Laval, QC, SOCIETE DE TRANSPORT DE LAVAL shows how to do transit

• The STL operates over 20 million runs annually.
• The overhaul of the bus network, made necessary by the extension of the metro to Laval, gave rise to a 28% increase in service, faster trips and more direct bus routes.
• The frequency of buses outside rush hours, on evenings and weekends, has doubled on 12 lines since August 2009.
• The fare policy is particularly designed to encourage families to use public transit: All adults paying their fare on weekends and holidays may be accompanied, free of charge, by up to five children age 11 and under. This policy also applies to every day in the summer, July 1 - Labour Day. In addition, the STL's $1 fares on summer smog days are a first in Québec.
• The STL is carrying out a feasibility study for a trolleybus network powered by electrical energy.
• It is financing Éco Mobile à Laval, a major operation by Vélo Québec and aimed at promoting alternate solutions to car use.
• It is also partnering with the Association québécoise de lutte contre la pollution atmosphérique, Communauto and The Carpooling Network to promote sustainable transportation in Laval.
• All vehicles on its fleet use biodiesel B5, a fuel that comes from recycled oil that isn't made of corn.
• At the beginning of 2010, the STL launched STL Synchro, an unprecedented program providing transit user information in real time by means of display units installed at bus stops and inside buses, with the same information available via text messaging and the Internet.
• The STL has its own page on Facebook, where it announces service notices, and it is also on Twitter.
• The STL offers riders the opportunity to register on My STL to receive notices on its bus routes that they usually take.
• Since the roll-out, in 2009, of its vehicle scheduling control system, the STL's on-time performance has been on the rise, up to almost 92%, thereby prompting the envy of transit users of other transit corporations.

CNW Newswire

Report from the field on the progress of the war

The War on The Car drags on. The Resistance continues to suffer heavy casualties. Our foot soldiers, mounted forces, and transit brigade have launched numerous offensives this past year, but made only minor advances. The strength of our foe is daunting, but our fighters are brave, nimble, and fit. As the battles of 2009 fade into history I feel strangely optimistic, despite The Car's continuing domination.... rabble

Montreal paying people to stay put -- but there is a better way

...The mayor refused to predict how much the new measures would actually cut the steady annual stream of young families exiting Montreal.

Tremblay identified $12.9 million of fresh spending this year on a beefed-up subsidy program for new-home purchases, of which $8.3 million is coming from the provincial government and the other $4.6 million from city coffers:...

Read more in montrealgazette:

There is no guarantee that this plan will work. And that's a lot of money to gamble. It is open to attack as favoring one group over another.
We suggest that Montreal use the money to make public transport fare-free. That will improve life for all, free seniors from dependency, reduce parking problems, increase home and business values, reduce pollution, reduce congestion, attract tourists, reduce collisions and their medical costs, and on and on and on....

Parking Policy Reform More Important Than LEED Certification

...The City Of Vancouver, BC built a 98 unit market rental apartment tower above the new Community Center at Kingsway and Main designed to achieve Leed Gold certification. This building is located in a very walkable area with abundant local services, close to five major bus lines. It is an ideal location to encourage car-free living.
However, the building also has 78 underground parking stalls (0.8 spaces per unit). These parking spaces are unbundled (rented separately from housing units), but priced at just $35 per month, although the cost-recovery price would be about $250, so residents’ parking, and therefore vehicle ownership are still subsidized by about $215 per month. If parking were efficiently priced, apartment rents could be reduced about $200 per month, greatly increasing housing affordability in a city with a severe housing unaffordability problem. ... Todd Litman on Planetizen

Tipping point - melting methane under the oceans

People's Transit

People's Transit

Stop Gateway

...The Gateway Project would drastically increase the Lower Mainland’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and pollution levels. Emission Levels would increase due to the tripling of shipping vessels and heavy truck traffic off Deltaport that will feed new traffic onto proposed roadways such as the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR), the twinned Port Mann Bridge, the widened Highway 1, and then into the heart of the Lower Mainland. To make matters worse, the Gateway Project would create car dependent suburban sprawl, which starves public transit by monopolizing billions of dollars in public transportation funding. In a public opinion poll released last May, 69% of Lower Mainland residents said they would like to see money currently designated for highway construction to be re-directed to public transit in light of concerns about global warming. It is important to note that the B.C. Treasury Board stated that 3 times as many jobs could be created by investing in public transit compared to investing the same amount in highway construction....Read More at Western Canada Wilderness Committee

Bailouts for banks - fare hikes for us.

...And that’s the key. Instead of funding services for working people, provincial and federal governments have chosen to use taxpayer money to bail out big industries and banks. The auto industry got $4-billion loans so that they would not collapse—but the loans did not include provisions for preserving jobs. A $12-billion fund was created to encourage car sales—inefficient, polluting cars that few people want to buy...Noaman Ali BasicsNews

Edmonton - continuing intelligent discussion of free transit

Fares have never been used to fund transit capital expenditures. Fares barely fund 45% of operating expenses and even if you doubled fares, the net revenue would be marginal as a large portion of your ridership would find alternates to using transit. A net zero sum game.

Going free transit may cause a ridership boom which may encourage civic leaders to re-think transit and have enough clout to go after funding from provincial and federal dollars as part of an effective green strategy.

I think it is worth a shot to even try a three month period in off peak months like June-August to see if ridership can be improved significantly. Programs like the U-pass were tried and have become successful, why not a larger program? Most other programs including massive LRT expenditures have not increased overall ridership above the nominal 9% of Edmonton's transit needs in more than 20 years.
http://connect2edmonton.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=253748

Private auto transport system is unjust

Cooperative Justice and Free Public Transit - Urban transportation is a central issue for theories of urban justice. The current car culture is unjust because it discriminates against those who cannot afford to be a part of it, and it is inefficient because it creates a collectively disadvantageous situation. In this paper, I will first argue that public policies should encourage a modal transfer from car to public transit. Drawing on a theory of cooperative justice, I will then argue that free public transit is mutually advantageous and can be defended from both the perspectives of equality and efficiency. Patrick Turmel in the Candadian Association of Research Libraries

Invest in transit - Stop Gateway

2006 - Scientists predict climate change will cause earthquakes

Climate change could cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, scientists say

"What happens is the weight of this thick ice puts a lot of stress on the earth," says Wu. "The weight sort of suppresses the earthquakes but when you melt the ice the earthquakes get triggered."

When a quake happens under water it can cause a tsunami. Wu said melting of the Antarctic ice is already causing earthquakes and underground landslides although they get little attention. He predicted climate warming will bring "lots of earthquakes." U.S. Climate Emergency Council

Climate emergency threatens mass extinctions this century

...What needs to be done? Right now it is fairly impossible to do anything — the biggest step in many cities has been to ban plastic bags. But if people were really convinced that this is an emergency — that this is a race against time to save billions of people — many measures would come to mind.

Here’s a short list: Eliminate non-essential goods and services and implement fair distribution of the basic necessary supplies of non-renewable energy, food, water, shelter, health care, in terms of peoples’ needs and not their wealth; expand public goods such as libraries, parks, community rec centres, museums, education; reduce work-time; implement massive income redistribution; ration personal use of air travel and restrict carbon intensive aviation and shipping to essential services (no mangos in winter); introduce free public transit; [our emphasis] halt the tar sands operations; massively expand renewable energy supplies; restore agricultural land and utilize urban space for farming; protect watersheds; retrofit existing buildings; and globally, convert the carbon intensive military complex to a civilian conservation corps....ecosocialism Canada

see also http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2677/

Save up to $5,000 a year!

It costs around $10,000 per year to own and drive a car for 18,000km (according to the Canadian Automobile Association). Which means that transportation eats up a huge and often unnecessary part of your income!

And with rising gas prices, it's not going to get any cheaper.

Now, imagine if you could get rid of a car -- go car-free if you live downtown, or shed a car if you have several cars in the suburbs. Actually, you still get to drive a car. You just don't have to pay all the costs of owning one!

We can save you $5,000 a year, just by matching the best transportation options to your needs! You'll also find you'll spend more time shopping locally, meeting neighbours, and helping your local economy. GreenOntario

Edmonton - Intelligent discussion of free public transit

If the main reasons to have a transit service are:

1. To provide an alternative to the automobile
2. To provide a service to those who choose not or cannot drive  
3. To reduce traffic congestion
4. To be more green compared to other transportation modes

Free transit would:

1. To provide an alternative to the automobile at lower than current costs to the taxpayer  
2. To provide a service to those who choose not or cannot drive without cost to who are often least able to pay  
3. To reduce traffic congestion, higher ridership means less cars on the road  
4. To be more green compared to other transportation modes, higher ridership and a transit system used at a higher capacity is more green

Edmonton PRT on the Forum