Public transit good for the heart

"A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia suggests taking public transit may help you keep fit. The study, published in the Journal of Public Health Policy, finds that people who take public transit are three times more likely than those who don't to meet the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada's suggested daily minimum of physical activity...."Coronary Artery Rehabilitation Group Blog.

Stop the electric car

photo from culturechange.org

There are worldwide 55 million net new cars every year. What if they were all electric? Would we be better off?

We want to drop tailpipe emissions (more on this later), but the exhaust we're spewing is really only the beginning of the story. We can't see most of the ecological and social impacts of our auto-dependence in our daily lives. And those impacts are so massive that arguing about fuel efficiency standards (especially in terms of gradual increases) fails to acknowledge what we're up against with this crisis. Alex Steffen WorldChanging

BC Greens nominate public transit advocate

Stephen Rees has been involved at the community level in Greater Vancouver for five years as a member of the Livable Region Coalition, campaigning against the Gateway programme and in favour of Rail for the Valley. He was recently voted No
1 political blogger in BC (http://votermedia.org/bc/).
“The Green movement represents the world’s future, as without sustainability we have no future,” said Rees. “I know that I can be an active agent for change and am proud to represent a platform that wisely combines sustainability and environmental protection with economic reality. Integral to the comprehensive platform that I will be supporting will be much better planning of land use and transportation. If elected I will be visible, accessible and vocal on behalf of my constituents.” Stephen Rees

Investment blog sees stimulus benefit of free public transit

The plan would also have the added benefit of encouraging mass transit use (reducing traffic congestion) while lowering oil/gasoline consumption -- and the federal government would generate that increased efficiency without paying to laying one new mile of subway or light rail track and/or buying one new bus.Economic Analysis: Economist Kellner's free mass transit idea has merit on a number of counts. Especially relevant is the stimulus impact: it would be tantamount to providing additional fiscal stimulus, instantaneously, to millions of citizens, with the federal government later reimbursing the states and localities. It would also encourage more people to keep their cars off the road and use mass transit for work (and perhaps for other activities), and decrease the nation's carbon footprint. Kellner's idea is worth a review. BloggingStocks

Auto vs Streetcar - Externalities

Source: Richiardi and Quaranta, 2005. Per inquinamento atmosferico si intendono i danni alla salute umana provocati dai seguenti inquinanti: SO 2 , NO x , PM, CO, COVNM. To air pollution means the damage to human health caused by the following pollutants: SO 2, NO x, PM, CO, NMVOC.

The choices of mobility are characterized not only by the costs of the different means of transport, from large external costs, which are not the user but by society, or on a part of it. The case of the costs associated with air pollution, noise, congestion, accidents and related health care costs, and finally the release of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. From this point of view, public transport, characterized by much lower costs than other modes of mobility, starting the car, not only useful to people using it, but even those not using it. This is why we often speak of the need to increase the use of public transport. Matteo Richiardi nelmerito

Transit Ottawa - Benefits of fare-free public transit

Zero-fare public transit is a government-, taxation-, or business-sponsored transit service that doesn't require users to pay fees when boarding. The system could have a few possible benefits:

• Reduced boarding times
• Less fare-related aggression or disputes
• Increased accessibility, especially for low-income residents
• Community integration
• Increased magnitude of regular transit's benefits

read more ... Transit Ottawa

Free public transport should be extended to all EU senior citizens

Each and every EU-national over the age of 66 should be offered free travel on our buses and trains. Irish Labour Party