Above is an interactive map highlighting many of the BRT systems currently in operation or under construction in Latin America. As you can see, this efficient, cost-effective approach to transportation management is quickly becoming a standard across the region. And while Latin America cities have been BRT pioneers, the technology is catching on around the world.
Stay tuned for more detailed info on BRT systems in Central and South America, as well as the rest of the world.
Awhile back here on TheCityFix, we highlighted a video made by StreetFilms that explored Bogota’s “Ciclovia” initiative. This innovative program closes nearly 70 miles of city streets each Sunday to car traffic and opens them to throngs of runners, walkers, and bikers determined to take back their city (at least for a day).
The idea is slowly catching on all over the world. For example, the video above highlights a similar (though more limited) program in Guadalajara, Mexico…given the happy tune that the videographer chose to use for the clip’s score, it is clear that they thoroughly enjoyed their car-free day!
You can find another video of car-free street initiatives in Australia here.
In a recent post here on TheCityFix.com, Sudhir Gota documented the plight of ‘Transport Challenged People’ in Bangalore, India. In his piece, Sudhir explains how Indian transportation policy’s often myopic focus on car infrastructure can reduce the mobility (and thus the quality of life) of those unable to afford automobiles themselves.
Another example of the link between social justice and transport policy is the plight of Delhi’s ‘wastepickers’ – informal sector trash collectors that make their living collecting and sorting garbage. According to Bharati Chaturvedi, Director of Chintan, a community group that advocates for wastepicker rights, new transport policies in Delhi and other Indian cities have often favored the transportation needs of private automobile owners over those of the wastepickers. Read the rest of this entry »
In the transport world, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a hot topic. Akin to a cross between a bus and a metro, this increasingly popular form of mass transit is fast, efficient, and a fraction of the cost of its better known cousins – metro and rail. As a result, BRT systems are sprouting up all across the globe.
But if you don’t spend your free time reading about the latest and greatest in transportation infrastructure (or haven’t had the chance to use BRT yourself), you might have a hard time picturing exactly how this technology works.
The video above does a great job of illustrating BRT in action. The clip, taken by EMBARQ’s Dario Hidalgo, offers a drivers-eye view of Istanbul’s new BRT system, known as Metrobüs. The video clearly shows some of the key features of BRT: special lanes reserved exclusively for buses, high speed travel along normally gridlocked traffic corridors, and high capacity bus stations, instead of traditional bus stops.
Check back for more “Sustainable Transportation 101” on TheCityFix.com in the near future.
In Hanoi, crossing the street can be a dangerous proposition. Despite the high marks that Vietnamese motorists receive for driving etiquette in the absence of formal traffic rules, (clearly evidenced by the ability of the pedestrian in this video to weave in and out of countless motorbikes) traffic safety is a major public health concern in Vietnam.
A recent article in the Malaysian Sun presents the grim figures:
Traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death in Vietnam, with an average of 36 people killed each day on the roads as the country’s new prosperity leads to greater numbers of motorbikes and cars.
Last year, some 13,000 people died on Vietnam’s roads, railways and waterways. Safety advocates say that the number of deaths could be cut if more motorbike drivers wore helmets.
Only three per cent now wear helmets even though motorbikes account for up to 90 percent of vehicles on the roads, according to the Asian Injury Prevention Foundation.
Click here to read a post by Lee Schipper, a fellow contributor at TheCityFix, who had the opportunity to ride a two-wheeler in Hanoi. And click here to see a movie to the one above about motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City.
The EPA’s recent denial of California’s request for a waiver that would allow it to set its own GHG emissions requirements for vehicles has stirred up a fair bit of controversy over the past week. In fact, in addition to widespread criticism in the media and blogosphere, the EPA and the Bush administration have also come under fire in the legal and political arenas.
In a recent piece, the LA Times describes the political maneuvering between senior EPA officials, the White House, and auto industry executives that preceded the EPA’s December 19 ruling. Possible linkages between the auto industry’s support of last month’s energy bill and the subsequent rejection of the California waiver petition has raised eyebrows, and now Democrats are threatening congressional hearings.
Jurist has been following these developments, as well as the EPA’s decision to turn over all correspondence between the agency and the Bush Administration that pertains to the California decision.
Stay tuned - it looks like there’s a controversy brewing.
On May 4, 2007 EMBARQ’s Director of Research, Lee Schipper, gave a presentation at the 17th Annual Regional Planning Assembly held in New York City. This year’s conference, held at the swanky Waldorf Astoria hotel, was entitled, “A Bright + Green Future” and touched on the myriad issues surrounding climate change, energy, and growth in the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut tri-state region.
(see complete coverage of Schipper’s talk on the EMBARQ website, including a podcast recorded at the event and slides from his presentation)
The event drew a lot of attention because of the recent announcement (to both fanfare and controversy) of Mayor Bloomberg’s “PlaNYC” proposal. Today, Streetsblog.org had a nice post on some of the conference’s workshops, including a number of quotes from Schipper about the siren song of biofuels and the promise of congestion pricing.
Read the rest of this entry »
Bicycles have been around for well over 100 years (see a brief history here), but the push to make bikes a viable alternative to automobiles seems to be truly hitting the mainstream. This weekend’s edition of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) contains a prominently displayed article entitled “Building a better bike lane: Can the U.S. catch up to European cities?” (subscription required).
As a standard-bearer for free-market principles and conservative politics, the WSJ is seldom associated with alternative transportation issues.
But it seems that even financial executive-types are beginning to recognize the environmental, public health, and traffic benefits of replacing cars with bicycles for short trips and daily commutes. In fact, the article practically gushes over the good life enjoyed by bike-riding Europeans in cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen - where more than a third of commuters use pedal power to get to work. Read the rest of this entry »
New York City’s contentious new proposal on congestion pricing has fomented a lot of passionate debate in the last few days.
Below are links to several transport experts’ analysis of congestion pricing in other cities:
On March 30, Monica Bansal, a graduate student at Colombia University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation visited EMBARQ’s offices and presented her research on Delhi’s auto-rickshaws. These three-wheeled vehicles carry thousands of city residents each day, providing an alternative to private car trips and an important source of jobs in the region.
Unfortunately, auto-rickshaws are also major polluters. In Kolkata, for example, auto-rickshaws comprise 5% of the fleet, but an estimated 35% percent of vehicle-related pollution.
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