Beijingers get back on their bikes
Michael Bristow, BBCnews
Office worker David Dai is one of a growing army of Beijing residents returning to two-wheeled transport.
But the 28-year-old does not rely on his own pedal power – like hundreds of thousands of others, he has bought an electric bike.
These battery-powered, and virtually silent, machines have become increasingly common on the streets of the Chinese capital.
With roads often clogged with cars – there are now four million vehicles in Beijing – they offer a speedy way to get around.
But not everyone seems to like them: government officials are unsure about how to deal with this explosion of electric bicycles.
Congested streets
China used to be known as the “kingdom of bicycles”. In the 1980s, four out of five commuters pedalled to work on them in Beijing.
But as the capital’s residents became richer following economic development, they ditched their bikes for four-wheeled transport.
Recent statistics suggest that only one in five city residents now use an ordinary bicycle to travel around.
In a matter of just a few years Beijing has gone from a city with few private cars to one where traffic jams are commonplace.
But many Beijing residents are now buying electric bicycles to avoid wasting time on congested streets…
(11 March 2010)
Travelling the sustainable path
Giles Crosse, ourfutureplanet
Public transport could replace millions of cars in tomorrow’s future planet. Giles Crosse spoke to Heather Allen, Sustainable Development Senior Manager for the International Organisation for Public Transport, about the future.
“We must take a systems approach and consider transport as a system rather than a modal battle ground,” she says, describing the key change we should make to get sustainable public transport working.
“This means that where the car is the most efficient transport it is attractive but where public transport is a more efficient option then this should be made to be more attractive. This is not the case yet, although where it works it has made good ground. We can see that in places like Vienna where they have a high per capita car ownership level but also one of the most integrated and used PT systems.”
“Surprisingly there is also much new and green technology not only available but being used in the public transport sector, even more than the car sector.” She continues.
“We have had hydrogen buses in use for many years now, and there are two main barriers to them becoming more widespread, a lack of hydrogen infrastructure and their cost. Hybrid buses are in use or on trial in many cities and this is quite a promising technology as it is relatively affordable, about 1.6 times more expensive than a standard urban bus.”
“At the moment one of the problems is that mobility is in general underpriced, car drivers do not pay for their full external costs that they cause in terms of congestion, accidents and local pollution. We now spend less on getting around in terms of percentage of disposable income than we did thirty years ago, this also means that people tend to use it more than they need to.”
Allen suggests we need to adopt strategies to avoid some unnecessary journeys, shift some trips to the most efficient mode for that journey and improve in terms of energy and system efficiencies, information and awareness about the effects of our present transport habits.
“A combination of improved land use planning instruments alone can bring 15 to 20 per cent reductions in emissions, as there are simply less trips made and if you combine this with better mass transit and affordable new technologies this goes some way to reducing GHG emissions and energy consumption.” she explains.
New tech
“I have mentioned hybrid technologies and there are other interesting new technologies such as stop start, engine cuts out when not moving technologies, improved battery technology would make a big difference and there should probably be more investment in this area.”
“New types of transport will take many years to develop and there have not been such huge changes in the last 30 years, certainly there are some interesting possibilities, but there is also really a lot of ‘low hanging fruit’ and improvements that can be made even with quite low tech solutions and present day technology.”…
(18 March 2010)
Illinois passes bill creating HSR Commission
Metro Magazine
On Thursday, the Illinois Senate passed a bill creating the Illinois and Midwest High Speed Rail Commission (SB 2571).
The 12-member commission would issue a road map by March 2011 on how best to structure a public-private partnership to design, build and operate a high-speed rail system at speeds of 150 miles per hour and greater. It also would issue recommendations on how to fund the network and integrate the new bullet trains with airports, Amtrak service and public transportation systems throughout the Midwest.
Commercial rail service at speeds of 220 miles per hour operates in Asia and Europe. Such bullet trains have become a priority for many U.S. government leaders. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn called for “superfast” train service in Illinois in his State of The State address in January. The Obama administration has thrown its support behind active 220-mph projects in California and Florida.
The bill’s passage by the Illinois Senate is the latest in a string of successes that have built strong momentum behind high-speed rail. In addition to the Obama administration’s $8 billion in stimulus rail funds, Congress for the first time appropriated $2.5 billion for high-speed rail for this year. The Illinois capital bill contains $400 million for high-speed rail projects, and recent CREATE funding will allow for infrastructure upgrades that will pave the way for high speed rail.
“Thanks to the leadership of Gov. Quinn, Sen. Sandoval and members of the Illinois Senate, our state is positioning itself as a national and regional leader on high speed rail,” said Rick Harnish, executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association. “Bullet trains address our crucial need for jobs, infrastructure and green energy.”
The Midwest High Speed Rail Association proposes to transform the Midwest into one cohesive, compact economic entity with a network of 220-mph bullet trains, including a St. Louis to Chicago line that would serve Edwardsville, Springfield, Decatur, Champaign, Kankakee, McCormick Place, Downtown Chicago and O’Hare Airport.
An expert economic impact study by the Midwest High Speed Rail Association found that a 220-mph high speed rail link between Chicago and St. Louis via Kankakee, Champaign, Decatur and Springfield would create 40,000 jobs and grow downstate economies by 1 to 3 percent. The project also is estimated to take 200 million pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere each year.
(18 March 2010)
Heathrow judge slams runway policy
WWF press release
The government’s Heathrow policy is in tatters this morning after the High Court ruled that ministers’ decision to give a green light to the proposed third runway does not hold any weight. The judge dismissed the government’s claims to the contrary as “untenable in law and common sense”.
We’re celebrating a victory today, along with west London councils, residents and other green groups, after the High Court rejected the government’s case for a third runway at Heathrow airport. If the government wants to pursue its plans for Heathrow expansion it must now go back to square one and reconsider the entire case for the runway. We’re calling on them to scrap the proposal completely.
The implications of today’s ruling are profound, not just for Heathrow but for airport expansion plans across the UK. Lord Justice Carnwath ruled that the 2003 Air Transport White Paper – the foundation of expansion plans across the country – is obsolete because it is inconsistent with the Climate Change Act 2008.
The judge expressed real concern over the “hardship caused to the local community by uncertainty” over the third runway. The coalition which brought the successful legal challenge is now calling on the government to end the uncertainty and scrap the runway plans once and for all.
David Nussbaum, CEO of WWF-UK, says:
“We are delighted with today’s judgement. It deals a body blow to the third runway, but more than that it makes it clear that the government’s whole policy of airport expansion must be reviewed in order to bring it into line with the Climate Change Act.
“Today’s landmark ruling has implications that could resonate for wider than the aviation sector. For a judge to tell the government that it cannot build huge pieces of carbon-intensive infrastructure without considering the long-term consequences is a resounding win in the fight to tackle climate change. It is also a further indication of the need for the UK to make a swift transition to a low-carbon economy.
“WWF would now urge the government to focus on green investment, encouraging alternative ways of connecting with people wherever possible, such as high-speed rail and videoconferencing, rather than relying on carbon-heavy methods such as flying.”…
(26 March 2010)
