From jsm at greenleaf-publishing.com Wed Nov 5 01:59:55 2014 From: jsm at greenleaf-publishing.com (jsm at greenleaf-publishing.com) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2014 16:59:55 -0000 Subject: [sustran] Call for Papers: Sustainable Mobility in China and its Implications for Emerging Economies Message-ID: <049f01cff850$c3012ce0$490386a0$@greenleaf-publishing.com> ***Apologies for cross-posting*** Call for Papers: Sustainable Mobility in China and its Implications for Emerging Economies The Journal of Sustainable Mobility Greenleaf Publishing www.greenleaf-publishing.com/jsm Guest Editors: Professor Fuquan Zhao and Dr Han Hao, Tsinghua University, China Editor-in-Chief: Michael Zhang, Nottingham Business School, UK After three decades of rapid economic growth, China became the world's second largest economy in 2010 after the USA. Along with the prospect of lifting millions out of poverty and improving living standards, China is facing yet new challenges of rapid urbanization. Without strategic innovations in the automotive industry and transport management system the current state of China's transport sector is not sustainable. Long-term sustainable solutions are likely to emerge from the interplay of economic, environmental, social and technological factors. This Special Issue of the Journal of Sustainable Mobility (JSM), partnered with the Second International Symposium on Sustainable Mobility , will focus on the issues of developing policies and corporate strategies to help the automotive industry, transport management systems, and urban planning to embark on a sustainable path to future growth and development. The Special Issue invites contributions in, but not limited to, the following areas: Regional development and urbanisation in China; socio-economic analysis of sustainable mobility; low-carbon vehicle technologies including battery-powered electric vehicles (bevs) fuel cell vehicles (fcvs), biofuel vehicles (bfvs) and hybrid electric vehicles (hevs); low-carbon intelligent transport systems; energy market and policy analysis; alternative energies including biofuels, natural gas-derived fuels, and clean coal-derived fuels; transport demand management and modal shift; corporate sustainability and sustainable mobility; global value chains for sustainable mobility; venture capital and the development of low-carbon vehicles; low-carbon designing, manufacturing and recycling in the automotive industry. Submissions We invite the submission of research papers, policy debates, case studies, and research notes. We encourage submissions from academics with a research-orientation and also business practitioners and policymakers from the public and private sectors. Social Sciences papers can be 4,000-6,000 words, while Engineering and Technology papers should be 2,000-4,000 words. Initial expressions of interest in the form of abstracts of approximately 300 words are also welcomed by the editor prior to full submission. Full paper submission deadline: 31 December 2014 Accepted papers will be published in May 2015 (JSM, Vol 2: Issue 1, SI) Click here for full details, including submission guidelines , or visit www.greenleaf-publishing.com/jsm. If you need further information please contact Anna Comerford, Assistant Publisher (anna.comerford@greenleaf-publishing.com). From ecomobility at iclei.org Wed Nov 5 15:20:39 2014 From: ecomobility at iclei.org (=?utf-8?Q?EcoMobility?=) Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2014 06:20:39 +0000 Subject: [sustran] =?utf-8?Q?=5BEcoMobility_Events=5D_Invitation_to_Webina?= =?utf-8?Q?r__=E2=80=9CGreenhouse_gas_reduction_potential_in_the_tr?= =?utf-8?Q?ansport_sector_=E2=80=93_how_to_shift_to_a_2_degree_path?= =?utf-8?B?d2F5PyI=?= Message-ID: EcoMobility Events Newsletter View this email in your browser (http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=a3a47048051ae2f2024de7834&id=5512cf5b85&e=909a432f89) Invitation to Webinar ** ?Greenhouse gas reduction potential in the transport sector ? how to shift to a 2 degree pathway?? ------------------------------------------------------------ Thursday, 6 November 2014, 07:00-08:00 Bogot?, Lima, Quito (UTC-5), 13:00-14:00 Central Europe, West Africa Time (UTC+1), 20:00-21:00 Singapore, Beijing, Manila (UTC+8). Register to the Webinar (mailto:christian.hein@giz.de?subject=Registration%20for%20Greenhouse%20gas%20reduction%20potential%20in%20the%20transport%20sector%20%E2%80%93%20how%20to%20shift%20to%20a%202%20degree%20pathway%3F%20Webinar&body=Please%20register%20me%20for%20the%20webinar.) Dear Colleague, The EcoMobility Alliance Partners, the Deutsche Gesellschaft f?r Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) are hosting a webinar on Greenhouse gas reduction potential in the transport sector ? how to shift to a 2 degree pathway? Programme Transport is a key enabler of economic activity and social connectedness. While providing essential services to society and economy, transport is also an important part of the economy and it is at the core of a number of major sustainability challenges, in particu of a number of major sustainability challenges, in particular climate change, air quality, safety, energy security and efficiency in the use of resources. The transport sector currently accounts for about 6.7 Gigatonnes of CO2, which is equivalent to 23% of all energy related Greenhouse Gas emissions and is set to double by 2050 if current trends persist, in particular in emerging economies (IPCC 2014). Setting the transport sector on a low-carbon development pathway is essential for global climate change mitigation efforts that aim to stabilise global warming at 2 Degrees Celsius, which is the internationally agreed target under the United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change (UNFCCC). To contribute to this target developed countries will have to rapidly decarbonise their transport sector over the coming decades (-80% by 2050) and developing and emerging countries will have to curb growth (+70% by 2050), which will require substantial policy action at all levels of government (IEA 2014). This webinar will explore the pathways for low-carbon transport and provide an overview on key policy measures at the local and national level. The webinar will be conducted by Oliver Lah (Wuppertal Institute). Target audience The webinar addresses decision-makers and planners, representatives from all levels of government, agencies and students interested in learning about how to achieve the necessary greenhouse gas emission reductions in the transport sector on a global level. Registration and technical requirements To register for the webinar, please send a short e-mail to christian.hein@giz.de (mailto:christian.hein@giz.de) . Please ensure that you have operating speakers and that your computer complies with the GoTo Meeting system requirements (http://(http://support.citrixonline.com/en_US/Meeting/help_files/G2M010003?title=System+Requirements&utm_source=EcoMobility+Contacts&utm_campaign=5512cf5b85-GHG_reduction_potential&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_53dac3f3db-5512cf5b85-107237045) . If this is your first time on a GoTo meeting webinar, you?ll be launched directly into the session through the Web Viewer. From within the Web Viewer session, you will have the option to download the full feature desktop version of GoToMeeting. Please note that installing the desktop application will require some time, so we suggest to log in some 15 minutes before the beginning of the webinar. Please also note, that only the desktop application offers microphone and webcam support. The detailed information to log in to the meeting will be sent to you a few days before the webinar. Relevant websites and further information: * For more information on the Sustainable Urban Transport Project, please check our knowledge platform www.sutp.org and the capacity-building platform www.capsut.org. We are working on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). * To stay informed on our world-wide activities in the field of transport & mobility, including information on new publications and webinars, register for our newsletter at http://www.giz.de/en/mediacenter/117.html?utm_source=EcoMobility+Contacts&utm_campaign=5512cf5b85-GHG_reduction_potential&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_53dac3f3db-5512cf5b85-107237045 by choosing the ?Transport and Mobility? Newsletter in the category ?Thematic Newsletters?. You?ll find all these information and further course offers on the new Capacity-Building platform CAPSUT: http://capsut.org/events/greenhouse-gas-reduction-potential-in-the-transport-sector-how-to-shift-to-a-2-degree-pathway/?utm_source=EcoMobility+Contacts&utm_campaign=5512cf5b85-GHG_reduction_potential&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_53dac3f3db-5512cf5b85-107237045. Register to the Webinar (mailto:christian.hein@giz.de?subject=Registration%20for%20Greenhouse%20gas%20reduction%20potential%20in%20the%20transport%20sector%20%E2%80%93%20how%20to%20shift%20to%20a%202%20degree%20pathway%3F%20Webinar&body=Please%20register%20me%20for%20the%20webinar.) Copyright ? 2014 EcoMobility, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have subscribed for updates from the ICLEI EcoMobility Program. 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In the next 24 years he walked about 28000 kilometer to show a path of love, equality, humanity and selfless service to the mankind. Historically seen, the one who started his advocacy for ??#?pedestrian? ? as a pedestrian he is the one whose teachings paved the way for ?walking? as constitutional right via ?right to healthy life? and ?right to practice religion? in our constitution. Our all six fundamental rights are derived from his basic teachings. The founder of ?Sikhism?, made walking as an Integral part of ?Sikh Culture? and lesson entire mankind. Each gurudwara has ?Parikarma?. Unfortunately, our policy makes ignored such divine directives in the fundamental planning of our infrastructure and results are in front of us. In Punjab alone we kill almost plus 1000 pedestrian every year. Even after over 600 years his teachings are as relevant today as these were at that time. Surprisingly, we talked about it but stopped adopting them in our lives. Today on the anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's birth, let?s pledge to ?save pedestrian?. Pledge to give way to pedestrian first on the road and that will be a true celebration of ?Baba Nanak?s? birth anniversary. Wishing everyone a very Happy Gurpurab !! ?? ?? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ?? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ???? Regards, Navdeep Asija Road Safety & Sustainable Transport Consultant -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Guru Nanak and Pedestrian.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 124477 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20141106/2306b4c7/GuruNanakandPedestrian-0001.jpg From sutp at sutp.org Tue Nov 11 19:28:35 2014 From: sutp at sutp.org (sutp at sutp.org) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 10:28:35 +0000 Subject: [sustran] =?utf-8?Q?SUTP_Newsletter=3A_Issue_05/14_=E2=80=93_SEPT?= =?utf-8?Q?EMBER_-_OCTOBER____=2C_2014?= Message-ID: Dear All, Please find the attached document containing GIZ-SUTP Newsletter for the month of September-October, 2014. Best Wishes, SUTP-Team -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: NL-SUTP- September - October'14.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 344781 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20141111/eb4a2fca/NL-SUTP-September-October14-0001.bin From yanivbin at gmail.com Tue Nov 18 15:18:21 2014 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:48:21 +0530 Subject: [sustran] 'Public transport should woo car users towards mass transportation' Message-ID: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mumbai/public-transport-should-woo-car-users-towards-mass-transportation-experts/article1-1284303.aspx 'Public transport should woo car users towards mass transportation' Prajakta Chavan Rane , Hindustan Times Mumbai, November 09, 2014 With more than 1 crore commuters travelling to work and back every day in suburban trains and buses, the public transport system and infrastructure in Mumbai should be largely citizen-centric and designed to serve the next generation, which will be more comfortable with technology, said Aditya Rath, associate director, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in an international seminar on Mega City Mass Transit Options, conducted by Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation. Though city-based transport authorities have commissioned various modes of public transport and infrastructure projects recently such as the Santacruz-Chembur link road, eastern freeway, metro and mono rail, none of them have inspired enough enthusiasm in passengers to switch over from suburban trains or private cars, to transport systems like the metro and monorail, transport experts present at the event pointed out. ?The Santacruz-Chembur link road or eastern freeway has reduced traffic on other roads, but has failed to shift car users to mass transport systems like the metro,? said Rath. He explained that at present, our public transport systems are designed to take passengers from point A to B. Rather, our focus should be on providing a comfortable commute from source to destination, and this is where urban planning and an integrated transport network plays a key role. Public transport should now be designed keeping the needs of the next generation in mind. Children born after 2010 will be extremely tech-savvy, and their commuting needs will differ accordingly, experts pointed out. They will have a higher spending capacity and will look for comfortable travel, instead of struggling in multiple modes of transport. ?In foreign cities, soon after people land at the airport, they get an alert on their mobile phones informing them about the modes of public transport that can be taken. This is how communication and technology plays a role in persuading the public to use mass transport,? said Rath. Rishi Aggarwal, research fellow at Observer Research Foundation (ORF) said, ?It is true that instead of adopting best practices prevalent in global cities like London and Singapore where people are persuaded to travel in mass transport, we are investing public money in developing more infrastructure for private transport, such as roads, expressways and highways.? *Countries to learn from* *The 7 countries ranked above average in the 2014 Urban Mobility Index. The common thing among all these countries is that they have efficient public transportation systems, resulting in minimum car usage:* *Countries* *Overall score in points* *What makes them above average in the urban mobility index* Hong Kong 58.2 Despite being one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with more than 7 million people packed into a land mass of just 1,100 sq km, Hong Kong has developed the most advanced urban mobility system in the world. Public transport accounts for more than 64% of passenger trips. Also, the number of private vehicles registered per capita is the lowest here. Stockholm 57.4 The Swedish capital has one of the best cycling networks, spread over 4,041km of lanes per 1,000sq km. Its traffic-related deaths are the lowest in the world. Amsterdam 57.2 Cycling accounts for a very high share of passenger trips (33%) thanks to a dense cycling network, occupying 3,502 km per 1,000sq km. Copenhagen 56.4 The Danish capital has the safest urban mobility system in the world, with 4.1 traffic deaths per million citizens. It also has the lowest penetration rate of cars in Western Europe, and the use of individual transport is on the decline. Vienna 56 Vienna?s public transport system has the highest share of journeys in Western Europe, with 39% of trips made on its services. Singapore 55.6 Singapore?s public transport is highly developed, accounting for more than 48% of the passenger trips. Thanks to high taxes and duties, car use is discouraged via congestion pricing, in which more charges are levied for use of roads during rush hour. Paris 55.4 In addition to the outstanding performance of its extensive rail network, its cycle-lane network is also advanced, accounting for 3,520 km per thousand square kilometres. From yanivbin at gmail.com Tue Nov 18 15:59:20 2014 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 12:29:20 +0530 Subject: [sustran] 'People's draft' to improve transport system in Indore Message-ID: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/indore/people-s-draft-to-improve-transport-system-in-indore/article1-1287062.aspx 'People's draft' to improve transport system in Indore HT Correspondent , Hindustan Times Indore, November 17, 2014 Dissatisfied with its existing state, some 30 voluntary organisations will prepare a "people's draft" outlining the public transport in Indore. The draft, to be prepared after obtaining inputs from the general public and non-motorised transport users, will be finalised after consulting transport planners, following which it will be submitted to the administration. A decision to this effect was taken at a seminar titled 'Indore BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) and Urban Planning: Current Status and Future Planning', held at Pritamlal Dua auditorium here on Sunday. Organised by city-based NGO Roopankan, the seminar was attended by eminent citizens, activists, as well as organisations working for sustainable public transport systems. The need for a people's draft arose because it was felt that public transport policy and operations should be driven from the ground up rather than top-down, said the organisers. "Public transport should be consonant with the needs of the users and space should be allocated to all sections, including pedestrians and cyclists," said Rajendra Ravi of the Delhi-based Institute for Democracy and Sustainability which launched Equal Road Rights Campaign which calls for democratisation of road space. Earlier, the delegates at the seminar dubbed BRTS a mixed bad declaring that "while it is a good concept the implementation (in Indore) is flawed." State National Domestic Workers Union secretary Nirmala Devre slammed the rent-a-bicycle service launched by the Atal Indore City Transport Limited (the company that oversees the BRTS). "There are either no cycle tracks on the BRTS and in cases where the tracks have been built that have been usurped by encroachers," she claimed. Devre said that a social audit of cycle tracks was carried out and a copy submitted tio the administration but nothing happened. Well-known short-story writer Kanupriya, who uses public transport extensively, bemoaned AICTS's propensity for shutting down operations on key routes. From yanivbin at gmail.com Tue Nov 18 23:30:20 2014 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 20:00:20 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Kids need to have free run of city Message-ID: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/45142763.cms Kids need to have free run of city Suhas Munshi , TNN | Nov 14, 2014, 07.19AM IST inShare16 [image: Capture] It's time, urban planning experts say, to reconsider Delhi's growth with the welfare of its children in mind. *Delhi has grown into a city that shuns children. Their cycles, skates and skateboards should now be set free. * NEW DELHI: Our city is now an urban sprawl, its development model skewed in favour of motorized traffic and commercial capitalization. This has snatched playfields from kids.With vehicles - both stationary and on the move - occupying every inch of space available, the roads and even lanes and bylanes are out of bounds for the little ones. Unlike in American and European cities, there are few public spaces where one can hang out. No wonder, our children spend a lot of time indoors, glued to the TV , PC or mobile screens. It's time, urban planning experts say, to reconsider Delhi's growth with the welfare of its children in mind. Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph, earlier this year, expressed his anguish at the shrinking playing space for children in Delhi through a letter, which the Delhi high court treated as a PIL. The condition of the parks in the city , he said in the letter, was a "serious violation of human rights of children" as it was "their right in their tender times to have a decent environment to play and frolic around." Kuldeep Singh, an architect and urban planner, who worked with DDA during 195657 to bring out Delhi's first master plan, explained how initially children's needs were the town planners' priority. "Space standards were set very rationally , and in every neighbourhood, a huge open space was reserved for children which we called tot-lots. This was the place where we thought children would get a space to play and mingle with each other and we kept it away from roads," recalled Singh. However, due to administrative reasons, the idea of tot-lots had to be dropped and, regrettably , was never entertained again. "Over the years, circumstances have changed and people are reluctant to let their children go out without some kind of security as a result of which the children are now suffering," says Singh. Before it's too late, Singh hopes these open spaces are restored and protected from motor vehicles looking for parking lots. Another urban planning expert says the first rectification Delhi's development model needs to carry out is to ensure mobility of children."Two thousand pedestrians die on Delhi's roads every year of which several are children.There may not be a dearth of green spaces in Delhi - in fact, the city has a unique advantage on that front - but kids have no safe means to reach these places independently," says Manit Rastogi, founder of architecture firm Morphogenesis. "It's catastrophic to learn about child mortality on Delhi's roads but on the other hand you have the tragedy of kids being confined to their homes," points out Rastogi. His suggestion is to convert the 350-km long covered storm-water drains in the city into cycling and walking tracks. From a city of cars, Delhi needs to become a city of pedestrians where children can enjoy and identify themselves with their surroundings, he adds. Development of the Yamuna riverfront and cleaning of the river could add that one dimension of water which attracts children all over the world. Developing public spaces with colourful street furniture - perhaps with swings, art installations, street art and activities thrown in - could also draw in kids. DDA officials say their focus is on balanced development of the city , which takes into account residents' commercial and recreational needs. "DDA is working on new policies like Transit Oriented Development which have sufficient provisions for taking care of pedestrians and movement of women and children safely. These policies will guide the future development of city," said Neemo Dhar, spokesperson, DDA. From yanivbin at gmail.com Wed Nov 19 03:07:48 2014 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 23:37:48 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Chennai starts pedestrianising its roads Sixty per cent of the civic body's transport budget will be dedicated to non-motorised transport. Message-ID: http://scroll.in/article/687775/Showing-the-path-to-other-Indian-cities-Chennai-starts-pedestrianising-its-roads/ *Showing the path to other Indian cities, Chennai starts pedestrianising its roads* *Sixty per cent of the civic body's transport budget will be dedicated to non-motorised transport.* Nayantara Narayanan Nov 11, 2014 ? 01:30 am Photo Credit: Mark Pegrum/Flickr Chennai is rethinking it priorities. Its municipal corporation, the oldest in India, is creating a network of footpaths, cycle tracks and greenways to encourage residents to walk or cycle and to ease the passage of human-powered transport like cycle rickshaws and pushcarts. The civic body?s new non-motorised transport policy introduced at the end of September recognises that Chennai has enough paved space for public transport and private vehicles. So, by 2018, it wants to increase the transport mode share of pedestrians and cyclists by 40%, reduce pedestrian and cyclist fatality to zero, create footpaths along 80% of streets, and make sure that most streets with a right-of-way of more than 30 metres have an unobstructed cycle track. In addition to this, it wants to raise the share of public transport in kilometres travelled by 60%. Critically, the new policy promises not to construct flyovers that could prevent parallel pedestrian infrastructure from meeting the right standards. Backing up this wish list with resources, the city is willing to spend 60% of its transport budget on non-motorised transport. Each year, the new policy is estimated to cost about Rs 400 crore. This allocation shows the administration is taking the shift seriously, said Shreya Gadepalli, India director of the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy, which helped the Corporation of Chennai design the policy. ?This is a quantum leap,? Gadepalli said. ?A civic body is adopting a plan that says walking and cycling are our priorities because they are important for quality of life, transportation and equity.? Sameera Kumar agreed. A transport researcher with Clean Air Asia, Kumar pointed out that big Indian cities typically allocate about 2% of their budget to non-motorised transport. To improve access to public transport, the municipal body?s footpath plan will focus on 471 major bus routes. The pavements will include space for shop frontages, a two-metre pedestrian zone, and space for landscaping and street furniture. The municipality has already spent about Rs 30 crore to widen footpaths on 26 roads and shift obstructing electrical and telephone junction boxes. Though perhaps the first effort in India to find concerted official support, Chennai?s new policy is not the first to recognise the need for pedestrian-friendly roads in cities. *Delhi* In 2010, the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre of the Delhi government had drawn up comprehensive guidelines for pedestrian-friendly road design. In that year, nearly all the road space in the capital was occupied by the 14% of Delhi that drove. Cars, motorcycles and auto rickshaws made up 23% of all trips, while 44% of the trips were by foot. Yet, 40% of Delhi?s road length had no footpaths. In its guidelines, the Delhi centre laid out the minutest details, including the ideal width to be left in front of stores so that people slowing down to window-shop do not obstruct other pedestrians. Still, little attention was paid to its sound advice. ?The guidelines for Delhi are excellent, world-class and highly implementable,? said Kanthimatti Kannan, founder of the Right2Walk campaign in Hyderabad. ?But because they are guidelines and not mandatory, they do not work. Policies need teeth. Nothing will happen unless it is made into a law.? *Bangalore* The main hurdle in implementing a change in road use policy is people?s mind-set, said Kumar. ?By prioritising motorists over everyone else, we move vehicles, not people,? he said. This mind-set is on display in Bangalore, where the government is focusing on signal-free road corridors. ?The corridors are anti-people because they cut people off on both sides of the road,? Kumar said. Though it does not have a serious non-motorised transport policy, Bangalore does have Tender SURE (Specifications for Urban Road Execution), a move towards widening footpaths and creating proper parking zones at 12 important connecting roads. *Others* In Hyderabad, many new and widened footpaths fell into disrepair from lack of maintenance, Kannan said. At other places in the city, they were usurped for parking vehicles. In Mumbai, over 50 million walking trips are made every day. Yet, pedestrians do not get commensurate infrastructure ? whether junctions to cross roads, footpaths or road markings, noted Rishi Agarwal of The Walking Project in Mumbai. Chennai aims to deal with the problem of footpath parking by including design elements like knee-high bollards on the edge of pavements. It simultaneously wants to introduce a new IT-based parking management system for private vehicles, whereby parking slots could be rented for a fee. This, it expects, will free up the 40%-50% of footpaths currently occupied by parked vehicles. Agarwal hoped that the Chennai policy will set a precedent, helping residents of other cities pressure their representatives to draft and implement similar schemes. From yanivbin at gmail.com Wed Nov 19 04:24:36 2014 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 00:54:36 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Gurgaon wiser and fitter as Raahgiri turns 1 Message-ID: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Gurgaon-wiser-and-fitter-as-Raahgiri-turns-1/articleshow/45171740.cmsGurgaon wiser and fitter as Raahgiri turns 1TNN Nov 17, 2014, 03.08AM IST GURGAON: An anniversary is always a special occasion, the first one more so. On the corresponding Sunday last year, Raahgiri took its first tentative steps towards a brave new world (brave, that is, for India). The organizers were unsure whether a movement to reconquer public spaces otherwise hogged by motor vehicles of every size and kind, would succeed in a city whose citizens think nothing of getting into a luxury sedan to visit a market just a kilometre away. For many Indians in this part of the National Capital Region, a car is a serious status symbol, and owning one helps them climb the social ladder. Gurgaon's streets and roads are unendingly taken over by vehicles big and small, leaving little or no space for citizens who would rather walk or cycle to work, to the market and to school. Raahgiri was made for them, to show that these men and women have as much right to the street and the road as anyone else. It was a perfect early winter's morning, the nip in the air refusing to be budged by the warmth of the November sun. And as they have been doing so loyally for the past 12 months, Gurgaonites showed up in their hundreds to demonstrate support for Raahgiri. There's always a feelgood vibe to these gatherings, for Sundays give folks in Gurgaon the chance to make the most of those few hours when they have the road all to themselves, when these thoroughfares are free from the menace of the motorcar. And as on Sundays over the past year, there was the impression that nothing was happening - but there was a lot happening, there was a method to all the carefree-seeming activity. People were in groups, in pairs, or contentedly solo, comfortably finding their space to indulge in whatever it is that brings them outdoors on the seventh day of every week. Some were lazily unhurried and unhurriedly lazy, while others were raring to get moving, whether on their feet, on a bike - or making moves to music pumping out of speakers. The latest Raahgiri Sunday had the same buzz, the same energy, and the same participatory delight, as any. It was like a film set with many excited extras, and included the young and the old, toddlers and teenagers, exercising at their own pace - brisk-walking or ambling, running or jogging. And there's no generation gap on these days, because you'll invariably find adults and children sharing the same space, occasionally getting in each other's way but always willing to give way (can you imagine a similar scenario on clogged intersections during rush hour?). The many pairs of feet vied for fitness-attention with pairs of pedals. Cycles, from aerodynamic and cutting-edge versions (with funky headgear to boot) to the simplest of models, are the preferred mode of transport - again, age is no bar here, for adults are riding as enthusiastically as children. But possibly the most satisfying sight was seeing boys and girls roller-skating or rollerblading away, in the happy knowledge that the road does indeed belong to them - even if only for a few hours. For the health and fitness conscious, Raahgiri is a godsend - why drive to the gym when you have open spaces next door to sweat off the calories? And music, too, has been a part of Gurgaon's Sundays, whether as accompaniment to limbering-up sessions, or as an opportunity for those amongst the crowd who'd like to shake a leg. Euphoria, the popular Indian rock band headed by Palash Sen, provided the soundtrack to the latest Raahgiri day. On Sunday, all were present, everyone who joined hands to start Raahgiri and subsequently put in the work to make it a success. The star of the show was undoubtedly Enrique Penalosa, the former mayor of Bogota (capital city of Colombia ). Penalosa didn't bother to sugarcoat bitter truths, but said that India has a chance to lead the way when it comes to creating cities that can dismantle the motorcar's monopoly, and give pedestrians and cyclists an influential say in urban planning. Penalosa's vision, of a future where public spaces are made equal, worked wonders in Bogota. There's no reason why his pragmatism, clear thinking and bushfire wisdom can't be transplanted successfully, not just in Gurgaon but across India. All in all, Raahgiri has contributed generously towards giving Gurgaon back to her residents - and on the way, adding a bit of entertainment to the city's Sunday mornings. From hs.sudhira at gmail.com Wed Nov 19 13:39:28 2014 From: hs.sudhira at gmail.com (H. S. Sudhira) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 10:09:28 +0530 Subject: [sustran] Fwd: Chennai corporation Non motorised transport policy In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks to Vinay Baindur! ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Vinay Baindur Date: 18 November 2014 23:57 Subject: Chennai corporation Non motorised transport policy FYI attached -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Chennai Non motorised transport policy.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 255453 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/public/sustran-discuss/attachments/20141119/402e70eb/ChennaiNonmotorisedtransportpolicy-0001.pdf From yanivbin at gmail.com Mon Nov 24 02:37:33 2014 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:07:33 +0530 Subject: [sustran] longest traffic jam in China Message-ID: longest traffic jam in China seems to have lasted for 10 days wonder which day this was taken absolutely maddening for them I hope The sheer tormented and demented force of the auto industry for obedience can anone call it discipline China National Highway 110 traffic jam >From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The *China National Highway 110 Traffic Jam* was a recurring[1] massive traffic jam that began to form on August 14, 2010, mostly on China National Highway 110 (G110) and Beijing?Tibet expressway (G6) , in Hebei and Inner Mongolia .[2] [3] The traffic jam slowed down thousands of vehicles for more than 100 kilometres (60 mi) and lasted for more than ten days.[3] [4] [5] Many drivers were able to move their vehicles only 1 km (0.6 mi) per day, and some drivers reported being stuck in the traffic jam for five days.[5] It is considered to be one of the longest traffic jams by some media.[6] [7] [8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_National_Highway_110_traffic_jam [image: Embedded image permalink] From yanivbin at gmail.com Fri Nov 28 18:24:53 2014 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 14:54:53 +0530 Subject: [sustran] =?utf-8?Q?Bus_travel_=E2=80=98a_third_less_stressful_th?= =?utf-8?Q?an_the_car=E2=80=99_Traffic_congestion_now_outweighs_ben?= =?utf-8?Q?efits_of_private_car?= Message-ID: http://www.greenerjourneys.com/2010/09/1079/ Bus travel ?a third less stressful than the car?Posted September 20th, 2010. Leave a Comment *Taking the bus rather than the car can reduce mental stress by a third, according to new research.* - New research reveals hidden long-term mental health impact from driving - Traffic congestion now outweighs benefits of private car - National campaign to shift 1 billion car journeys to bus by 2014 The study by Dr David Lewis from The University of Sussex, who coined the term ?road rage?, found that motorists face a hidden mental health impact from the stresses of driving, while bus travel can produce long-term health benefits. The finding were revealed as Greener Journeys, a coalition of the UK?s major bus companies, launched a national campaign to shift a billion car journeys to the bus by 2014, saving 2 million tonnes of CO2. The first stage of the campaign will target Milton Keynes, Norwich and Exeter. For the experiment, the heart rate and EDR (Electro-Dermal Response) of 30 commuters was measured when taking similar journeys by car and bus. The findings reveal a vast difference in EDR, a form of biophysical measurement that Dr Lewis describes as an excellent indicator of mental stress. When examining the EDR results, the experiment found that taking the car produced significantly greater amounts of stress than taking the bus, which was 33% less stressful. ?EDR can be a hidden stress ? it?s not as visible as ?white knuckle driving? or audible as road rage. This type of stress can have long-term physiological and emotional implications. Boarding a bus can produce significant long-term health benefits,? said Dr Lewis. In addition to the biophysical data, the subjects were asked to rank their stress levels for each trip with 93% saying they found driving more stressful. Most of them, Dr Lewis says, rarely used the bus yet said they found the bus journey to be the least stressful. Claire Haigh, spokesperson for Greener Journeys says the chance to reduce stress might be a tipping point for commuters who are already concerned about the high levels of CO2 pollution produced by cars ? often occupied only by the driver. *?A survey found a fifth of motorists would be prepared to swap to public transport for reasons to do with the environment. Just one double-decker bus can take 75 cars off the road considerably reducing emissions levels,? said Ms Haigh.* Dr David Lewis says there are three key factors that reduce the attraction and increase the stresses of driving a car. 1. Driving in heavy traffic, especially against a deadlin, requires a high level of vigilance, even for experienced motorists. This requires the brain to work especially hard processing a myriad of incoming information and making, often split-second, decisions. 2. Congestion and delays can raise blood pressure and physical tension which may manifest itself as ?road rage?, a term coined by Dr Lewis in 1985 to describe the explosive outbursts of anger shown by some motorists. Increases in blood pressure can have serious long-term health consequences as well as causing drivers sometimes to take reckless and foolish decisions behind the wheel. 3. A sense of frustration of ?wasting one?s life? behind the wheel of the car, unable to do anything more productive than casual conversations or listening to the radio. On a bus it is possible to fill the time more profitably by doing some work or reading. He also notes that highly trained, professional bus drivers are skilled in negotiating the challenges of the road, and the relief of trusting someone else to be in charge of the journey, is a key part of what makes taking the bus less stressful. ?This study shows that driving in congested traffic, now outweighs any previous benefits that driving in a private car once gave,? said Dr Lewis. Ms Haigh says the Greener Journeys campaign encourages people to get out of their cars and on to the bus for trips where it makes sense ? such as shopping in town, heading to a restaurant or pub or going to the movies. ?For these trips taking the bus means you don?t need to battle traffic, find parking and pay for it. Switching simple journeys can help achieve our goal of taking a billion car journeys off the road. All it will take is everyone shifting around a trip a month.? To mark its commitment to getting Britons out of their cars Greener Journeys is giving away a million free bus trips to encourage consumers to get on board. The Greener Journeys consumer campaign launches nationwide today with additional local activity being piloted in Milton Keynes, Norwich and Exeter. The coalition includes major operators including Arriva, FirstGroup, National Express and Stagecoach. For further information, and for your chance to win ten free bus tickets, go to www.greenerjourneys.com. There are 100,000 carnets of ten tickets to be won. *-ends-* To view a two minute video of the story?click here *View the video news release* *Notes to Editors* Greener Journeys is a member of The Climate Clinic ? a coalition of the leading environment and development organisations demanding political action on climate change. Other members include WWF, Greenpeace and Unicef. Climate Clinic is running a series of Fringe events at the party conference this year. Transport forms one of these events where there will be a robust discussion on transport and bus travel to ensure politicians are fully engaged with the issue. Greener Journeys is working with government and local authorities to accelerate the adoption of a range of pro bus and coach policies that will make it easier for people to make sustainable transport choices. For example, it is calling on government to allow bus season tickets and travel cards to be paid for out of people?s pre tax income and to encourage salary sacrifice schemes. Greener Journeys is also seeking better priority measures for bus and coaches, and more support for park and ride schemes, which have a proven track record in encouraging greener travel by bus. One Response to Bus travel ?a third less stressful than the car? 1. Christopher Hannant says: July 21, 2014 at 1:17 pm I use the bus daily, been a commuter for 5 yrs, in that time the bus journey now takes 2 hrs from Christchurch to Poole..in the car it takes 45 minutes. In summer busses are packed no air conditioning ..it?s held up by people paying cash, old people taking their seats, more bus stops being placed within walking distances have lengthened bus times. It?s a nonsense to say bus travel is less stressful if anything it?s more so, the train might be faster 10 minutes to Poole but it?s expensive, more Xroutes from Christchurch to Poole should be introduced for commuters who work in the conerbations From yanivbin at gmail.com Fri Nov 28 18:43:43 2014 From: yanivbin at gmail.com (Vinay Baindur) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 15:13:43 +0530 Subject: [sustran] The BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) Bus Struggles To Keep Pace Message-ID: http://www.indiaspend.com/cover-story/blog-the-best-bus-struggles-to-keep-pace-43258 The BEST Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Bus Struggles To Keep PaceChaitanya Mallapur, November 26, 2014 [image: 3536048208_3fcd7e9300_b] My memorable first ride on a Mumbai bus was as easy as 123. Literally. That was the route number of the BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) bus that I rode frequently with my parents when I was a child. It was a picturesque and historic journey, made immensely pleasurable by the fact that route 123 was?(but unfortunately no longer is)?a double-decker. *Advertisement:**Replay Ad* There are only 120 double deckers today, their numbers reducing, as they consume a lot of diesel, about a litre for every three km, and find it hard to labour up the numerous flyovers and elevated roads that an impatient city has thrown up. A word about the bus system?s peculiar name. BEST started operations 109 years ago as the Bombay Electric Supply and Tramways Company. Its first buses and double deckers were horse drawn, and the first electric tramcar ran in 1907; the first BEST bus on July 15, 1926 (the first double-decker in 1937), was welcomed with great pomp and enthusiasm by what was then Bombay. I was never short of enthusiasm when I climbed aboard the 123 at Tardeo (Vasantrao Naik Chowk) in central Mumbai, racing to grab the roller-coaster like experience from the first seat of the upper deck. We headed every Sunday evening for R.C. Church in Colaba, a ferry ride away before a causeway in 1838 bridged what was then Colaba island to the island of Mumbai. *Riding the 123* [image: IMG_5802] I was always aware that 123 was a historic route, in diverse ways. The first major stop was Gamdevi (near Nana Chowk), opposite Mani Bhavan, once Mahatma Gandhi?s home in old Bombay and now a museum. As the bus turned left, we passed the stone edifice of Wilson College, built in 1832. On the other side of the bus was Chowpatty, the beachfront, and the Arabian Sea beyond. Now, only single deckers ply this route. Sea breeze still blows into their open windows. As the 123 sped?or trundled down?Marine Drive (now Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road, although nobody calls it that), the bus passed the city?s only aquarium, the Taraporewala. Further down were the old cricket grounds, the gymkhanas, the Hindu, the Islam, the Parsee, all crucibles of Indian cricket. The bus turned left and made its way to Churchgate station, a half km inland today but once on the waterfront. It moved past the magnificent old, stone buildings of the High Court and Mumbai University and then past Hutatma Chowk, once Flora Fountain, where a memorial of those who died in 1960, during the struggle to make Bombay the capital of Maharashtra, sits next to the old, colonial-era fountain. On it went, soaking in eras and histories, past the museum, once the Prince of Wales, now Chhatrapti Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalay, down the Colaba causeway?where once turtles abounded, now shoppers do ? and so on past Electric House, BEST?s headquarters. Then came Afghan Church, or to use its proper name, the Church of St John the Evangelist,built in memory of British soldiers who lost their lives in the first Afghan war in the late 1830s, past the still-quiet Navy area, before ending at R.C. Church. Today, the buses run to the furthest reaches of the mega polis, into the neighbouring districts of Thane and Mira-Bhayander, but even by Indian standards, it is a relatively small system, smaller even than the bus systems of Chennai and Bangalore. This is because only 3.8 million Mumbaikars take the bus; 8.5 million take the train, which my colleague Saumya Tewari explored in her BLOG . In comparison to other Indian metros, Mumbai is way behind Bangalore and Delhi. Chennai, with the same fleet size, transports a million people more. Compared to other mega cities across the world, BEST isn?t really in contention. Sao Paulo in Brazil has the highest number of commuters travelling by bus (28.5%), almost twice the proportion of Mumbai. Similarly, London, with one of the finest and oldest public transport systems on earth, has 20% of commuter traffic on the bus. *Is the BEST really the Best?* Mumbai, they say, is the city that never sleeps. Appropriately, BEST buses have some of urban India?s longest operating hours: 4.45 am to 1.56 am. Mumbai is a city that runs on the clock; similarly, BEST buses are known to keep to time. As a student, I could depend on the 8:13 am bus coming at 8:13. Today, modern traffic has slowed BEST down. So, how does BEST fare with other global public bus fleets? Beijing, in comparison to other global cities, has the largest public bus fleet. London has twice the daily ridership of Mumbai. BEST?s daily ridership is 3.8 million, and the fleet size is nearly 3,800. Clearly, Mumbai needs more buses. During peak hours BEST buses are overcrowded, above capacity and mad scrambles are common where once there were queues. Passengers often hang on to open doors, fights over seats are frequent. The actual sitting capacity in a single decker BEST bus is 51 seats with only 20 more standing, a total of 70. During the peak hours, sometimes, more than 120 commuters pack the bus. Yet, I find it gratifying to see how a BEST bus conductor manages the crowds, collecting fares from each passenger during peak hours in a jam-packed bus, simultaneously ringing the starting and stopping bell at each stop.There are no automated tickets here, as in London and New York. BEST has announced plans for 500 more buses by January 2015 of which 50 will run out of the Bandra Kurla Complex, the city?s western business district. *Know Your BEST* BEST buses run on routes identified by various numbers and their corresponding destination by local commuters for their daily travel. These indicators are displayed in Marathi at the front and in English on the side. [image: 20141119_164436] Apart from these regular buses, there are the ?limited? bus services, which halt on specific stops or skip minor ones. These buses are identified with bus numbers suffixed with ?Ltd?. The tickets are priced slightly higher than the normal buses fare. Similarly, there are air conditioned buses that run on longer routes, meant primarily to connect white-collar professionals to their work areas. In a BEST bus, there are seats reserved for the handicapped, senior citizens and women. Source: BEST Only senior citizens, pregnant women, physically and mentally challenged people are allowed to board the bus from the front door. Closed-circuit television is increasingly being installed on buses because of heightened security concerns. BEST buses are generally well maintained but also among India?s costliest with a minimum fare of Rs 6 compared to Rs 5 in Delhi and Rs 3 in Chennai . The minimum fare in Bangalore is Rs 6. I don?t ride the 123 any longer. But its romance will never leave my mind. *(Chaitanya Mallapur is a policy analyst with IndiaSpend. As you can tell, buses were once a big part of his life. Now, he takes the train.)* Cover Image: Flickr Photo Credit: Chaitanya Mallapur *This article is a part of our series ?Mumbai Special: The Revival Agenda?. You can read the whole series here .*