Buses World News

In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry

27.2.08

Congestion Pricing * USA - Ad campaign on trains, buses

Long Island,NY,USA -Newsday, by Steve Ritea -February 26, 2008: -- A series of advertisements asking riders to urge their state and city lawmakers to support congestion pricing will begin appearing on subways, buses and Long Island Rail Road trains this week, suggesting the plan will generate more money for public transportation and help ease overcrowding... The $500,000 media campaign is financed by contributions from a variety of private organizations who support the mayor's plan to charge drivers $8 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street during peak hours. The effort is designed to reduce traffic and limit unhealthy emissions... (Video from YouTube, by Marc1a -July 07, 2007: "NYC: Congestion Pricing". The pros & cons of proposed congestion pricing in Manhattan)

Labels: congestion pricing debate

18.2.08

CONGESTION CHARGE * UK - After five years, traffic has been reduced by 21 per cent

Londoners may moan – but the world wants to copy it

London,UK -The Independent, by Ian Griggs -17 February 2008: -- The most controversial transport policy in modern times reached its fifth anniversary today with its architects claiming that the congestion charge has helped London become the only major city in the world to see a real shift away from private cars to public transport, cycling and walking... Data from the Department for Transport suggests that during the first year of the charge, traffic was steadily reduced in central London, after which it began to creep back up, although it is still below 2000 levels. Before congestion charging began, on 17 February 2003, 334,000 vehicles entered the area each day. Transport for London said traffic was now down by 21 per cent, with 70,000 fewer vehicles a day coming into the city centre. In the western extension of the congestion charge zone, which came into effect on 19 February last year, traffic is down by up to 15 per cent on 2006 levels... Oslo and Trondheim in Norway may have been the first places to introduce a congestion charge, but it is London's scheme that has captured imaginations worldwide... (Video from YouTube, by france24english -October 24, 2007: "FRANCE24-EN-Report-London fights against pollution" - London fights against pollutionTraveling by car in London's centre is becoming very expensive. Every driver has to pay the "congestion charge", 8 £ a day. Next year, it will worsen for gas-guzzlers who will have to pay 25 £ a day. The only way to escape from the tax is to drive "clean".www.france24.com)

Labels: congestion pricing debate

20.12.07

Imagine This * USA - Riding Buses & Subways For Free

One Man's Plan Would Raise $4 Billion For Mass Transit

New York,NY,USA -WCBS/TV New York/CBS, by Marcia Kramer -20 Dec 2007: -- What if people could ride for free on buses and subways in New York City? Longtime transit lawyer Theodore Kheel has just such a plan, but if you use any kind of a motor vehicle you might not like it one bit... To some it seems like Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan on steroids... At 93, Kheel is no lightweight. He's a labor lawyer and a transit expert. He has advised mayors and governors for decades. He says his new plan would be a lifesaver for every New Yorker who rides mass transit... While Kheel's plan would make subways and buses free it would be the motorists who would pay and pay big time. Kheel's plan would raise an amazing $4 billion a year for mass transit... (SEE VIDEO) - (Photo by CBS: A longtime traffic advisor has a plan that would allow for free city bus and subway service and raise $4 billion a year for mass transit, but in the process would alienate anyone with a car)

Labels: congestion pricing debate

2.8.07

* UK - Are buses the solution to city centre congestion?

The biggest cities in Wales couldn’t function without buses. Even to motorists who shun them as transport for losers, buses are vital

Wales,UK -ic Wales, by Rhodri Clark, Western Mail -Jul 30 2007: -- ... Each day 31,000 people take the bus into Cardiff. Without buses there would be thousands more cars in central Cardiff and Swansea, causing gridlock and exacerbating parking shortages and road rage... (Picture by Swansea City Centre.com: Swansea Metro)

Labels: congestion pricing debate

12.7.07

CONGESTIONS CHARGES * UK - Transport for London takes to the air, and gets up your nose!

A new way to fight congestion has been discovered in Transport for London - The Way Forward

London,UK -The Spoof (satire), by FLUFFY DETRITUS -9 July 2007: -- ... There are a number of new and far reaching ideas for congestion solution in London. These include congestion charging for aircraft going over London's airspace, bus passengers being charged £100 to ride on a bus in the congestion zone, people with colds or flu being refused entry... Transport for London argues that aircraft bring increased congestion to London. There are currently over 300 flights landing at London's Heathrow airport every day which equates to upwards of 90,000 men, women and children, all descending on the capital. Transport for London says this puts an immense strain on the transport system with the increased use of taxis, buses and cars in the city... Transport for London is working hard on the task of ridding the city of all congestion. It has even begun handing out complementary menthol and eucalyptus lozenges in all tube stations...

Labels: congestion pricing debate

24.5.07

DEBATE: Congestion Pricing * USA - Talking about

Friday morning over 200 people braved the early morning traffic to attend our Marketplace of Ideas panel on congestion pricing

New York,NY,USA -DMIblog, by Elana Levin -23 May 2007: -- The policy on the table: the most hotly debated, part of Mayor Bloomberg's recently revealed plan for a greener New York - an $8 congestion fee for driving into Manhattan's Central Business district during peak hours... We had the opportunity to learn about the ins-and-outs of congestion pricing first-hand from Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London and point person on her city's successful congestion pricing plan... The panelists laid out the range of needs and concerns in this debate, from those of small business owners in Queens to the high rate of children with asthma living along congested through-ways... If what the distinguished guests on the panel said is right then congestion pricing isn't just generating hot air, it's New York's future... (Photo: Deputy Mayor Gavron and Councilman Gioia)

Labels: congestion pricing debate