March 10, 2010 | One Comment
By Megan McConville

Raising the price of gas to $7 per gallon may be necessary to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2020 targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent, says a new report from Harvard’s …

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Special Correspondent: IBM Works to Enhance Public Transport in Nigeria
March, 11 2010 | No Comment

Department of Public Transportation Headquarters in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. Photo by Drew Alt.

It’s 4:00 p.m. on a Wednesday and I am sitting shirtless at a hotel in southeastern Nigeria.  I am not at the office because electricity from the grid was no longer and there was no diesel for the generator.  My laptop gave me the “I need juice, please” message then promptly shut down.

I arrived in Nigeria in February 2010 as part of IBM’s Corporate Service Corps, a program that sends teams of “IBMers” for short-term consulting assignments in emerging markets.  With me are 14 other top employees from around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hungary, India, Japan, Malaysia, Holland, United Kingdom, and the United States.

For the next four weeks I will be working with the Department of Public Transportation (DOPT) to enhance the management and operations of the public transport system in Cross River State.  Together with my project partner Vicky Chin, from IBM Canada, we have been asked by the DOPT to tackle three main objectives:

  1. Conduct a feasibility study to determine how information and communication technology (ICT) can best be utilized within the public transport system
  2. Develop a strategy for the integration of the private sector into public transportation delivery in Cross River State
  3. Develop a communications strategy for marketing transportation routes to residents and visitors of Cross River

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Google Maps Now Includes Bicycling Directions
March, 10 2010 | 3 Comments
Google Maps Now Includes Bicycling Directions

Google Maps now has directions for cyclists!
In 2005, Google started offering directions for car drivers, then two years later, it added transit routes. The map navigation expanded to pedestrians in 2008. We’ve already written about …

Fuel Tax Increase Necessary to Cut Transportation Emissions
March, 10 2010 | One Comment
Fuel Tax Increase Necessary to Cut Transportation Emissions

Raising the price of gas to $7 per gallon may be necessary to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2020 targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent, says a new report from Harvard’s …

“Let’s Move” Toward a National Model of Active Community Design
March, 9 2010 | No Comment
“Let’s Move” Toward a National Model of Active Community Design

Four weeks ago, TheCityFix covered the launch of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign, noting the omission of an active community design component. As we speak, the Task Force on Childhood Obesity is developing the …

Five Months of Ahmedabad’s Janmarg: Setting the Standard for BRT in India
March, 9 2010 | One Comment
Five Months of Ahmedabad’s Janmarg: Setting the Standard for BRT in India

Ahmedabad has set a new standard for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in India. That was the consensus at a recent capacity-building workshop educating other city officials about the planning and implementation of the local …

Recognizing a Woman’s Role in Sustainable Transport
March, 9 2010 | One Comment
Recognizing a Woman’s Role in Sustainable Transport

Today is International Women’s Day, a celebration observed since 1911 to recognize the economic, political and social achievements of women around the world. Eric Britton at World Streets wrote a commemorative piece on how …

TheCityFix Picks, Mar. 5: Olympics Transport Legacy, Obese Cities, BRT in NYC
March, 5 2010 | No Comment
TheCityFix Picks, Mar. 5: Olympics Transport Legacy, Obese Cities, BRT in NYC

Welcome back to TheCityFix Picks, our series highlighting the newsy and noteworthy of the past week.  Each Friday, we run down the headlines falling under TheCityFix’s five themes: mobility, quality of life, environment, public space, …

Bus Strikes Paralyze Bogotá – and Show Transit’s Importance
March, 5 2010 | 4 Comments
Bus Strikes Paralyze Bogotá – and Show Transit’s Importance

Bogotanos are suffering through their fifth straight day of bus strikes.  About 16,000 owners of traditional buses (i.e. not the vehicles from bus rapid transit system, Transmilenio) went on strike Monday at the urging of …

U.N. General Assembly Declares “Decade of Action for Road Safety”
March, 5 2010 | One Comment
U.N. General Assembly Declares “Decade of Action for Road Safety”

The U.N. General Assembly proclaimed on Tuesday that 2011-2020 will be the “Decade of Action for Road Safety,” recognizing the “tremendous global burden” of fatalities and injuries resulting from road crashes each year.
Road traffic …

TheCityFix Picks, Feb. 26: Driving on the Rise, Transport Contributes to Climate Change, Sidewalks Improve Relationships
February, 27 2010 | No Comment
TheCityFix Picks, Feb. 26: Driving on the Rise, Transport Contributes to Climate Change, Sidewalks Improve Relationships

Welcome to TheCityFix Picks, our new series highlighting the newsy and noteworthy of the past week.  Each Friday, we’ll run down the headlines falling under TheCityFix’s five general themes: mobility, quality of life, environment, public …

Mexico City Launches Ecobici Bike-Sharing Program
February, 26 2010 | 2 Comments
Mexico City Launches Ecobici Bike-Sharing Program

Last week, Mexico City came a couple steps closer to reducing the 5 million vehicles that pass through it each day with the launch of its new bike sharing program, Ecobici. The Federal …