En Ville Sans Voiture - 20-Septempter - #freetransit

CJAD Local News: "The AMT organizes En Ville Sans Ma Voiture every year to encourage Montrealers to take public transit.

This year the Quebec Ministry of Transport will be giving away 75 000 two-way transit passes on September 20th.  They'll also be a series of free activities in Victoria Square including a concert from Louis-Jean Cormier, street chalk-drawing workshops with artist Rodsworth and electric bike testing.

For more information about road closures, parking access and free events on September 20, 2013 visit: envillesansmavoiture.com"

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An Indigenous Way of Life Threatened by Oil Sands in Canada

Crosses mark highway death near Tarsands

NYTimes.com: "When I graduated from school in 2008 I was hearing a lot about the oil sands in Canada. So I started doing research, and the more I learned, the more horrified I became."

Taxpayers to pay for oil industry mess in Lac-Megantic

Feds announce $60-million for Lac-Megantic disaster recovery - Winnipeg Free Press: "LAC-MEGANTIC, Que. - The federal government has announced a $60-million fund to help Lac-Megantic, Que., amid increasing pressure to make a specific aid commitment following a train disaster more than two weeks ago."

Pipelines leak, trains derail. Oil industry throws caution to the wind in mad rush for last drops of profit

CBC

Quebec town rocked by explosions, fire after derailment - Canada - CBC News: "A train carrying crude oil derailed overnight in the heart of Lac-Mégantic in Quebec's Eastern Townships, sparking a major fire that led to the evacuation of 1,000 people from their homes."

Why do we wait until we can't breathe to reduce #publictransit fares?

Smog Alert - Take the bus in Laval for only $1! | HAZMAT Magazine:
It has been estimated that the special $1 fare might prompt some 1500 motorists to leave their cars at home on smog days.

It costs a lot of time and money to collect bus fares

The Economist: "Fares bring in a lot of money, but they cost money to collect—6% of the MTA's budget, according to a 2007 report in New York magazine. Fare boxes and turnstiles have to be maintained; buses idle while waiting for passengers to pay up, wasting fuel; and everyone loses time. Proof-of-payment systems don't solve the problem of fare-collection costs as they require inspectors and other staff to handle enforcement, paperwork and payment processing. Making buses and subways free, on the other hand, would increase passenger numbers, opening up space on the streets for essential traffic and saving time by reducing road congestion."

When externalities are counted, #tarsands are negative net energy

Canada's tar sands companies fail to clean up toxic waste, report finds | World news | guardian.co.uk: "None of the companies operating in Canada's tar sands have met a commitment to clean up the vast and expanding sprawl of toxic waste ponds, an official report has found."

London, Ontario youth want the city to move people, not vehicles

The London Free Press: "“Focus on moving people and not vehicles”"

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Regina considering #freetransit to promote ridership

Public transit department mulls free trips: "In a bid to boost Regina's public transit ridership levels, transit department officials are eyeing a campaign that could include free or discounted bus rides in September."

Bubble, Bubble, Oil and Trouble

Father Theo's Blog: "The body of peer-reviewed scientific literature effectively is science.  Thus the science and the scientists agree in equal measure that the climate’s in a mess, fossil carbon is the cause, and if we don’t do something about it, we’re going to fall into a mess we can’t crawl out of.  The quicker we act the more damage we can avoid."

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Winnipeg needs to address sprawl

Winter is coming - Winnipeg Free Press: "The goal of rapid transit is not to simply get people from one place to another quickly. It is to avoid the need for cities to occupy larger and larger footprints.
It sounds utopian, but denser cities are cheaper to operate, easier to navigate, promote more interaction between people and tend to be prone to less crime. They are simply more livable for people other than those who rely exclusively on cars."

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Regina, SK, John Klein speaks up for #publictransit

John Klein - Regina | A Positive Voice for Our City: "“If we want people to switch to transit, which I do, (I think 4% usage is excessively low) then what we’re planning for has to be different from what we’re doing now. It can’t be the same to get a different result. What the report has suggested is that we can do more with the same amount of money. And I think that is overly optimistic, even delusional.”"

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Some of the worst commutes in the world - Canada

Municipalities welcome infrastructure funding in latest federal budget, but say more planning needed | hilltimes.com: "Canadian cities are known for having some of the longest commute times in the world. According to a 2010 study by Statistics Canada, average one-way commute times were 30 minutes in metropolitan areas, meaning that people in urban areas spend an hour a day in transit on average. In Toronto, commuters spend up to 80 minutes daily in transit."

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Canada - Public input on pipelines severely curtailed

Energy board changes pipeline complaint rules - The Globe and Mail: "Canadians who want to tell the National Energy Board what they think about proposed pipeline projects – either in person or in writing – must now complete a 10-page application form proving they would be directly affected by the development or that they have relevant expertise."

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Montreal considering "drop-off-anywhere" public #carsharing

Car2go for Montreal? City studying car-sharing program: "Already available in cities such as Toronto, Paris, Chicago and Vancouver for a one-time sign-up cost of $35, the car-sharing system would allow users to pick up a vehicle anywhere they like and drop it off within a region of the city stretching from Anjou to Verdun. Unlike the Communauto car-sharing system in place in Quebec since 1994, users would not have to reserve automobiles in advance or bring the car back to the spot where they picked it up."

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