Transit fare increase not sitting well with two City Councillors

CJOB 68: Manitoba's Information Superstation New: Local Story: "Saying low income bus riders just can't afford it, two Winnipeg City Councillors are fighting a transit fare increase coming June 1st. Harvey Smith and Ross Eadie say it's not too late even though Council has approved the hike. Smith will introduce a motion at the next meeting of Council asking the fare hike be rescinded or that council at least re-open the issue for debate"

'via Blog this'

The climate tipping point - time for a revolution

The climate tipping point: "I agree with Gazette writer William Marsden that "it's time for a revolution" in our destructive treatment of our planet and in the Earth's need for us to radically change course so that it can heal itself.

We need free public transportation to greatly reduce the individual use of cars."

'via Blog this'

Fare/Fair: CT Senior's Pass

New year, new transit fares. Calgary's transit rates are going up (from $90 to $94 for my monthly pass), but the big story is the senior's pass increase, which is going from $35/year to $55/year. (Low-income seniors are still able to ride for $15/year, and it should be noted that a senior's pass cannot be used for Access Calgary rides.) Meanwhile, in Halifax, the push is for seniors to ride transit for free, with a petition appearing on the mayor's website this week.

Personally, I'd like to see no fares for transit (recognizing that this would mean transit funding would likely come from increased taxes for all Calgary citizens, including myself). And because I work with seniors, I am very aware that their costs are increasing faster than their incomes are (even those not yet retired).

However, in this case, I think that the City of Calgary has made the right move. If we are to develop a transit system that works for everyone, it needs to be fairly supported by everyone. Giving seniors a break on the pass rate simply because they're 65+, in a world where more and more seniors continue to work after that age, no longer makes sense.

Instead, I'd like to see a move toward two transit rate categories (regular and low income) and then look at how transit fares can be reduced and/or eliminated so that more people can use transit effectively. This is what should be really be part of the discussion on Calgary Transit priorities in 2012 and beyond.

(Cross posted at Witch-Ways, where I've been crafting magic on the internet since 1994.)

Quebec exports millions for cars and gas

Henry Aubin: Proposal to cut cars by 20% makes sense: "- The Quebec economy would benefit if some of the billions of dollars that Quebec motorists now spend every year on 100,000 additional cars and on 12 billion litres of gas - most of which money flows to manufacturers and oil producers outside the province - were instead used to purchase local services and made-in-Quebec goods. More jobs here, more tax revenues from people with those jobs, more prosperity for all."

'via Blog this'

CUTA | Public transit ridership shows impressive increase in first half of 2011: CUTA

CANADIAN URBAN TRANSIT ASSOCIATION | Public transit ridership shows impressive increase in first half of 2011: CUTA: "TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2011 /CNW/ - Canadian public transit ridership statistics for the first six months of 2011 show an increase of 4.93% as compared to the same January to June period in the previous year, according to the Canadian Urban Transit Association."

'via Blog this'

Ottawa Students Stand Opposed to 24% Transit Fee Increase | STUDY Magazine

Ottawa Students Stand Opposed to 24% Transit Fee Increase | STUDY Magazine: "10,000 Students Against 70 dollar U-Pass Hike
Written by Ryan Leclaire
Thousands of students are united in their outrage over a proposed 24% increase to the price of the Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass).
They are equally upset that Ottawa’s transit commission has also recommended the elimination of the student semester and annual pass."

'via Blog this'

Transit ridership doubles in Strait area - Local - The Cape Breton Post

Transit ridership doubles in Strait area - Local - The Cape Breton Post: "SYDNEY — Strait Area Transit has almost doubled its ridership for the transit service it offers in Port Hawkesbury and throughout areas of Richmond and Inverness counties."
http://www.townofporthawkesbury.ca/strait-area-transit

'via Blog this'

Campaign to stop Winnipeg #transit fare hikes

Why This Is Important

Many sustainable lifestyle choices are easily motivated with financial initiatives; and choosing public transportation is no different. So why has Winnipeg city council approved yet another 25 cent fare hike to pay for rapid transit? A proper move by a city council would be to motivate their residents to choose sustainable transportation; instead of penalizing those who make this choice.

In rush hour, there’s an average of 1.2 persons per car. At that rate 2 buses can carry as many people as a hundred cars. In a single lane the cars would stretch over a third of a mile; the buses only 90 feet – and that can reduce congestion, noise and air pollution by over 90%. [SOURCE]

Why is this important?

Adding lanes and expressways brings more cars, more congestion--and of course--longer commutes in the long term. In addition, car traffic is, indirectly, the most expensive burden there is for urban taxpayers. City budgets are stretched all over the continent - not just here in Winnipeg.

Coun. Justin Swandel made the motion for the fare hike on Wednesday, saying it is one way to cover the expense of speeding up the construction on the city's rapid transit routes. A transit fare increase would have to be endorsed by the Manitoba government and Premier Greg Selinger appeared supportive of the idea.

Obviously: better transit systems are the most effective way of improving traffic flow. It benefits drivers and transit riders. Most North American cities have learned the inefficient way that emphasizing car traffic over other modes of transportation actually makes things worse for drivers.

Why do we need to petition for this?

As residents of Winnipeg, we also pay taxes. The more cars there are, the more sprawl, and the less efficient your infrastructure is. You have more and more kms of roads serving a lower and lower population density--which is bad for your wallet, and the environment. The relative costs of maintaining this infrastructure skyrockets too.

Everyone subsidizes the roads in the city, even those of us who choose not to live in the the typical suburbs and drive our SUV everywhere. Make your voice heard today, and help make a Change in our beautiful city.

The cities that are doing well in terms of commute times, costs, budgets and tax burdens are the ones that have fought back urban sprawl and congestion with dense communities and effective transit.

Please sign if you endorse a better transit service and to put a stop to rapid and unreasonable increase of bus fares in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Link to Petition

L'avenir du transport collectif passe par les redevances sur les cardurants, plaide le groupe TRANSIT | Montréal | Radio-Canada.ca

Un bus de la Société de transport de Laval

L'avenir du transport collectif passe par les redevances sur les cardurants, plaide le groupe TRANSIT | Montréal | Radio-Canada.ca: "Pour doter les services de transport publics des ressources nécessaire pour faire face à l'augmentation croissante de leur clientèle, TRANSIT demande à Québec de multiplier par cinq la redevance sur les carburants et les combustibles fossiles.

Selon TRANSIT, une telle mesure permettrait de faire face à une augmentation d'au moins 40 % de l'achalandage dans les transports en commun d'ici 2020.

« Manifestement, le public est au rendez-vous, mais si on veut qu'il continue à préférer le transport collectif au transport individuel, il faudra qu'il y trouve son compte, c'est-à-dire que l'offre réponde à la demande en qualité et en quantité. » —
Karel Mayrand, directeur général de la Fondation David Suzuki"

'via Blog this'

What if transit were free?

Metro:

This city spends tens of millions on planning, building and maintaining roads every year, primarily for the benefit of private automobile owners.
The new Transportation Master Plan calls for $2.1 billion in new roads and bridges to be built over the next 20 years. Billions more will be needed to maintain our existing crumbling streets.

But we could potentially save much of that expense if we could simply get more people out of their cars and on to transit.

It wouldn’t be cheap; we’d need more buses, more drivers and more public-operating subsidies. But the benefits are clear. It would reduce traffic congestion, speed up everyone’s commute and eliminate the need for more road capacity. It would benefit the environment, encourage more compact development and enhance mobility for people who can’t drive or afford a car.

Montrealers using public transit like never before

Photograph by: Vincenzo D'Alto, The Gazette

Montrealers using public transit like never before: "MONTREAL - Never before have Montrealers used public transit as much as they do today.

In 2011, Société de transport de Montréal expects 405 million trips to be taken on its buses and the métro, STM president Michel Labrecque announced Tuesday.

That will beat the previous record: 398 million trips, set in 1947, when the city had an extensive tramway network. The tramway was gradually removed before being eliminated in 1959."

'via Blog this'

Montreal - #transit investment pays big dividends

FOR THE RECORD: Fund transport and boost the economy | iPolitics: "For over 150 years, public transit has been instrumental to Montreal’s economic development, boosting productivity and economic activity for the region’s businesses and agencies. With over 1.2 million trips daily, the STM helps Montrealers commute to work, attend school and patronize businesses.

Public transit also helps reduce road congestion, which each year costs Metropolitan Montreal $1.4 billion, or 1% of Montreal’s GDP. Less road congestion means reduced travel times for all Montrealers, including non-riders. Each public transit user means one less car on the roads, thereby cutting down travel time for goods and people (BTMM, 2010)."

'via Blog this'

Chow calls for national transit strategy - Canada - CBC News

Olivia Chow, the NDP's transport and infrastructure critic, says the lack of a national public transit strategy is hurting Canada's economy and environment, and putting pressure on big cities. Canadian Press

Chow calls for national transit strategy - Canada - CBC News: "NDP MP Olivia Chow says Canada needs to join other G8 and leading industrial nations and adopt a national transit strategy."

'via Blog this'

Child-friendly neighbourhoods - About Kids Health

Child-friendly neighbourhoods - About Kids Health: "Where not to live
If you and your kids sat down to invent the place you would least like to live, the list of features might include: nowhere to play, nowhere to go, nothing to do, no stores, no friends nearby, speeding traffic, lots of crime, and a long drive to school and back every day."

'via Blog this'

Oil-Rich Emirates all about transit even #freetransit

MoF encourages employees to use Dubai Metro by providing them with free Nol cards | Al Bawaba: "In line with its commitment to support important environmental and development projects, and marking the launch of Dubai Metro’s Green Line on September 9, 2011, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has provided its employees with free metro Nol cards (used for all public transport modes in Dubai). Carried out in partnership with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), MoF aims to encourage its staff to use public transportation, particularly the Dubai Metro, when travelling to and from their Dubai headquarters. "

'via Blog this'