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
