Jun 16
Freiburg, Germany is one of the most livable and people-oriented cities in the world. Photo by Roby©.
Transport and urban development policies in European cities are recognized as being more balanced than those of the rest of the world, resulting in competitive, attractive, denser and high quality urban environments. There are plenty of best practices, and in an energy- and carbon-constrained world, they show great examples on how to retrofit American cities and how to evolve developing cities.
Some of the most prolific researchers in this field are “Car-Free John” Pucher and Ralph Buhler.
In a recent publication, “Sustainable Transport that Works: Lessons from Germany,” they make a very comprehensive comparison between Germany and the United States. Read the rest of this entry »
Jun 16
Increased economic activity doesn’t necessarily have to lead to greater energy consumption. Photo by bitzcelt.
Energy use in the transport sector follows economic activity, but the relationship is not necessarily in direct proportion. Energy efficiency plays an important role in changing what used to be an unquestionable truth. A recent report by Dr. Peg Young, “A Time Series Analysis of Transportation Energy Use Per Dollar of Gross Domestic Product” from the Bureau of Transport Statistics, shows a 15% decline in the ratio of energy consumption in the U.S. transport sector to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), from January 2000 to October 2008.
What does this mean for us? It is a clear indication that energy consumption is gradually de-coupling from economic growth, with the main culprit being increased energy efficiency. With greater efficiency the economic growth has less-than-proportional impacts on energy security and greenhouse gas emissions.
Read the rest of this entry »
Apr 17
In Delhi, India, it can be difficult to enforce curbside bus lanes. Photo by EMBARQ.
One of the most controversial aspects of Bus Rapid Transit design in Delhi has been the designation of median lanes as opposed to curbside lanes. The initial bus corridor in Delhi is based on median lanes to give priority to bus riders. Duno Roy, who set up the People’s Science Institute in Dehradun, India and The Hazard Centre in Delhi, explains his views on this controversy in the India Business Standard. The discussion involves the tension between giving priority to vehicle users or bus users. Concludes Roy: “Moving the BRT to the left lane will kill whatever potential it has left.”
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Apr 02
The Tata Nano creates buzz in India and around the world. Photo by code_martial.
India experienced an automotive breakthrough last week: the release of the Tata Nano, the most economic vehicle in the Indian market, and arguably, in the world.
The so-called “people’s car” has received praise from many sources, such as The Economist:
Despite the Nano’s size (it is a bit over ten feet, or three metres long) its interior is surprisingly spacious. This is no accident. The car is the pet project of Ratan Tata, the Tata group’s revered chairman, who is over six feet tall. Accordingly, the Nano is optimised for the 95th percentile of American men. In South Asia, this makes the car downright cavernous. When it comes to performance, the Nano goes from zero to 100kph (60mph) in a languid 30 seconds, but it is surprisingly enjoyable to drive. And with a petrol consumption of 67mpg, few cars can match its fuel-efficiency.
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Apr 01
The Federal Transit Administration recently released an updated edition of “Characteristics of BRT for Decision Makers” (PDF). This 400-page report is a very complete compendium of the bus rapid transit (BRT) experience in the United States, but it does not stop there — it also includes data and profiles of BRT systems in the rest of the world. This is an extraordinary resource for agencies and planners considering transit options and shows the versatility of the BRT concept.
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Jan 30
The intersection of 10th and K Streets, NW in Washington, D.C. Photo by NCinDC.
A recent post by by Joey Katzen of Greater Greater Washington indicates that the project to retrofit Washington, D.C.’s K Street into a transitway has been delayed (again).
This is not good news. The concept of creating dedicated lanes for buses is very appealing, especially since, currently, the Circulator buses and other routes on this stretch operate below 10 miles per hour at commercial speeds. Retrofitting the corridor could be a low-cost, rapidly implemented solution in the heart of the nation’s capital. It would be important to upgrade it as one item on the list of infrastructure projects in the capital region, as part of the nation’s “economic stimulus package” (but this could just be wishful thinking.)
Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 29
Obama on wheels. Photo by Scorpions and Centaurs.
Great news from the White House: Fuel standards for vehicles will be tighten up soon, improving the outlook for states like California , which pushed for stricter limits without success during the last administration.
This is good progress, but as we have said in the past, “increasing fuel efficiency is good, but it is not everything.” (For similar blog posts, click here and here.)
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Dec 24
Chirag Delhi bus station. Photo by Madhav Pai.
The bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor in Delhi is one of the most controversial projects in Indian urban transport. It encountered several problems during the first week of its implementation, stirring up a great media outcry. But the Delhi Government was able to recognize the positive impact of the project for pedestrians, bikers and bus commuters, and it decided not to scrap the pilot corridor.
The Delhi government elections in November largely ran on a platform that included going ahead with the busway expansions, but some media outlets and transport experts urged the city to ditch the project altogether. The Times of India, for example, reported that the Standing Committee in Parliament recently said plans for BRT system would be a “nightmare” for Delhi residents and should be abandoned.
But it looks like the media reports may not have been telling the whole story, says Sanjeev Lohia, director of the urban transport division for the Ministry of Urban Development.
Read the rest of this entry »
Dec 01
Electric railway system in Bangkok. Photo by SpAvAAi.
Lew Fulton of the International Energy Agency made a very compelling presentation at the most recent BAQ Asia Conference.
Here are some of the most important messages from his data-intensive presentation:
- Asian developing countries exert large pressures on energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, mainly due to motorization in China and India.
- Changes in the transport sector are necessary to reduce global CO2 emissions. These measures could include things like modal shift from private vehicles to public or non-motorized transport, or developing cleaner fuels and vehicles, which are estimated to contribute to reductions of about 10 Gigatonnes per year.
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Biofuels will play a relatively small role. Therefore, efficiency is key in conventional and hybrid vehicles.
Savings from avoiding motorization are gigantic. If the modal share of transit is kept above 60 percent on average, CO2 emissions will reduce by 5 Gigatonnes per year, as opposed to the business-as-usual scenario, where transit will account for only 30 percent of total trips by 2030.
- New fuel standards take time to generate benefits, and given that motorization rates are rising quickly, the net result is a very high increase in fuel use and emissions. Simply creating and enforcing efficiency standards will not do the trick.
See Fulton’s presentation here:
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