - =46lorian=F3polis, Brazil 4th Toulouse Conference on Environment and Resource Economics - Toulouse, France 5th Nordic Environmental Research Conference - Aarhus, Denmark 7th International Interdisciplinary Conference on the Environment - San Francisco, U.S.A. A Seminar "Biopolymers: Packaging - a new generation" - Birmingham, United Kingdom BAGIS'01 - Baltic Sea Region - Stockholm, Sweden Baltic Meeting Point - Uppsala, Sweden Bridging Sustainability - research and sector integration - Stockholm, Sweden Building Energy 2001 - Medford, MA, U.S.A Climate Change in the Circumpolar North: Summit and Sustainable Technology Exposition - Whitehorse, Canada Climate Conference 2001 - Utrecht, The Netherlands Commission on Sustainable Development, 9th Session - New York, U.S.A. Creating an All-Energy Future - Renewables and Diversification - Aberdeen, United Kingdom Delhi Sustainable Development Summit - New Delhi, India Delhi Sustainable Development Summit - New Delhi, India Detecting Environmental Change - London, United Kingdom Durability of Building Materials and Components - Brisbane, Australia ECO-INFORMA 2001 - Environmental Risks and the Global Community - Argonne, U.S.A. ENCORE 2001 - Villach, Austria Environment 2001 - Tel Aviv, Israel Future Home: Sustainable Housing in the 21st Century - Dundee, Scotland , UK Global Change and Sustainable Development in Southeast Asia - Chiang Mai, Thailand Global Young Greens 2001 - Sydney, Australia Green Chemistry: Sustainable Products and Processes - Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom GW12 - Global Warming International Conference & Expo - Cambridge, United Kingdom HDP-A Symposium - Graz, Austira International Emission Inventory Conference: One Atmosphere, One Inventory, Many Challenges - Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. Learning for the Future - Seattle, U.S.A. Local Action for Global Climate Protection - Vaxjo, Sweden Making Sustainable Regional Development Visible - Leibnitz, Austria New Partnerships for the 21st Century - 2nd International Conference - "Business & Municipality" - Bremen, Germany OECD Forum 2001 - Paris, France Renewable energy 2002 - Cologne, Germany Sustain 2001 - The World Sustainable Energy Exhibition and Conference - Amsterdam, The Netherlands The 13th International Conference on Engineering Design - Glasgow, United Kingdom The Human Dimensions of Global Change - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The Second Annual Global Conference on Environmental Taxation Issues, Experience and Potential - Vancouver, Canada Towards Sustainable Product Design 6 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands World Sustainable Energy Day 2001 - Linz, Austria From jhk at ihe.nl Fri Mar 9 01:55:59 2001 From: jhk at ihe.nl (Jan Herman Koster) Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 16:55:59 +0000 Subject: [sustran] Proceedings Expert Group Meeting on Low Cost Mobility Message-ID: <3AA7B99F.60E08365@ihe.nl> The Proceedings of the World Bank/Velomondial 2000/IHE Delft 'Expert Group Meeting on Low-Cost Mobility in African Cities' are now available. Copies can be ordered free of charge through IHE Delft (kli@ihe.nl) -- jan herman koster Chairman Organising Committee IHE Delft http://www.ihe.nl Phone: +31 (0)15 2151750 ________________________ ____ ____ ___________ ______ |International Institute | |_ _||_ _||_ ________| | | |for Infrastructural, | || ||____||__||__ | | | Hydraulic and | _||_ _||_ _||__||____ | | | Environmental | |____||____||___________| |______| |____________Engineering_| D E L F T From litman at vtpi.org Fri Mar 9 01:37:19 2001 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Litman) Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 08:37:19 -0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: Proceedings Expert Group Meeting on Low Cost Mobility In-Reply-To: <3AA7B99F.60E08365@ihe.nl> Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20010308083719.0106f8a0@pop.islandnet.com> At 04:55 PM 3/8/01 +0000, you wrote: >The Proceedings of the World Bank/Velomondial 2000/IHE Delft 'Expert >Group Meeting on Low-Cost Mobility in African Cities' are now available. >Copies can be ordered free of charge through IHE Delft (kli@ihe.nl) Please send a copy of the publication to our address below. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 E-mail: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From litman at vtpi.org Fri Mar 9 02:40:18 2001 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Litman) Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 09:40:18 -0800 Subject: [sustran] News Release - Online TDM Encyclopedia Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20010308094018.01081510@pop.islandnet.com> 8 March 2001 For Immediate Release * NEWS RELEASE * ----------------------- Online TDM Encyclopedia ----------------------- The first comprehensive Internet tool for Transportation Demand Management planning is now available free at the Victoria Transport Policy Institute website. * * * * * The VTPI Online TDM Encyclopedia is a unique new resource that provides comprehensive information about Transportation Demand Management (TDM). It is available free at the Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI) website: http://www.vtpi.org. Transportation Demand Management is a general term for strategies that encourage more efficient travel patterns. The Online TDM Encyclopedia is designed to help transportation professionals identify, plan, implement and evaluate TDM options. It is the only website that has comprehensive information on TDM in an easy-to-use format, with hyperlinks to access additional resources. "There are many innovative management strategies that could help solve common transportation problems, but they are not being widely implemented simply because decision makers know little about them," explains VTPI Director, Todd Litman. "The Encyclopedia allows us to share information about these solutions in a way that is highly accessible. We originally envisioned one or two pages describing about 20 TDM strategies, but the project just kept expanding to incorporate more features and materials." The Encyclopedia has detailed information on more than three-dozen TDM strategies, plus sections on TDM program planning and evaluation. In all, it contains more than 60 chapters and more than 700 pages of text. It incorporates hundreds of Hyperlinks to provide users with instant access to references and resources. This information is regularly expanded and updated. The following information is provided on each TDM strategy: ? A description. ? How the strategy can be implemented. ? Travel impacts. ? Benefits and costs. ? Equity impacts. ? Applications (where it is most appropriate). ? Stakeholders. ? Barriers to implementation. ? Best practices ? Case studies. ? Information resources (many available through the Internet). Each strategy is rated according to its ability to help achieve various transportation improvement objectives (congestion reduction, road safety, consumer choice, environmental protection, etc.), its travel impacts, equity impacts, and appropriateness in various geographic and organizational conditions. These ratings can help users identify which strategies are most suitable to consider in a particular situation. The Encyclopedia also contains technical information on evaluation methods, transportation price elasticities, land use impacts on travel behavior, economic impacts, equity analysis, safety impacts, and sustainable transportation issues. * * * * * BACKGROUND: WHAT IS TDM? Transportation Demand Management is a new approach to solving transportation problems. Although some TDM strategies are well known, they are usually considered as a solution to a specific problem, rather than as part of a comprehensive plan with multiple benefits. Transportation Demand Management strategies tend to have synergistic effects: they are most effective when implemented in a coordinated program. The Online TDM Encyclopedia emphasizes an integrated approach to TDM planning, providing information on strategies that are complementary, and resources for creating coordinated TDM policies and programs. Comprehensive TDM planning requires a fundamental change in the way transportation professionals think about transportation problems and evaluate solutions. It means that strategies and programs which increase transportation system efficiency be considered equally with investments that increase transportation system capacity. It also requires comprehensive analysis that considers the full benefits and costs of each option. Transportation Demand Management solutions tend to provide multiple benefits. They can reduce traffic congestion, reduce road and parking facility costs, increase road safety, expand consumer choice, provide consumer savings, protect the environment, support efficient land use, and help achieve equity objectives. Conventional transportation planning tends to focus on a limited set of objectives, and so ignores many of these benefits. As a result, TDM strategies tend to be undervalued, while conventional solutions may be implemented that help solve one problem but exacerbate others. The Online TDM Encyclopedia helps users identify which TDM strategies are most appropriate in a particular application. It offers guidelines for determining when TDM solutions are most cost effective, and which combinations of strategies are most efficient in a particular situation. With hundred of Hyperlinks, the Encyclopedia allows users to quickly gather information on suitable and complementary strategies. "Transportation Demand Management creates a more diverse and resource-efficient transportation system," says Litman. "This can help solve specific transportation problems, such as traffic congestion and pollution, while saving money for communities and consumers. TDM programs also tend to increase travel options for people who are transportation disadvantaged. When all benefits and costs are considered, TDM is often the most cost effective way to improve transportation." "This is not to deny the significant challenges to Transportation Demand Management implementation," explains Litman. "Conventional transportation institutions treat TDM as a last resort, to be used when traditional solutions are impractical. For TDM to achieve its full potential benefits, transportation planning and funding practices must change to consider TDM as a potential component of any transportation plan. The Online TDM Encyclopedia provides practical information on how to overcome barriers to TDM implementation." * * * * * ----------------------------- Online TDM Encyclopedia Index ----------------------------- OVERVIEW ? About This Encyclopedia ? Criticism of TDM ? Evaluating TDM Equity ? Evaluating Transportation Choice ? Market Principles - TDM Impacts on Market Efficiency and Equity ? Measuring Transportation ? Safety Impacts of TDM ? Social Benefits of Public Transit ? Sustainable Transportation and TDM ? TDM and Economic Development ? TDM Evaluation - Assessing Benefits and Costs ? The Takeback Effect ? Why Manage Transportation ? Win-Win Transportation Solutions POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS ? Car-Free Planning ? Comprehensive Transportation Market Reforms ? Institutional Reforms ? Least Cost Planning ? Regulatory Reform TDM PROGRAMS AND PROGRAM SUPPORT ? Access Management ? Campus Transportation Management ? Data collection and Participant Surveys ? Commute Trip Reduction Programs ? Freight Transportation Management ? School Trip Management ? Special Event Management ? TDM Marketing ? TDM Programs ? Tourist Transport Management ? Transportation Management Associations (TMA) IMPROVED TRANSPORT CHOICE ? Address Security Concerns ? Alternative Work Schedules ? Bicycle Improvements ? Bike/Transit Integration ? Carsharing/Vehicle Rentals ? Compressed Work Week ? Flextime ? Guaranteed Ride Home ? Nonmotorized Improvements ? Park & Ride ? Pedestrian Improvements ? Ridesharing ? Shuttle Services ? Tele-Access ? Traffic Calming ? Transit Improvements INCENTIVES TO USE ALTERNATIVE MODES AND REDUCE DRIVING ? Bicycle and Pedestrian Encouragement ? Congestion Pricing ? Distance-Based Fees ? Commuter Financial Incentives ? Fuel Tax Increases ? High Occupant Vehicle (HOV) Preference ? Parking Pricing ? Road Pricing: Congestion Pricing, Road Tolls and HOT Lanes ? Street Reclaiming ? Vehicle Use Restrictions LAND USE AND PARKING MANAGEMENT ? Car-Free Districts and Pedestrianized Streets ? Location Efficient Development ? New Urbanism ? Parking Management ? Parking Solutions ? Parking Policy Evaluation ? Smart Growth ? Transit Oriented Development (TOD) REFERENCE INFORMATION ? Evaluating Nonmotorized Transport ? Land Use Impacts on Transport ? Resources - Publications and Websites ? Transportation Costs ? Transportation Elasticities ? Trip Reduction Tables -------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT VTPI The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transportation problems. The VTPI website has numerous information resources addressing a wide range of transport planning and policy issues. VTPI also provides consulting services. For more information contact: Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 E-mail: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Thu Mar 15 11:26:50 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 10:26:50 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: UNEP Calls For Sustainable Transport Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A009334@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> -----Original Message----- From: Farheen Mukri [mailto:farheen@riet.org.sg] Sent: Thursday, 15 March 2001 9:57 To: 'Paul Barter' Subject: FW: UNEP Calls For Sustainable Transport Importance: High ... snip ... > ---------- > From: FABIOCCHI::[SMTP:fabiocchi@infinito.it] > Reply To: FABIOCCHI:: > Sent: 12 March, 2001 9:05 PM > > UNEP Head Calls For Sustainable Transport Strategies > BRUSSELS/NAIROBI, 6 March 2001 - "In response to growing greenhouse gas > and > other vehicle emissions, and the expectation that worldwide growth in > vehicle ownership and kilometers driven will continue to increase, we must > radically rethink our approach to road transportation," Klaus Toepfer, > Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), > said > today. > > Speaking at "CleanEnergy WorldTour 2001 - the launch of the BMW Hydrogen > Fleet in Belgium" - Toepfer will say that "sustainable transport > strategies > need to be developed and should include three elements: increased fuel > efficiency of vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles and changed transport > patterns. In this regard, alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and > biofuels, > can be part of the solution. > > Mr. Toepfer will say that vehicles running on hydrogen represent a > technology that can help bring down CO2 emissions from the transport > sector. > But, the environmental friendliness of this technology depends on how the > hydrogen fuel is provided. Hydrogen can be extracted from methane, natural > gas, methanol, ethanol or even gasoline in the fuel preparation stage. > "Only > if the hydrogen is produced from renewable fuels or through electrolysis > via > solar-generated electricity can we speak about a truly clean alternative," > he said. > > According to the UNEP Executive Director, to create a sustainable > transport > strategy, policies to overcome existing financial, economic and > technological barriers must be developed and implemented on the > international and national level, by both the public and the private > sector. > > "The private sector has invested heavily in research and development > regarding alternatively fueled vehicles, "said Toepfer. "Now the related > infrastructure problems need to be tackled, and pricing systems need to be > developed to bring down the high production and purchase costs in order to > allow the market uptake once these vehicles are mass produced." > > A quarter of the world's energy is used for transport. Vehicular transport > represents 80% of this energy use and accounts for about 30% of total > carbon > dioxide emissions. Local and regional air pollution, congestion in urban > areas and land use for road-building are key transport-related problems. > With the growing demand for mobility in developed and developing > countries, > these problems will get more and more serious if action is not taken. > > In response to these problems UNEP is expanding its transport-related > activities. Through its Mobility Forum - a voluntary initiative with the > automotive industry - UNEP is working to strengthen communication and > cooperation between the automotive industry, consumers and governments, > and > thereby promoting the development of necessary sustainable mobility > strategies and environmentally best practices. > > Note to journalists: To arrange an interview with Klaus Toepfer in > Brussels > on 6 March please contact Robert Bisset, UNEP press officer on mobile > +33-6-2272-5842, email: robert.bisset@unep.fr > > For further information, please contact: Tore J. Brevik, UNEP > Spokesman/Director of Communications and Public Information, P.O. Box > 30552, > Nairobi; tel.: (254-2) 623292; fax: 623692; email: cpiinfo@unep.org > UNEP News Release 01/35 > > > > From ibike at ibike.org Thu Mar 15 15:33:24 2001 From: ibike at ibike.org (International Bicycle Fund) Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 22:33:24 -0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: FW: UNEP Calls For Sustainable Transport In-Reply-To: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A009334@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Message-ID: The irony of this statement is that UNEP was an early contributor to sprawl in Nairobi, its staff is very SOV oriented and it owns a large and identifiable fleet of gas guzzling SUVs. Even the substance of the statement is suspect. As has been consistent with UNEP since its inception a couple decades ago, it is looking for a technological solution to the pollution of vehicles, as if that is the only impact of private vehicles. The don't have a grip on the ecological disaster that a increasing number of vehicle, even zero emissions, will create as land degradation from roads, parking lots and sprawl marches across the face of the planet. INTERNATIONAL BICYCLE FUND -- www.ibike.org Promoting sustainable transport and understanding worldwide. -----Original Message----- From: owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org [mailto:owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org]On Behalf Of Paul Barter Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 6:27 PM To: 'aasust_discuss' Subject: [sustran] FW: UNEP Calls For Sustainable Transport -----Original Message----- From: Farheen Mukri [mailto:farheen@riet.org.sg] Sent: Thursday, 15 March 2001 9:57 To: 'Paul Barter' Subject: FW: UNEP Calls For Sustainable Transport Importance: High ... snip ... > ---------- > From: FABIOCCHI::[SMTP:fabiocchi@infinito.it] > Reply To: FABIOCCHI:: > Sent: 12 March, 2001 9:05 PM > > UNEP Head Calls For Sustainable Transport Strategies > BRUSSELS/NAIROBI, 6 March 2001 - "In response to growing greenhouse gas > and > other vehicle emissions, and the expectation that worldwide growth in > vehicle ownership and kilometers driven will continue to increase, we must > radically rethink our approach to road transportation," Klaus Toepfer, > Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), > said > today. > > Speaking at "CleanEnergy WorldTour 2001 - the launch of the BMW Hydrogen > Fleet in Belgium" - Toepfer will say that "sustainable transport > strategies > need to be developed and should include three elements: increased fuel > efficiency of vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles and changed transport > patterns. In this regard, alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and > biofuels, > can be part of the solution. > > Mr. Toepfer will say that vehicles running on hydrogen represent a > technology that can help bring down CO2 emissions from the transport > sector. > But, the environmental friendliness of this technology depends on how the > hydrogen fuel is provided. Hydrogen can be extracted from methane, natural > gas, methanol, ethanol or even gasoline in the fuel preparation stage. > "Only > if the hydrogen is produced from renewable fuels or through electrolysis > via > solar-generated electricity can we speak about a truly clean alternative," > he said. > > According to the UNEP Executive Director, to create a sustainable > transport > strategy, policies to overcome existing financial, economic and > technological barriers must be developed and implemented on the > international and national level, by both the public and the private > sector. > > "The private sector has invested heavily in research and development > regarding alternatively fueled vehicles, "said Toepfer. "Now the related > infrastructure problems need to be tackled, and pricing systems need to be > developed to bring down the high production and purchase costs in order to > allow the market uptake once these vehicles are mass produced." > > A quarter of the world's energy is used for transport. Vehicular transport > represents 80% of this energy use and accounts for about 30% of total > carbon > dioxide emissions. Local and regional air pollution, congestion in urban > areas and land use for road-building are key transport-related problems. > With the growing demand for mobility in developed and developing > countries, > these problems will get more and more serious if action is not taken. > > In response to these problems UNEP is expanding its transport-related > activities. Through its Mobility Forum - a voluntary initiative with the > automotive industry - UNEP is working to strengthen communication and > cooperation between the automotive industry, consumers and governments, > and > thereby promoting the development of necessary sustainable mobility > strategies and environmentally best practices. > > Note to journalists: To arrange an interview with Klaus Toepfer in > Brussels > on 6 March please contact Robert Bisset, UNEP press officer on mobile > +33-6-2272-5842, email: robert.bisset@unep.fr > > For further information, please contact: Tore J. Brevik, UNEP > Spokesman/Director of Communications and Public Information, P.O. Box > 30552, > Nairobi; tel.: (254-2) 623292; fax: 623692; email: cpiinfo@unep.org > UNEP News Release 01/35 > > > > From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Thu Mar 15 17:58:28 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 16:58:28 +0800 Subject: [sustran] fwd: Singapore car free day April 14 Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A009336@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,29549-984607140,0 0.html? The Straits Times interactive Mar 14, 2001 Do leave home without it Singapore's first Car-Free Day aims to get motorists to be more eco-friendly and to take public transport instead By Sharmilpal Kaur LEAVE your car at home and take a bus, the train, a bicycle or, simply, walk. It is a big call for car-loving Singaporeans, but that is what the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) wants them to do for just one day. Thursday, April 19, that is. That is when SEC is holding Singapore's first Car-Free Day. The event will also be held worldwide then. Car-Free Day started in the US and Europe in the 1960s when several large cities began to suffer from serious air pollution and congestion. Since then, it has grown so popular that certain roads in Europe are closed on that day. SEC executive director Penelope Phoon said: 'This throws out a challenge to car-loving Singaporeans to leave their cars behind for a day, to promote an eco-friendly lifestyle.' Mr Howard Shaw, SEC's senior manager, said: 'Resource-wise, cars are not very efficient at all.' The Environment Ministry is getting right behind the event, pledging that its carparks will be empty on that day. Mr Sidek Saniff, Senior Minister of State for the Environment, is leading by example by going car-free that morning. Acting Minister for the Environment Lim Swee Say will be out of town. Companies will be encouraged to get their employees to leave their cars at home. The SEC will have a media blitz to promote the event. It will also place posters on buses and hang banners at 120 locations. It has printed 17,000 TransitLink farecards to commemorate the event. The SEC will also work with the Singapore Sports Council to promote cycling as an alternative to driving. While the SEC recognises that the battle will be an uphill one, the main aim is to decrease dependence on cars while raising awareness of a greener lifestyle. Ms Phoon said: 'The main objective of the campaign is to drum up awareness, in a bid to encourage people to switch to alternative modes of transport. 'We are looking at a 10-per-cent reduction in vehicle use on that day.' The Land Transport Authority will monitor the number of cars going into the city area and compare this figure with the usual number. The information will help the SEC gauge the success of the event. The Straits Times drew mixed reactions from the motorists interviewed. Salesman David Chua, 42, said: 'In an ideal situation, that would be great. 'But I still drive because public transportation is still not convenient enough. I also wonder if this one-day campaign will really have any effect at all.' But housewife Mala Reaghavan, 40, said: 'Yes, definitely, because that would mean less pollution for the environment, even though it would be a little more inconvenient for me.' The event is part of Earth Day 2001 celebrations. Although April 19 is three days before Earth Day, it was chosen because a weekday was a better time to study the impact of having fewer cars. Copyright ? 2001 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved. ---------------- Forwarded for the purposes of education and research. Dr Paul Barter Visiting Fellow Department of Geography National University of Singapore 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570 Tel: +65-874 3860; Fax: +65-777 3091 E-mail: geobpa@nus.edu.sg (I'm also known as A Rahman Paul Barter) From sujit at vsnl.com Fri Mar 16 01:55:16 2001 From: sujit at vsnl.com (Sujit Patwardhan) Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 22:25:16 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Re: fwd: Singapore car free day April 14 In-Reply-To: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A009336@exs04.ex.nus.edu. sg> Message-ID: <4.0.1.20010315222024.00e01610@202.54.10.1> 15 March 2001 Dear Paul, Is it April 14th (as in the subject line) or 19th (as in the body of the text)? There is already some doubts in the minds of some groups here who insist that the Earth Day is 22 April and ask how the Vehicle Free Day which we are trying to organize in Pune, India, on 19th can be a part of Earth Day Celebrations. Best wishes, --Sujit ------------------------------------------------ At 04:58 PM 3/15/01 +0800, you wrote: >http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,29549-984607140,0 >0.html? > >The Straits Times interactive >Mar 14, 2001 > >Do leave home without it >Singapore's first Car-Free Day aims to get motorists to be more eco-friendly >and to take public transport instead > >By Sharmilpal Kaur > >LEAVE your car at home and take a bus, the train, a bicycle or, simply, >walk. > >It is a big call for car-loving Singaporeans, but that is what the Singapore >Environment Council (SEC) wants them to do for just one day. > >Thursday, April 19, that is. That is when SEC is holding Singapore's first >Car-Free Day. > >The event will also be held worldwide then. > >Car-Free Day started in the US and Europe in the 1960s when several large >cities began to suffer from serious air pollution and congestion. > >Since then, it has grown so popular that certain roads in Europe are closed >on that day. > >SEC executive director Penelope Phoon said: 'This throws out a challenge to >car-loving Singaporeans to leave their cars behind for a day, to promote an >eco-friendly lifestyle.' > >Mr Howard Shaw, SEC's senior manager, said: 'Resource-wise, cars are not >very efficient at all.' > >The Environment Ministry is getting right behind the event, pledging that >its carparks will be empty on that day. > >Mr Sidek Saniff, Senior Minister of State for the Environment, is leading by >example by going car-free that morning. > >Acting Minister for the Environment Lim Swee Say will be out of town. > >Companies will be encouraged to get their employees to leave their cars at >home. > >The SEC will have a media blitz to promote the event. It will also place >posters on buses and hang banners at 120 locations. > >It has printed 17,000 TransitLink farecards to commemorate the event. > >The SEC will also work with the Singapore Sports Council to promote cycling >as an alternative to driving. > >While the SEC recognises that the battle will be an uphill one, the main aim >is to decrease dependence on cars while raising awareness of a greener >lifestyle. > >Ms Phoon said: 'The main objective of the campaign is to drum up awareness, >in a bid to encourage people to switch to alternative modes of transport. > >'We are looking at a 10-per-cent reduction in vehicle use on that day.' > >The Land Transport Authority will monitor the number of cars going into the >city area and compare this figure with the usual number. The information >will help the SEC gauge the success of the event. > >The Straits Times drew mixed reactions from the motorists interviewed. > >Salesman David Chua, 42, said: 'In an ideal situation, that would be great. > >'But I still drive because public transportation is still not convenient >enough. I also wonder if this one-day campaign will really have any effect >at all.' > >But housewife Mala Reaghavan, 40, said: 'Yes, definitely, because that would >mean less pollution for the environment, even though it would be a little >more inconvenient for me.' > >The event is part of Earth Day 2001 celebrations. Although April 19 is three >days before Earth Day, it was chosen because a weekday was a better time to >study the impact of having fewer cars. > >Copyright ? 2001 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved. >---------------- > >Forwarded for the purposes of education and research. > >Dr Paul Barter >Visiting Fellow >Department of Geography >National University of Singapore >1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570 >Tel: +65-874 3860; Fax: +65-777 3091 >E-mail: geobpa@nus.edu.sg >(I'm also known as A Rahman Paul Barter) > ------------------------------------------------ PARISAR, Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007 Tel: 5537955 ***************************************************************** In nature there are neither Rewards nor Punishments--- there are Consequences. ***************************************************************** From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Fri Mar 16 05:42:04 2001 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 21:42:04 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Singapore, Pune, Gandhi and Earth Car Free Day Message-ID: -----Original Message----- On Behalf Of Sujit Patwardhan Sent: Thursday, 15 March 2001 5:55 PM To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org Subject: Singapore car free day April 14 (?) Is it April 14th (as in the subject line) or 19th (as in the body of the text)? There is already some doubts in the minds of some groups here who insist that the Earth Day is 22 April and ask how the Vehicle Free Day which we are trying to organize in Pune, India, on 19th can be a part of Earth Day Celebrations. = = = = = I think we can help here. Earth Car Free Day is being celebrated planet wide on 19 April, and indeed the Singapore team has been among the very first to support this extraordinary global/local. As is the team from Pune, who were the first to make an entry in the ECFD database, which went on line this week. We invite you to visit the site at www.carfreeday.com which is (at long last and after much blood, seat and tears) now ready to receive you and your ides and initiatives. Again that's at www.carfreeday.com and the Guide Michelin says it's worth a detour. A final point while I have your ear. As things really begin to get underway in cities around the world, we are hard at work in building up a centralized media library. And part of this, in addition to the usual things such as collections of logos, articles, media guides, some video and even our own fine ECFD Detour Bookshop ('better than Amazon and not broke'), we would also like to offer a pantheon of good, great and possibly even awful slogans for the occasions. Thus far we have chosen the wonderful Gandhi words for this year, "We must be the change we wish to see". But we also want to offer a wide range of ideas for others. So we ask you this. What slogan do you propose that people consider when it comes to making up their car-free day programs. I look forward to this with great gusto. Eric Britton ecopl@n___ technology, economy, society ___ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France Eric.Britton@ecoplan.org URL ecoplan.org Day phone: +331 4326 1323 Mobile: +336 80 96 78 79 Voice/Videoconference/Data +331.4441.6340 (1-4) 24 hour Voicemail/Fax hotline: +331 5301 2896 From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Fri Mar 16 10:52:39 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 09:52:39 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: Singapore, Pune, Gandhi and Earth Car Free Day Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A00933C@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> My mistake ... it is indeed the 19th, which is the customary Thursday. I typed the wrong date in the subject line. Sorry! Paul > Is it April 14th (as in the subject line) or 19th (as in the > body of the > text)? From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Thu Mar 22 14:54:17 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 13:54:17 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: On going saga about the court case seeking eviction of railwa y slums in Mumbai Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A00934F@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> -----Original Message----- From: Sheela Patel [mailto:mithila@bom3.vsnl.net.in] Sent: Thursday, 22 March 2001 10:41 To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;@bom3.vsnl.net.in;; Subject: Fw: On going saga about the court case seeking eviction of railway slums in Mumbai 22nd March 01 1. Background History. In November 1998 a citizens' group from Bombay took a public interest litigation to the Bombay High Court against the Railways and Government of India for the lack of safety and delays in local transport services. Their solution to all the ills was that slum dwellers in who squat close to the tract should be removed. This eviction was to be done as a court order and no compensation should be given to these households. SPARC and NSDF came in as interventionists and in the affidavit we submitted we said that in this entire discussion about railway services and slum dwellers, there was no recognition of the larger issues and ongoing events and strategies that were being explored. That there was a active federation of slum dwellers living on railway lands called the Railway slum dwellers federation ( RSDF) which was seeking a resolution to their crisis of living near the tracks from 1989, when along with the alliance they had done a survey of slums and produced a report called "Beyond the Beaten Tract". In that report apart from presenting facts about themselves, they had also suggested some alternatives That between that time and the time of the case, there have been many precedent setting collaboration that the community has done with the state government of Maharashtra and the Indian Railways which have assisted in major projects. At the time of the case, the government of Maharashtra and the Indian Railways were negotiating a billion dollar project to improve the state of public transport especially the railways,. The World Bank from which source this loan was being negotiated required policy backed rehabilitation acceptable to the households to be relocated as part of the project. SPARC Mahila Milan and NSDF were facilitating that process, and all the participants in the PIL on both sides were not stating these facts to the High Court. II. The summary of what happened so far since then: The PIL now began to include information about MUTPII in the discussion. However the issues were how to balance the prolonged negotiations that such large projects are characterised by, with the urgency to doing something about the state of the railways train schedule. The Railway Commissioner of Safety was on the verge of stopping the services of the habour line, which is the route for the largest traffic if the slums within 10 meters were not removed. Due to this proximity, the trains are slowed down to 5km per hour which in turn delays the whole turn around of trains and no or trips they make. This is also due to the crisis of accidents which also were very high. The World Bank Indian Railways and government of Maharashtra made some strategic changes in their schedule to address this crisis. By "Optimization" of track use, and by relocating the households within 10 meters, this would serve the needs of the city and not dislocate the project, and give the court a solution that works. They could make this statement to the court because communities within RSDF and the alliance of SPARC Mahila Milan and NSDF were confident to create the community process to ensure that. Between June 00 and November 00 the first of the 10,000+ households that needed to be relocated were moved. Some into permanent houses and others in transit houses constructed by NSDF and Mahila Milan . So when the court asked for a date for the solutions to be completed, the government of Maharashtra in its affidavit stated that 6004 households /structures were left on the track and that they would be relocated by Feb 2001. In the case that came up yesterday, the court wanted to hear what had actually happened. 3500 had been relocated, and by March 30th, 2001 another 500 would be relocated. The remaining 2004 would be relocated in April. ( For anyone who knows anything about these processes, this progress is also a unbelievable speed!) The reason why the total number was not completed was because over a month delay occurred due to construction delays, not readiness of people to go to the location. Now the court has agreed to hear the final progress an close the case in April. ( The whole story of the relocation process completely managed by the communities will be compiled and put on the website in a few days with pictures. Sheela Patel SPARC Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres P.O. Box 9389, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai 400 026 Email: sparc1@vsnl.com Tel: 91-22-3865053, 3858785 Fax: 91-22-3887566 SPARC Website: www.sparcindia.org ( latest news about the toilets in Pune) Citywatch Website: www.citywatchnews.net Clicc Website : www.clicc.org SadakChaap : www.sadakchaap.org Awas Website: www.awasnet.org From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Fri Mar 23 19:04:53 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 18:04:53 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: CD-Rom Urban Transport in Africa Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A009357@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> -----Original Message----- From: A discussion list focusing on sustainable public urban transport in develop [mailto:TRANSPORT-PARTNERSHIPS@JISCMAIL.AC.UK]On Behalf Of Jeroen van Alphen Sent: Friday, 23 March 2001 4:43 To: TRANSPORT-PARTNERSHIPS@JISCMAIL.AC.UK Subject: CD-Rom Urban Transport in Africa Dear List members, I am delighted to inform you that the proceedings of the special session on urban transport in Africa organised by INTA at the occasion of Africities 2000 in Windhoek, Namibia is now available on CD-Rom. TABLE OF CONTENT OF THE CD-ROM: 1 The Context and the Challenges * Introduction by H. Chabert, President INTA 2. Conception, Development or Re-engineering of Urban Transport Systems * Durban Collective Transport Policy by O. Mlaba * Case Study of the Greater Cape Metropolitan Area by M. Mazaza * Transport urbain politique globale et partenariat public-priv? by P. Bernard 3. Partnership for Urban Transport Systems * Federal Transit in the U.S. by J.W. Spencer * Le partenariat public/priv? dans les transport urbain by C. Barbieux * The Public/Private Partnership in Urban Transport by C. Barbieux * Place et r?le du banquier, financier des transports publics by M. Oudor 4. Service Constraints on the Conception of the Rolling Stock * A Manufacturer's Point of View by B. Hatt 5. Exploitation and Management of Networks * Urban Planning and the Transport Challenge by P. Mollet * Gestion publique d'un r?seau de transport en commun: le cas de Tunis by S. Sagaama et P. Pavy 6. Conclusions * Recommendations by M. Sudarskis The price of the CD-Rom is 15 Euro + postage and packaging. It can be ordered at the below address. Mobility and urban transport policy is one of the priority areas of INTA and on 13 to 16 May in Paris, in co-operation with the Paris Transport Authority (RATP), we organise a major conference on the City response to new demands for mobility. The debate and the good practices presented in Paris will certainly constitute a useful follow up of the Africities conference. Further information can be obtained from http://www.inta-aivn.org/20-activities/city-response.htm. INTA is the international network that encourages the exchange of information, experience and best practices on urban development and renewal across the world. INTA's missions are: * to contribute to the world debate on urban development and regeneration; * to shape appropriate public and private sector policies for urban and regional development; * to promote public private partnerships on urban issues. Jeroen van Alphen Project Coordinator INTA - the international network for urban development Nassau Dillenburgstraat 44 2596 AE Den Haag The Netherlands Fax: 31-70-324 4526 intainfo@inta-net.org http://www.inta-net.org _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. From levinep at earthlink.net Fri Mar 23 22:25:18 2001 From: levinep at earthlink.net (Esiah Levine) Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 08:25:18 -0500 Subject: [sustran] [sustran] FW: CD-Rom Urban Transport in Africa Message-ID: How did you make out with autocad14? -----Original Message----- From: A discussion list focusing on sustainable public urban transport in develop [mailto:TRANSPORT-PARTNERSHIPS@JISCMAIL.AC.UK]On Behalf Of Jeroen van Alphen Sent: Friday, 23 March 2001 4:43 To: TRANSPORT-PARTNERSHIPS@JISCMAIL.AC.UK Subject: CD-Rom Urban Transport in Africa Dear List members, I am delighted to inform you that the proceedings of the special session on urban transport in Africa organised by INTA at the occasion of Africities 2000 in Windhoek, Namibia is now available on CD-Rom. TABLE OF CONTENT OF THE CD-ROM: 1 The Context and the Challenges * Introduction by H. Chabert, President INTA 2. Conception, Development or Re-engineering of Urban Transport Systems * Durban Collective Transport Policy by O. Mlaba * Case Study of the Greater Cape Metropolitan Area by M. Mazaza * Transport urbain politique globale et partenariat public-priv? by P. Bernard 3. Partnership for Urban Transport Systems * Federal Transit in the U.S. by J.W. Spencer * Le partenariat public/priv? dans les transport urbain by C. Barbieux * The Public/Private Partnership in Urban Transport by C. Barbieux * Place et r?le du banquier, financier des transports publics by M. Oudor 4. Service Constraints on the Conception of the Rolling Stock * A Manufacturer's Point of View by B. Hatt 5. Exploitation and Management of Networks * Urban Planning and the Transport Challenge by P. Mollet * Gestion publique d'un r?seau de transport en commun: le cas de Tunis by S. Sagaama et P. Pavy 6. Conclusions * Recommendations by M. Sudarskis The price of the CD-Rom is 15 Euro + postage and packaging. It can be ordered at the below address. Mobility and urban transport policy is one of the priority areas of INTA and on 13 to 16 May in Paris, in co-operation with the Paris Transport Authority (RATP), we organise a major conference on the City response to new demands for mobility. The debate and the good practices presented in Paris will certainly constitute a useful follow up of the Africities conference. Further information can be obtained from http://www.inta-aivn.org/20-activities/city-response.htm. INTA is the international network that encourages the exchange of information, experience and best practices on urban development and renewal across the world. INTA's missions are: * to contribute to the world debate on urban development and regeneration; * to shape appropriate public and private sector policies for urban and regional development; * to promote public private partnerships on urban issues. Jeroen van Alphen Project Coordinator INTA - the international network for urban development Nassau Dillenburgstraat 44 2596 AE Den Haag The Netherlands Fax: 31-70-324 4526 intainfo@inta-net.org http://www.inta-net.org _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Sat Mar 24 11:32:49 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 10:32:49 +0800 Subject: [sustran] UN CSD9 coming up soon! Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A00935D@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Dear sustran-discussers This message is based on information received from ITDP in New York. As you may know, from 16-27 of April the United Nations' Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD9) will hold its 9th meeting in New York City. Formed in the wake of the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, the CSD has met each year to discuss critical issues involved with sustainable development. The topics of the 2001 meeting are energy and transportation. Five separate 'Major Groups' provide input to this process: business and industry, workers and trade unions, scientific communities, local authorities, and non-government organizations. Each major group has been asked to prepare a 'dialogue paper' in the months leading up to the CSD9 event. These papers will be distributed as part of the official UN CSD materials and become official UN documents. The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and the Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific (SUSTRAN Network) serve, respectively, as the Northern and Southern co-chairs of the CSD Non-Governmental Organizations' Caucus for Sustainable Transportation and are coordinating the NGO involvement for CSD9. CSD9's main events (April 16-20) will be 'Multi-Stakeholder Dialogues' on sustainable transportation. Two separate sessions will be guided by the topics: 1) Public-private partnerships to achieve sustainable energy for transport, and 2) Sustainable transport planning: choices and models for human settlements, designs and vehicle alternatives. The text of these events become UN documents and will be used by the Secretariat of the CSD to produce a report and list of recommendations, so any decisions and agreements that take place will be officially noted. Thus, this session of the CSD is a prime opportunity to start laying the ground work for global data collection, monitoring, and regulation of transportation related development issues. The NGO Transport Caucus is calling for the creation of a global framework on transportation safety in the following categories: ** road safety - to protect all non-motorized transport users, with special attention placed on women, children, and the poor ** fuel and lead - calling for a global ban on leaded gasoline ** ambient air quality and tailpipe emissions - to set global minimum levels ** vehicle design safety - to protect pedestrians and non-motorized road users in the event of an accident The NGO Transport Caucus hopes to assemble an international community of transport activists to exchange information and, hopefully, set the stage for the creation of a global network of transportation NGOs. For more information go to http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd9/csd9_2001.htm. There you can find copies of the five Multi-stakeholders' dialogue papers and other background information on CSD9 as well as links to relevant websites. Or contact Walter Hook, Executive Director, ITDP, Northern Co-Chair, CSD NGO Caucus for Sustainable Transport. (mobility@igc.org; www.ITDP.org) Best wishes, Paul Dr Paul A. Barter Visiting Fellow, Department of Geography National University of Singapore 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570 Tel: +65-874 3860; Fax: +65-777 3091 E-mail: geobpa@nus.edu.sg (I'm also known as A Rahman Paul Barter) PS I am still volunteer contact point for SUSTRAN Network information services http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet But for all other SUSTRAN Network matters contact the NEW SECRETARIAT: Dr Bambang Susantono and Ms Moekti H. Soejachmoen Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific (SUSTRAN Network) c/o Pelangi Indonesia, Jl. Danau Tondano No. A-4, Jakarta 10210, Indonesia. Tel. +(62 21) 573 5020, 571 9360 Fax +(62 21) 573 2503 csti@pelangi.or.id From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Tue Mar 27 01:29:52 2001 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2001 18:29:52 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Sustran and Earth Car Free Day Message-ID: Dear Team Sustran, This is an invitation for you to get directly involved in the preparations for Earth Car Free Day on April 19th. You will find the whole story at www.carfreeday.com. And if you give it ten minutes over a cup of coffee you will get a clear picture and you can then forget about all that money I loaned you a few years ago. You will see that the action is already getting underway in many places around the planet and at many levels, despite the fact that the 'formal opening' of the site was only a week ago today. I hesitated to contact you however until we had all of the most important bits and pieces well in order, which is now pretty much the case. I hope that you will consider engaging yourself in one or more of three ways in this great human adventure in the name of sustainability: as an individual citizen and parent, as a member of a group that is well positioned to make a contribution, and finally as a responsible representative of your city and country. We would also like to invite you to present ideas for one more articles or thinkpieces for out "Today" section of the site. We are using these as opportunities to make some of our points in less technical ways with broader public appeal. You will see it on the site. Finally I would like to ask your assistance in trying to bring into this first Earth Car Free Day cooperative effort as many as possible of those beleaguered cities that really need to adjust their transportation system in number of major ways. These really have to be our targets, and as you will see our approach is to go out and look for people and groups who are willing to step forward and get the ball rolling in a first series of events and trials. We have to start somewhere, and I sincerely doubt that the solution will come as a result of our sinking into our armchairs and waiting for the problems to solve themselves. So there you have it, dear colleagues. We need you and the earth needs you. Need I say more? We hope to hear from you, Eric Britton Earth Car Free Day 2001 is at www.carfreeday.com "We must be the change we wish to see" The Commons ___technology, economy, society ___ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France Eric.Britton@ecoplan.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 URL ecoplan.org From czegras at MIT.EDU Tue Mar 27 03:50:28 2001 From: czegras at MIT.EDU (Chris Zegras) Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2001 13:50:28 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Fwd: giant step backward in china Message-ID: <5.0.0.25.2.20010326135002.00af7200@po9.mit.edu> > > >an excerpt from ZNet Commentary / Robin Hahnel / Giant Step Backward / >>March 25 > >> >>In "Bicycle No Longer King of the Road in China" (Washington Post >>3/12/01) Philip Pan tells us: > >>"It was just a little tap, but Song Yuhua had had enough. When the >>taxicab bumped her bicycle and sent her tumbling onto the pavement, the >>50-year-old factory worker refused to dust herself off and pedal away. >>Even after the cabby apologized and cars lined up behind him, Song stood >>in the polluted haze of the evening rush hour and shook a finger at the >>long column of frustrated motorists honking their horns at her. 'You're >>not even supposed to be in this lane!' she cried. 'This is a bike lane!' >>And for a moment, a lone bicyclist appeared to stop the advance of the >>automobile in China. But then a police officer intervened, Song yielded >>and the cars began moving again, allowing China to resume its relentless >>drive toward a future in which the long-beloved bicycle may be reduced to >>a toy. For nearly half a century, multitudes of cyclists packed the dusty >>boulevards of Chinese cities. Now, after decades of steady increases, the >>number of bicycles on China's streets has begun to fall. There are still >>nearly twice as many bicycles in China -- 540 million -- as there are >>people in the United States. But riding one is more of a hassle than >>ever. Cars rule the roads now, spewing exhaust into cyclists' faces, >>pushing them into crowded side lanes and striking them with startling >>frequency. Housing reform has led people to move farther from their jobs, >>making bicycle commutes increasingly impractical. Less than a decade ago, >>residents of Beijing mounted their bicycles for 60 percent of all trips >>in the city, according to Chinese traffic studies. Today, the figure is >>down to 40 percent. Farther south, in Shanghai and Guangzhou, it has >>dropped to as low as 20 percent. The masses did not begin to buy bicycles >>until after the 1949 Communist Revolution, often receiving a government >>subsidy to do so. Families considered the bicycle a prized possession; >>women sometimes refused to marry men who did not own one. But bicycle >>production has been falling since 1995, and almost all the bikes made in >>China now are exported. Barely 1 million were produced for sale here in >>1999, compared with more than 30 million just five years earlier, >>according to government statistics. At the same time, China has been >>promoting car ownership to boost the nation's auto industry and give the >>country a more modern image. Car sales are up 15 percent a year. In >>Beijing alone, the number of cars has nearly tripled to 1.6 million since >>1993. More often than not, city leaders have sided with the cars. In >>Guangzhou, they tried to outlaw bikes from downtown completely in 1993, >>but a popular outcry led to a partial ban instead. In Shanghai, there are >>plans to force bicycles out of the city center by 2010, and most major >>streets are already off limits during rush hour. Even in Beijing, home to >>11 million bicycles, more than any other city in the world, police are >>experimenting with a ban on a jammed street about a mile northwest of the >>Forbidden City. An officer there orders bicyclists to dismount; they >>often respond with colorful curses. 'These roads used to be ours,' said >>Du Xiaoying, 40, sneaking down the street on her black Flying Pigeon >>bicycle. 'Now, the cars have taken over. They drive too fast. They even >>park in our lanes. There's nothing we can do.' >Like many car drivers, Liu Jianshu, 38, has no patience for bicycle >nostalgia. 'What kind of country would we be if we were all still riding >bicycles? This is progress. This is development,' he said. 'Who wants to >ride a bicycle when you can drive a car?' Many Chinese agree. A recent >survey in 20 cities by the Association of Chinese Customers found a third >of urban families plan to buy a car within five years. Such attitudes >alarm environmentalists. They warn that if the percentage of the >population owning cars in China reaches Western levels, there would be >more automobiles here than in the rest of the world combined." > >_________________________________________________________________ >Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com -------------------------------------------------- Christopher Zegras MIT * Center for Environmental Initiatives * Room E40-468 1 Amherst Street * Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel: 617 258 6084 * Fax: 617 253 8013 From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Tue Mar 27 04:03:48 2001 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2001 21:03:48 +0200 Subject: [sustran] "Bicycle No Longer King of the Road in China" In-Reply-To: <5.0.0.25.2.20010326135002.00af7200@po9.mit.edu> Message-ID: Chris and All, Any thoughts as to how we might make this into one of the next Earth Car Free Day Today pieces on www.carfreeday.com? It says so poignantly what the challenge is. Thanks for your good thoughts on this. Eric Britton Earth Car Free Day 2001 is at www.carfreeday.com "We must be the change we wish to see" The Commons ___technology, economy, society ___ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France Eric.Britton@ecoplan.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 URL ecoplan.org From czegras at MIT.EDU Wed Mar 28 07:17:12 2001 From: czegras at MIT.EDU (Chris Zegras) Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 17:17:12 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Bicycle King in China In-Reply-To: <200103271700.CAA20548@mail.jca.apc.org> Message-ID: <5.0.0.25.2.20010327171326.00b00d08@po9.mit.edu> Hi Eric and others, I have not seen the original article that Hahnel refers to (In "Bicycle No Longer King of the Road in China" (Washington Post 3/12/01, Philip Pan)) - the Wash Post only allows you to review archived pieces up to 14 days ago. Nor have I seen Hahnel's commentary (ZNET requires a subscription)....but, maybe you could send an email to Robin Hahnel and ask if he'll write an abbreviated version of the article for carfreeday? rhahnel@american.edu. Cheers, cz At 02:00 AM 3/28/2001 +0900, you wrote: >Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2001 21:03:48 +0200 >From: eric.britton@ecoplan.org >Subject: [sustran] "Bicycle No Longer King of the Road in China" > >Chris and All, > >Any thoughts as to how we might make this into one of the next Earth Car >Free Day Today pieces on www.carfreeday.com? It says so poignantly what the >challenge is. -------------------------------------------------- Christopher Zegras MIT * Center for Environmental Initiatives * Room E40-468 1 Amherst Street * Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel: 617 258 6084 * Fax: 617 253 8013 From lisah at civic-exchange.org Wed Mar 28 09:25:29 2001 From: lisah at civic-exchange.org (Lisa Hopkinson) Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 08:25:29 +0800 Subject: [sustran] sustainable transport vision for Hong Kong - collaborator needed Message-ID: <01C0B760.A6AA5CA0@tswc2132.netvigator.com> Dear SUSTRAN members, Civic Exchange is a nonprofit think tank in Hong Kong (www.civic-exchange.org) with a focus on sustainability issues. We are looking for a collaborator for our study to outline practical elements of A MORE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SYSTEM FOR HONG KONG. > The basic idea is to develop an independent 'vision' of how to make theHong Kong transport system far more sustainable over the next several decades. Dr Bill Barron of the University of Hong Kong who is the Project Leader for the study will do one vision and we are looking for an overseas expert to do another. Each vision would consist of a number of specific practical steps that arguably could be undertaken within the next decade or so. > For each step there should be at least some degree of rough quantification to show the scale and time frame (major, secondary/long term, mid term) of the expected impacts of each step in addressing Hong Kong's major transport related problems (worsening congestion, pollution, noise). To the extent feasible, it would also be useful to qualitatively assess benefits related to such things as lessening community disruption and overall quality of life due to transport externalities. For your information, the need to fundamentally reassess transport policy in Hong Kong occurs in the context of a projected 20% increase in population over the next 15 years in a setting which is already among the most densely populated in the world. > It is expected that the major elements to be considered would include [but not necessarily be limited to]: (i) broad approaches to urban passenger rail system financing (e.g., the cost share covered by fares, by government, from other sources), (ii) the role of various zero or low emission road transport technologies (e.g., electric trolley buses, trams, fuel cells, CNG, clean diesel, (iii) mid and long term planning options (e.g., pedestrianization, greater separation of sensitive receivers from noise/pollution emitters). Of course, if the overseas expert has additional ideas that he/she thinks worth including in the vision, we would welcome these. > For the overseas expert's participation we have budgeted $US 25,000 as payment, plus expenses for 2 Trips To Hong Kong (1 for a 10-12 day trip for familiarization and data collection that could take place anytime at the consultant's convenience between May and October 2001 and a second 2-4 day trip to participate (and make a presentation) in a public seminar/forum and related activities -- in January or February 2002). This seminar/forum would also include presentation of a vision Dr Barron will develop along with (we hope) one presented by the government's Transport Bureau. The seminar/forum would be used to 'kick-off' a longer termeffort to stimulate a public debate and consultation with government >about the future of transport for Hong Kong. > In addition to the data collection trip, the overseas expert will be able to obtain some limited assistance from the project team in Hong Kong. > IF YOU FEEL THAT YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN BEING CONSIDERED FOR THIS CONSULTANCY, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND SEND DETAILS OF YOUR BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS. I look forward to hearing from you. Lisa Hopkinson Head of Research, Civic Exchange From et3 at fx2.com Wed Mar 28 17:36:50 2001 From: et3 at fx2.com (Daryl) Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 03:36:50 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: sustainable transport vision for Hong Kong - collaborator needed In-Reply-To: <01C0B760.A6AA5CA0@tswc2132.netvigator.com> Message-ID: Lisa Hopkinson, The way of forecasting transit demand by predicting growth is problematic because it is transportation availability that leads economic, and physical development, not the other way around. Planners today are still planning transportation systems according to proven ways, using the "just build more", and "make small improvements" philosophies that have worked for the last 90 years. This is fine as long as the plans yield desired results. The adage "if you keep doing what you are doing you will keep getting what you are getting" works every time. The approach is starting to fail. Prime evidence of this is the continuing failure of light rail in American markets, and the fact that the automobile is replacing the bicycle in China. The sustainability movement is based on clear observations that present planning methods do not yield desired results. The undesired results include: acid rain, global warming, storm runoff, blocking wildlife movements, bad air quality, noise, accidents, unsustainable energy consumption, crumbling infrastructure, and time wasting congestion. It is becoming increasingly popular to advocate a return to old ways. The current sustainable communities movement, the smart growth initiative, and other "new" planning approaches are thinly veiled bids to return to old ways of living - ways that have already proven unsustainable. If these new planning approaches are used, there will be big problems to deal with down the road. The new planning ways will quickly collide with the social momentum of expanding affluence. Planners must recognize that what was once sustainable for the world, is not necessarily sustainable for the future. There are several transportation technologies that promise a new sustainable global age of prosperity for all - including the third world. If planners fail to implement the new technologies, our grandchildren are destined to face worsening economies, degrading environmental conditions, wide spread starvation, and wars, as they fight to survive in a world without cheap energy. The Japanese economy has been in a down turn for 11 years, the situation is worsening witness the recent "free money" (zero interest rate) policies. The US economy is posed for a continued slide despite desperate measures to stimulate growth. Much of the flat global economy can be traced to three major causes; population growth, escalating energy costs, and stagnation in transportation advances. The automobile and airplane where the quantum leaps a hundred years ago that created American prosperity. Energy experts estimate that world oil production will peak around 2010. The automobile and airplane are not sustainable options for developing economies that are struggling to attain the affluence of the developed world. A new quantum leap is needed. There are low cost, environmentally benign, sustainable transportation technologies that can enable prosperity for all, despite the global peak in oil production we face in seven to twelve years. They are: Evacuated Tube Transport (ETT), MoPods, and Personal Rapid Transport (PRT), EVACUATED TUBE TRANSPORT is: FAST - N.Y. to L.A. in 45min.- D.C. to Beijing in 2 hours - 500kph local, 6500kph mph international. CONVENIENT- runs continuously - travel when you want to, no delays or stops. EFFICIENT- compared to existing methods, uses less than 1% of the energy, and much less materials to build. CLEAN- environmentally benign - can use renewable energy; 95% less damage than a highway. SAFE- eliminates most chance of collisions, protected from adverse weather and obstacles. ACHIEVABLE- all the equipment exists to start building ETT now, mostly with off-the-shelf parts. The automated, silent ETT works by eliminating resistance. Aircraft-like cabins travel in tubes on thin steel wheels, or frictionless MagLev. No air is in the tube to cause resistance. Energy used to accelerate is recycled when slowing. Riding is like relaxing in a recliner. A human powered ETT can achieve 500kph MOPODS combine the advantages of the car and scooter. The 100kg (unloaded) fully enclosed MoPod is highly streamlined and hauls 2 persons up to 120kph with only a 5kw motor. The mopod costs a tenth of a Hyper Car and delivers more than double the efficiency. The mopod is compatible within the ETT system, or the overhead PRT systems. The MoPod takes half of the lane space of a car, effectively doubling infrastructure capacity at only the cost of painting an extra stripe. PRT stands for personal rapid transit. Automated PRT uses less than a tenth of the materials and energy required to build and operate a light rail system. PRT can cover a whole city for the same cost as a single rail line system. PRT uses less than a tenth of the energy. PRT moves at 160hph verses the 20 to 50kph of light rail systems. For a sustainable transportation vision to have any chance of success it must offer better service at lower cost, while using much less energy. It must offer a way to increase prosperity while improving environmental conditions. To be sustainable in a world of diminishing energy supply the vision for Hong Kong transportation must include transit systems that offer at minimum a tenfold improvement in energy and materials usage. To be successful in the marketplace the vision must improve on the capacity and speed of existing systems. Starting a ETT / MoPod / PRT initiative in Honk Kong can set an example for the whole world; and spark a new global prosperity that is unimaginable today. I hope that the expert you select is well acquainted with the new technologies that are available. There are many transportation planners and practitioners schooled at the finest universities, who have years of experience with traditional systems. They will likely promote costly systems that offer at best a 30 to 50 percent improvement in efficiency, capacity, or speed, but not all three at the same time. Worse yet, are the "new age" pseudo experts that fail to recognize the extent of global reliance on transportation, and advocate abandonment of technically advanced transit methods in favor of solutions that are really just a return to a basic subsistence survival mode living enjoyed now in developing countries. Let me know if I may be of any assistance in your effort. Best Regards, Daryl Oster, CEO, et3.com Inc. e-mail: et3@fx2.com Phone: (352) 795-5415 Mobile: (352) 257-8337 -----Original Message----- From: owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org [mailto:owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org]On Behalf Of Lisa Hopkinson Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 7:25 PM To: 'sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org' Cc: 'wbarron@hkucc.hku.hk'; 'cloh@civic-exchange.org' Subject: [sustran] sustainable transport vision for Hong Kong - collaborator needed Dear SUSTRAN members, Civic Exchange is a nonprofit think tank in Hong Kong (www.civic-exchange.org) with a focus on sustainability issues. We are looking for a collaborator for our study to outline practical elements of A MORE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SYSTEM FOR HONG KONG. > The basic idea is to develop an independent 'vision' of how to make theHong Kong transport system far more sustainable over the next several decades. Dr Bill Barron of the University of Hong Kong who is the Project Leader for the study will do one vision and we are looking for an overseas expert to do another. Each vision would consist of a number of specific practical steps that arguably could be undertaken within the next decade or so. > For each step there should be at least some degree of rough quantification to show the scale and time frame (major, secondary/long term, mid term) of the expected impacts of each step in addressing Hong Kong's major transport related problems (worsening congestion, pollution, noise). To the extent feasible, it would also be useful to qualitatively assess benefits related to such things as lessening community disruption and overall quality of life due to transport externalities. For your information, the need to fundamentally reassess transport policy in Hong Kong occurs in the context of a projected 20% increase in population over the next 15 years in a setting which is already among the most densely populated in the world. > It is expected that the major elements to be considered would include [but not necessarily be limited to]: (i) broad approaches to urban passenger rail system financing (e.g., the cost share covered by fares, by government, from other sources), (ii) the role of various zero or low emission road transport technologies (e.g., electric trolley buses, trams, fuel cells, CNG, clean diesel, (iii) mid and long term planning options (e.g., pedestrianization, greater separation of sensitive receivers from noise/pollution emitters). Of course, if the overseas expert has additional ideas that he/she thinks worth including in the vision, we would welcome these. > For the overseas expert's participation we have budgeted $US 25,000 as payment, plus expenses for 2 Trips To Hong Kong (1 for a 10-12 day trip for familiarization and data collection that could take place anytime at the consultant's convenience between May and October 2001 and a second 2-4 day trip to participate (and make a presentation) in a public seminar/forum and related activities -- in January or February 2002). This seminar/forum would also include presentation of a vision Dr Barron will develop along with (we hope) one presented by the government's Transport Bureau. The seminar/forum would be used to 'kick-off' a longer termeffort to stimulate a public debate and consultation with government >about the future of transport for Hong Kong. > In addition to the data collection trip, the overseas expert will be able to obtain some limited assistance from the project team in Hong Kong. > IF YOU FEEL THAT YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN BEING CONSIDERED FOR THIS CONSULTANCY, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND SEND DETAILS OF YOUR BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS. I look forward to hearing from you. Lisa Hopkinson Head of Research, Civic Exchange From dmaunder at trl.co.uk Wed Mar 28 22:25:48 2001 From: dmaunder at trl.co.uk (Dr D A C Maunder) Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 14:25:48 +0100 Subject: [sustran] Re: Proceedings Expert Group Meeting on Low Cost Mobi Message-ID: Jan I would be grateful if i could receive a copy. Hope all is well with you and sorry i missed you during my last visit. See you hopefully in the not too distant future Regards Dave - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Original Message - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Proceedings of the World Bank/Velomondial 2000/IHE Delft 'Expert Group Meeting on Low-Cost Mobility in African Cities' are now available. Copies can be ordered free of charge through IHE Delft (kli@ihe.nl) -- jan herman koster Chairman Organising Committee IHE Delft http://www.ihe.nl Phone: +31 (0)15 2151750 ________________________ ____ ____ ___________ ______ |International Institute | |_ _||_ _||_ ________| | | |for Infrastructural, | || ||____||__||__ | | | Hydraulic and | _||_ _||_ _||__||____ | | | Environmental | |____||____||___________| |______| |____________Engineering_| D E L F T - - - - - - - - - - - - End of Original Message - - - - - - - - - - - - ______________________________________________________________ This communication contains information which is confidential and may also be privileged. It is for the exclusive use of the addressee. If you are not the addressee, please note that any distribution, copying or use of this communication, or the information therein, is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us by reply. From fenyk at eden.rutgers.edu Wed Mar 28 22:41:55 2001 From: fenyk at eden.rutgers.edu (Heather M. Fenyk) Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 08:41:55 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: Bicycle King in China References: <5.0.0.25.2.20010327171326.00b00d08@po9.mit.edu> Message-ID: <001d01c0b78d$31273a20$def60680@rutgers.edu> Chris, Sustraners: FYI Hahnel's original Znet article --> If you pass this comment along to others -- something you can do periodically but not repeatedly, please include a personal explanation that explains that Commentaries are a premium sent to Sustainer Donors of Z/ZNet and that to learn more about the project folks can consult ZNet at http://www.zmag.org or the ZNet Sustainer Pages at http://www.zmag.org/Commentaries/donorform.htm ==== One Giant Step Backward for Human Kind By Robin Hahnel Shortly after 1949 several of the most remarkable events in human history occurred in China. In the world's most populous and oldest civilization, where the last decadent dynasty had given way to warlordism and foreign domination, an ambitious, uncorrupted government whose power was uncontested anywhere on mainland China launched a social revolution which eventually failed for reasons I do not propose to discuss here. The same government, however, adopted some remarkable public policies, the wisdom of which has become more apparent with hindsight. Unfortunately, China's headlong rush into capitalism is reversing these wise public policies with far reaching consequences for the rest of humanity as well as the Chinese. For hundreds of years prior to 1949 drought and floods lead to the deaths of millions of people almost every year in one part of China or another. Prior to 1949 the river of starving, landless Chinese peasants migrating to cities where they crowded into crime and disease ridden ghettos without infrastructure or services -- doubling the size of ancient cities whose infrastructure was already insufficient to support existing residents -- was as large as any human river flowing in any third world nation in Asia, Africa, or Latin America. And the population bomb, where parents sought to provide for their own eldercare in a context of high infant mortality and no public assistance for those too old to work, ticked louder and more ominously in China than anywhere else. Almost over night the new government put an end to famine, large scale rural-to-urban migration, and the population explosion for one sixth of humanity. The revolutionary government decided that regional famine would be more carefully anticipated and prevented by timely transportation of food surpluses from other regions and effective distribution unthwarted by profiteering or corruption. The new government decided that industrialization would NOT be accompanied by over urbanization in China. Land reform and industrial investment in smaller cities and towns dramatically decreased the demand for rural-urban migration, while strict enforcement of residency permits attached to work permits decreased the opportunity for rural-to-urban migration. Finally, the new government successfully enforced a one child per family policy, and created a universal public health and pension system that dramatically reduced infant mortality and provided trustworthy, public elder care. Moreover, for all their mistakes, as incomes grew over the decades the Communist government resisted making the most tragic technological mistake of twentieth century capitalism: transportation via the automobile. Now every one of these miraculous accomplishments is in full retreat. The Communist Party once asked forthrightly, "What must we prevent," and "What must we do to prevent it?" Now the Party asks only "How can we maximize opportunities to enrich ourselves and repress the consequent social unrest?" Collective agricultural was dismantled, the new rural wealthy are consolidating private holdings and prioritizing cash crops, and government food distribution systems are no longer reliable. Regional famines are again a serious possibility with food imports and international relief efforts the only stop gap. Job security, and along with it pensions and access to health care, are gone and one child per family is rapidly eroding in fact. Only China among third world countries avoided flooding its cities during the last half of the twentieth century. Now the flooding is a tidal wave. As bad as Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Cairo and Calcutta are, we have yet to see what over crowded cities look like in a country with over a billion people. But we will. Last but not least, China has finally embraced the automobile. Ask any environmentalist what it means if even a quarter of Chinese households drive a car. Ask anyone who knows anything about global warming what it will mean. It is literally unthinkable, yet this is the road China is happily driving along. Not that anyone from the world's greatest imperial power that is addicted not just to cars, but to SUVs no less, ahs any oral right to preach to the Chinese. Nonetheless, I had already seen the numbers about cars in China, but I had repressed the nightmare until the Washington Post intruded on my self-delusion by running an eye witness account from Beijing on its front page March 12. In "Bicycle No Longer King of the Road in China" Philip Pan tells us: "It was just a little tap, but Song Yuhua had had enough. When the taxicab bumped her bicycle and sent her tumbling onto the pavement, the 50-year-old factory worker refused to dust herself off and pedal away. Even after the cabby apologized and cars lined up behind him, Song stood in the polluted haze of the evening rush hour and shook a finger at the long column of frustrated motorists honking their horns at her. 'You're not even supposed to be in this lane!' she cried. 'This is a bike lane!' And for a moment, a lone bicyclist appeared to stop the advance of the automobile in China. But then a police officer intervened, Song yielded and the cars began moving again, allowing China to resume its relentless drive toward a future in which the long-beloved bicycle may be reduced to a toy. For nearly half a century, multitudes of cyclists packed the dusty boulevards of Chinese cities. Now, after decades of steady increases, the number of bicycles on China's streets has begun to fall. There are still nearly twice as many bicycles in China -- 540 million -- as there are people in the United States. But riding one is more of a hassle than ever. Cars rule the roads now, spewing exhaust into cyclists' faces, pushing them into crowded side lanes and striking them with startling frequency. Housing reform has led people to move farther from their jobs, making bicycle commutes increasingly impractical. Less than a decade ago, residents of Beijing mounted their bicycles for 60 percent of all trips in the city, according to Chinese traffic studies. Today, the figure is down to 40 percent. Farther south, in Shanghai and Guangzhou, it has dropped to as low as 20 percent. The masses did not begin to buy bicycles until after the 1949 Communist Revolution, often receiving a government subsidy to do so. Families considered the bicycle a prized possession; women sometimes refused to marry men who did not own one. But bicycle production has been falling since 1995, and almost all the bikes made in China now are exported. Barely 1 million were produced for sale here in 1999, compared with more than 30 million just five years earlier, according to government statistics. At the same time, China has been promoting car ownership to boost the nation's auto industry and give the country a more modern image. Car sales are up 15 percent a year. In Beijing alone, the number of cars has nearly tripled to 1.6 million since 1993. More often than not, city leaders have sided with the cars. In Guangzhou, they tried to outlaw bikes from downtown completely in 1993, but a popular outcry led to a partial ban instead. In Shanghai, there are plans to force bicycles out of the city center by 2010, and most major streets are already off limits during rush hour. Even in Beijing, home to 11 million bicycles, more than any other city in the world, police are experimenting with a ban on a jammed street about a mile northwest of the Forbidden City. An officer there orders bicyclists to dismount; they often respond with colorful curses. 'These roads used to be ours,' said Du Xiaoying, 40, sneaking down the street on her black Flying Pigeon bicycle. 'Now, the cars have taken over. They drive too fast. They even park in our lanes. There's nothing we can do.' Like many car drivers, Liu Jianshu, 38, has no patience for bicycle nostalgia. 'What kind of country would we be if we were all still riding bicycles? This is progress. This is development,' he said. 'Who wants to ride a bicycle when you can drive a car?' Many Chinese agree. A recent survey in 20 cities by the Association of Chinese Customers found a third of urban families plan to buy a car within five years. Such attitudes alarm environmentalists. They warn that if the percentage of the population owning cars in China reaches Western levels, there would be more automobiles here than in the rest of the world combined." After reading this I found myself swearing, "J Curve my ass!" You see there is a theory in environmental economics that teaches that salvation is just around the corner provided globalization is permitted to spread capitalism's bounties to the third world, raising their average income level to ours. The idea is that what are called "environmental amenities" - I kid you not - are consumption goods for which demand increases when income rises sufficiently. You get the idea. Popular demand to protect the environment in the third world will turn around through natural market forces just like the letter "J" if we can just raise average income in the third world. Pollution and environmental degradation are the result of poor people in the third world choosing not to buy environmental amenities, yet, because their incomes are still too low. So, China's environment was in grave danger when Chinese income was low and evenly distributed -- and everyone bought bikes. But now, fortunately, the Chinese environment is coming out of the woods as average income rises and becomes more skewed -- and hundreds of millions of Chinese respond to new government policy and propaganda and buy a car. Isn't enough to make you want to stuff the J curve up someone's tail pipe? ______________________heather m. fenyk phd student and instructor rutgers university - planning and public policy p.o. box 446 - new brunswick, nj 08903 tel. +1 732 846-7993 | fax. +1 732 846-7993 fenyk@eden.rutgers.edu | http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/index.html ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Zegras To: Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 5:17 PM Subject: [sustran] Bicycle King in China > Hi Eric and others, > > I have not seen the original article that Hahnel refers to (In "Bicycle No > Longer King of the Road in China" (Washington Post 3/12/01, Philip Pan)) - > the Wash Post only allows you to review archived pieces up to 14 days ago. > Nor have I seen Hahnel's commentary (ZNET requires a subscription)....but, > maybe you could send an email to Robin Hahnel and ask if he'll write an > abbreviated version of the article for carfreeday? rhahnel@american.edu. > > Cheers, > cz > > At 02:00 AM 3/28/2001 +0900, you wrote: > >Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2001 21:03:48 +0200 > >From: eric.britton@ecoplan.org > >Subject: [sustran] "Bicycle No Longer King of the Road in China" > > > >Chris and All, > > > >Any thoughts as to how we might make this into one of the next Earth Car > >Free Day Today pieces on www.carfreeday.com? It says so poignantly what the > >challenge is. > > -------------------------------------------------- > Christopher Zegras > MIT * Center for Environmental Initiatives * Room E40-468 > 1 Amherst Street * Cambridge, MA 02139 > Tel: 617 258 6084 * Fax: 617 253 8013 > > From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Thu Mar 29 09:48:07 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 08:48:07 +0800 Subject: [sustran] FW: [wtpp] Flash! World Car-Full Day proposal just in (GESOVOOSAS TD) Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A00936C@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> ;-) ;-) Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 18:16:14 +0200 From: Subject: Flash! World Car-Full Day proposal just in (GESOVOOSASTD) Dear Sustainability Friends, Since I am sure that virtually every one of you is about to go into Earth Car Free Day at www.carfreeday.com today and not only look at the many hugely interesting things that are coming in to this friendly and fascinating world wide web site, but also I guess you are also just about to . . . a. Sign in to the site and indicate at the very least your support in principle of the car-free day approach b. Consider some deeper form of association: whether as an individual, as someone with a broader affiliation to the car-free day movement, and possibly as a networked who can help us get the message out in your organization, city or country. c. Think about possibly submitting a short (400-1200 words) thinkpiece, op-ed piece or article for publication under the "Today" program (which you can see on the site complete with the first half dozen articles). But since you already had that in mind, no sense of my repeating it here, is there? On the other hand, we also have to be fully aware that not everyone everywhere on the planet necessarily agrees with us in terms of all the details, and we feel that under our equal time constraint we are obliged to air all views. To this end I attach a copy of a press release just in from a source in Nashville Tennessee, with a proposal for a World Car-Full Day. To those of you who may be unable to view it in full vibrant colour, the full text is reproduced below. I hope that their message is clear enough. But car-free or car-full, we want you. And that's www.carfreeday.com Eric Britton Earth Car Free Day 2001 is at www.carfreeday.com "We must be the change we wish to see" The Commons ___technology, economy, society ___ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France Eric.Britton@ecoplan.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 URL ecoplan.org = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = For Release: Midnight, March 27, 2001(Nashville time) GESOVOOSASTD World HQ, Nashville Tennessee Contact: Native at gesovoosastd@ecoplan.org GESOVOOSASTD: Music City USA Native Challenges World with Car-Full Day Proposal Native of city offers "Car Full Day" proposal and Cure-all for Nashville and the World GESOVOOSASTD - "Get-Every-Single-Operating-Vehicle-Out-On-Street-At-The-Same-Time Day" Dear Fellow Citizens and Fellow Drivers of Our Fair City, The environmentalists and their fellow travelers are trumpeting to the world the news that their Earth Car Free Day on April 19th is going to solve all the problems of transport in cities. Their so-called recipe: Get us out of some of our cars in some places and at some times. Shooot! Our reaction: These people (almost all foreigners!) have set out to undermine the American Way of Life As We Know It, and here at GESOVOOSASTD we are mad as hoot and not going to put up with it. But, Fellow Americans, Fellow Nashvillians and Fellow Drivers, we cannot just sit here and wait for nature to take its course. We need to fight back. And Nashville's first "Car Full Day" is the way to go. Here is how it works: On April 19th we will organize in our fair city the world's first Car-Full Day. Our unforgettable slogan is GESOVOOSASTD, which is short for , "Get-every-single-operating-vehicle-out-on-street-at-the-same-time day". The environmentalists and their fellow travelers are saying that our road system can't handle the projected future levels of car use in our city. We will show them that it can. Let's all do this by getting into our cars, trucks, vans and SUVs and all getting on Nashville roads at the same time and stay there for a few hours. And if you happen to have one, drive along your electric car or natural gas van too. Everybody's welcome and we have a point to make. They are claiming that the system will break down by 2010 if the number of cars on the road keeps increasing. But hell boy, let's all get out on the road and show them that this all a pack of bleeding heart lies. We can simulate 2010 right now if we do just that. And they will see. (Go Vols!) The Three Intelligent Stages Here is this is gonna work. On the 19th, we throw a great big party. It will open and seven o'clock in the morning with every vehicle in town going to all the major causeways linking the various parts of the city and driving around for the first two hours or so. Then in Stage II we move over into the center of the city itself, where for an hour we all drive around the local streets showing those environment fanatics our stuff. Now it's 9:00. Time for the critical Stage III. We then take a full hour and all park. We will start by parking in the available on street slots, and from there move to fill up all off street parking lots, etc. And then if that's not enough, we will double, triple, and if needed quadruple park. Because this is America. And Americans have the god given right to drive and to park. (It's right there in the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution. Study it! That's America talkin'.) Public Relations and Communications Program: We are confident that by doing this we will beat the Car Free fanatics at their own game and in many ways. Let's take press coverage for one. Getting this message out for GESOVOOSASTD will be much easier to organize, will involve only a marginal amount of work, guarantee that high profile media coverage will be a given, and, if we can make it last a whole week, we have every chance to bring our fair city into the eye of the Car-Free Day hurricane with a vengeance. Now, it might be that here or there it does turn up that there is indeed a capacity problem or bottleneck. But hey Jim! no one's perfect. This is good stuff for us to know, because when we see these problems we know what to do next. We need to get in there and make our great system even greater. So if we need more roads to keep the traffic moving, that's what we should be building. More places to park? Then let's call in the industry. And all this for a greater and more car-full city. And please don't go to www.carfreeday.com! Fed up with Car-Free Days and their knee-jerk propaganda for what they claim is better, safer and healthier cities. We are. So be sure that you do not go to the Earth Car Free Day website at www.carfreeday.com to hear what they have to say. It's all lies. The world is watching. Get out there and drive! Anyway, have you ever heard of a gun rack on a bus? * * * For more, get in touch with us at GESOVOOSASTD World Headquarters or by email at gesovoosastd@ecoplan.org. We're not afraid to pick up the phone. From pascal at gn.apc.org Thu Mar 29 18:39:39 2001 From: pascal at gn.apc.org (Pascal Desmond) Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 11:39:39 +0200 Subject: [sustran] FW: [sustran] Re: sustainable transport vision for Hong Kong - collaborator needed In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Like Daryl Oster, I think there are far too many people on the planet. I believe that there are some 300 million to many and nearly all of them live in the United States of America. Kind regards Pascal Desmond P.S. Don't tell Daryl, but this is IRONY From et3 at fx2.com Fri Mar 30 00:00:29 2001 From: et3 at fx2.com (Daryl) Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 10:00:29 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Re: FW: [sustran] Re: sustainable transport vision for Hong Kong -collaborator needed In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Pascal, Perhaps you can explain the irony you intend; there is more than one way to interpret your message. I see two currently possible ways to achieve a sustainable world population, the option I prefer is increase efficiency by at least an order of magnitude; the other is to continue the present course, run out of energy, and have a wholesale dieoff situation and a series of bloody wars. A third possibility is that we will develop limitless energy sources, or aliens will rescue us. It sounds like you might "push the button" and wipe out the USA, if given the chance, just to jump-start the second scenario. Seriously though, I believe that through technical advancement bulk consumer nations like in the USA can continue to enjoy the present standard of living while using less than 5 percent of the fossil energy per person; and undeveloped nations can enjoy the same standard, and have the time and resources to achieve some satisfaction from life other than wanton procreation. BTW, I have not stated that there are too many people; I make the observation that the current growth rate is not sustainable. I believe that everyone on this list shares this observation. Best Regards, Daryl Oster, et3.com Inc. -----Original Message----- From: owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org [mailto:owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org]On Behalf Of Pascal Desmond Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2001 4:40 AM To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org Subject: [sustran] FW: [sustran] Re: sustainable transport vision for Hong Kong -collaborator needed Like Daryl Oster, I think there are far too many people on the planet. I believe that there are some 300 million to many and nearly all of them live in the United States of America. Kind regards Pascal Desmond P.S. Don't tell Daryl, but this is IRONY From sagaris at lake.cl Fri Mar 30 04:02:25 2001 From: sagaris at lake.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 11:02:25 -0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: FW: [sustran] Re: sustainable transport vision for Hong Kong -collaborator needed In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010329110014.00a28720@mail.w.cl> One interesting factor in this population vis a vis the environment debate that doesn't get mentioned very often, is the fact that developed countries have virtually zero population growth rates (and some countries have negative rates). This makes development (however we define it) a crucial goal if we are to improve how we care for our environment in an ethical, fair and humane fashion. Immigration policies also become relevant when this reality is taken into account. Best, Lake Lake Sagaris Ciudad Viva (Living City) Santiago, Chile At 10:00 AM 29/03/01 -0500, you wrote: >Pascal, > >Perhaps you can explain the irony you intend; there is more than one way to >interpret your message. > >I see two currently possible ways to achieve a sustainable world population, >the option I prefer is increase efficiency by at least an order of >magnitude; the other is to continue the present course, run out of energy, >and have a wholesale dieoff situation and a series of bloody wars. A third >possibility is that we will develop limitless energy sources, or aliens will >rescue us. > >It sounds like you might "push the button" and wipe out the USA, if given >the chance, just to jump-start the second scenario. Seriously though, I >believe that through technical advancement bulk consumer nations like in the >USA can continue to enjoy the present standard of living while using less >than 5 percent of the fossil energy per person; and undeveloped nations can >enjoy the same standard, and have the time and resources to achieve some >satisfaction from life other than wanton procreation. > >BTW, I have not stated that there are too many people; I make the >observation that the current growth rate is not sustainable. I believe that >everyone on this list shares this observation. > >Best Regards, > >Daryl Oster, et3.com Inc. > > >-----Original Message----- >From: owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org >[mailto:owner-sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org]On Behalf Of Pascal Desmond >Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2001 4:40 AM >To: sustran-discuss@jca.ax.apc.org >Subject: [sustran] FW: [sustran] Re: sustainable transport vision for Hong >Kong -collaborator needed > >Like Daryl Oster, I think there are far too many people on the planet. I >believe that there are some 300 million to many and nearly all of them live >in the United States of America. > >Kind regards >Pascal Desmond > >P.S. Don't tell Daryl, but this is IRONY From czegras at MIT.EDU Fri Mar 30 02:24:26 2001 From: czegras at MIT.EDU (Chris Zegras) Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 12:24:26 -0500 Subject: [sustran] Urban Growth Mgmt for Mobility in Santiago - Report Available Message-ID: <5.0.0.25.2.20010329121532.00af38f0@po9.mit.edu> Dear Sustraners, At the end of last year, Ralph Gakenheimer and I completed a study exploring the potential for using urban growth management to address transportation system challenges in Santiago de Chile. Although specific to the Santiago case, the report may be useful to others grappling with the challenges of rapid urban expansion, unclear institutional responsibilities, strong real estate interests, etc. The abstract of the paper is below. If you are interested, email me (NOT THE ENTIRE LIST) and I can send along an electronic version (warning, the file is big: the unzipped version is 1.8 MB, the zipped version is 1 MB - let me know which youi prefer). Warm regards, Chris Urban Growth Management for Mobility: The Case of the Santiago, Chile Metropolitan Region By: Christopher Zegras & Ralph Gakenheimer, December, 2000 ABSTRACT In an attempt to clarify the challenges to and potentials for urban growth management in a developing country context, this paper looks at the case of the Santiago de Chile metropolitan area. The paper begins with an overview of the national political and administrative structure in Chile the institutional context within which growth management must function. The paper continues with a presentation of the Santiago metropolitan area, overviewing demographics, the economy, the transportation system, urban growth patterns, and the environment. Then, the range of current instruments used for growth management in Chile and Santiago are presented, along with other relevant influences such as the public finance system. The following section reviews the real estate market, focusing on the emergence of large developers and their associated "megaprojects," which play a major role in shaping the city's growth patterns and trends. Finally, the paper concludes with major findings, recommendations for improvements to the current growth management system, and areas for future work. -------------------------------------------------- Christopher Zegras MIT * Center for Environmental Initiatives * Room E40-468 1 Amherst Street * Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel: 617 258 6084 * Fax: 617 253 8013 From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Fri Mar 30 10:50:16 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 09:50:16 +0800 Subject: [sustran] fwd: Honda electric carsharing scheme in Singapore Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A00937D@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 11:26:26 +0800 From: "Lai Meng" Subject: Honda to start new electric carsharing scheme in Singapore Honda Motor announced yesterday that they will start a new electric carsharing scheme in Singapore. This is interesting and good for carsharing since the added publicity and interest can only be positive. ------------- TWO-SEATER electric share cars will be on Singapore roads by the middle of this year. The Straits Times, 28 March 2001, Singapore. http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,1870,32777,00.html? ---------------------------------------------------- Electric cars expected on the roads by June. Called City Pals, they will be brought in by Honda, which will set up a club, whose members can rent the cars The Honda City Pal is a fully electric car that wil be available for hourly and daily rental. Motorists will be able to rent them to zip around town. Looking more like a golf cart, the City Pal, as it is called, will be brought in by Japan's Honda Motor. It will have a top speed of 110 kmh and will run 130 km on a single battery charge. Details such as how many cars will be brought in and where they will be stationed will be released closer to June. Honda plans to set up a club, whose members will be able to rent the cars by the hour or day, using a personalised identification card, which doubles as a car key. It plans to install charging bays, mainly in the shopping and office areas downtown, where the cars can be plugged in to recharge their batteries. Charging bays for the electric City Pal cars will be automated. After a is parked, an electronic "arm" can be plugged into vehicle to charge, with a top speed of 110 kmh. The charging bays will be set up in the shopping and office areas downtown mainly. Honda said on Monday that it set up a wholly-owned subsidiary here last month with $4 million in capital to carry out research-and- development work on the Intelligent Community Vehicle System or ICVS. The company - Honda ICVS Singapore - will test the electric-car system and study how feasible it is for full-scale commercial operations here. Singapore was chosen because land constraints here make the sharing of a common pool of non-polluting vehicles an attractive option, said Honda. The project also has the support of the Economic Development Board and the Land Transport Authority here. On the location of the charging bays and cars, the general manager of Asian Honda Motor, Mr Hiroshi Mikajiri, said: 'We are looking at places where there is a lot of commuter movement throughout the day, and not just during the morning and evening rush hours. 'But we hope to start the system in at least three locations.' Honda's announcement comes three months after the Government announced road-tax rebates of 10 per cent for hybrid cars and 20 per cent for electric ones, in a move to encourage the use of environment- friendly vehicles here. Outside of Singapore, Honda has established similar shared electric- car projects - in Tochigi, Japan, in 1998 and at the University of California at Riverside in 1999. In Tochigi, users check out electric cars and bicycles to get around a 646-ha motor-racing complex. At the California university, about 200 students and lecturers share 15 electric vehicles when travelling within the campus grounds. From susdev at eurofound.ie Fri Mar 30 19:27:43 2001 From: susdev at eurofound.ie (SD Online) Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 12:27:43 +0200 Subject: [sustran] SD ONLINE added 110 new SD links during March Message-ID: Dear Reader, We have added a further 36 new SD links to SD ONLINE databases. During March 110 new links were added. This latest addition brings you 15 new conferences, 20 training courses and a network. Go: http://www.sd-online.net NEW SD ONLINE URL (WWW ADDRESS) Please change your book marks to http://www.sd-online.net to access SD ONLINE. The old URL ( http://susdev.eurofound.ie ) works for the moment. WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT: SD-ONLINE is designed and developed by EDEN B.V. on behalf of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (an autonomous publicly funded agency of the European Union). Learn more about EDEN's database driven websites and how EDEN can help you. For example, publish and edit YOUR OWN NEWSLETTER or present CONFERENCE programmes online as and when you want without knowing a single line of HTML code. For more information email: eden@antenna.nl From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Sat Mar 31 11:00:02 2001 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Barter) Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 10:00:02 +0800 Subject: [sustran] fwd: Phnom Penh to get buses Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A009389@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Straits Times interactive http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,33544,00.html? Mar 31, 2001 Phnom Penh's chaotic roads The government plans to get people to use buses to reduce congestion, crack down on illegal drivers and launch a safety education campaign PHNOM PENH - The government hopes to transform Phnom Penh's century-old roads, among some of the most dangerous and chaotic in Asia, by educating residents, cracking down on illegal drivers and introducing public buses. The Cambodian capital's crumbling streets teem with left and right-hand drive vehicles, mopeds, big motorcycles, rickshaws, pedestrians - and the occasional ox cart, horse-drawn carriage and three-wheeled buggy. Traffic laws are almost non-existent, seat belts are almost never used, and mopeds often carry five or six people, as well as bundles, baskets and even livestock. Government officials hope to improve the city's wide, potholed avenues - laid down by French colonists over a century ago - and get travellers to use public buses instead of their own transport. Phnom Penh Governor Chea Sophara said: 'When we have buses, the traffic will be more organised. 'Travellers will wait for the bus to come and carry them away, and they won't have to use motorbikes to go everywhere.' According to his legal adviser Chhorn Sopheap, traffic accidents in Phnom Penh increased more than 33 per cent last year, mostly due to unlicensed and under-age drivers, and speeding. On Jan 1, Cambodia outlawed right-hand drive vehicles, most of them imported illegally from neighbouring Thailand, though little enforcement is yet evident. Officials have also launched a nationwide education campaign on traffic laws and the risk of accidents using televison and radio, as well as stickers distributed at schools and on the streets. But cooperation is not always forthcoming. The city's traffic police chief El Samneang said people often ignored his officers and volunteers. He added: 'I am hurt when we are handing out the stickers because some people on the street ignored us. 'Police alone cannot do the job. We need participation from the people.'. Volunteers are also helping officials repair several of the capital's pothole-riddled avenues and side streets to encourage rickshaws and motorbikes to use them instead of main avenues. Twenty 60-seat buses will begin transporting city-dwellers in June for the cut-price, one-way fare of 500 riel (13 Singapore cents). --Reuters Copyright ? 2001 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved. ---------------- Forwarded for purposes of education and research.... From ajain at kcrc.com Sat Mar 31 11:12:27 2001 From: ajain at kcrc.com (Jain Alok) Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 10:12:27 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Re: fwd: Phnom Penh to get buses Message-ID: > Phnom Penh Governor Chea Sophara said: 'When we have buses, > the traffic will > be more organised. > > 'Travellers will wait for the bus to come and carry them > away, and they > won't have to use motorbikes to go everywhere.' Wishful thinking!!!! It takes much more than a politician's statement. On the positive side, it indeed is a good beginning. Alok Jain From eric.britton at ecoplan.org Sat Mar 31 15:12:58 2001 From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org (eric.britton@ecoplan.org) Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 08:12:58 +0200 Subject: [sustran] Phnom Penh to get buses In-Reply-To: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A009389@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Message-ID: Dear Team Sustran, Anyone know how we might get to Phnom Penh Governor Chea Sophara? What a wonderful thing it would be if we could offer them a place of honor in Earth Car Free Day. Especially those of us who remember Phnom Penh as it once was (sigh!). Otherwise, while I have your attention, what about you, your own team and city for Earth Car Free Day. As you will see if you go to our pretty good site at www.carfreeday.com, even I have had to come up with a personal project. A public personal CO2 counter which will chart my 'performance' as a sincere person over 2001. It risks to be a bit humiliating. Care to join me? We hope to hear from you, Eric Britton Earth Car Free Day 2001 is at www.carfreeday.com "We must be the change we wish to see" The Commons ___technology, economy, society ___ Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France Eric.Britton@ecoplan.org Tel: +331 4326 1323 URL ecoplan.org