November's E-News!

P.T.C. E-News November 2006

1. Local

1.1 – Public transit symposium a success
1.2 - Riding the wave

2. National

2.1 – Tories announce transit security funds
2.2 - Toronto area transit has 'smart' vision for future

3. International

3.1 - Mass transit still hot after $3 gas
3.2 --Why Delhi needs cycle-rickshaws
3.3 --Colombia city makes a U-turn
3.4 – How will the USA cope with unprecedented growth?

1.Local

1.1 Public Transit Symposium
October 27th was quite a day in the Conference room of the New Residence Building on UPEI’s Campus. It was the site of our Symposium on Public Transit and Social Equality. The bulk of the symposium was four excellent presentations that educated as well as stimulated discussion.
Prof. Ed MacDonald gave a great overview of the Island’s history with Public Transit. He showed that public transit is not quite the unknown foreign figure that many islanders believe it to be. Through both historical fact and public accounts, Dr. MacDonald demonstrated the importance of the railway for almost a century across the island.
Prof. Benet Davetian got the room thinking while talking about the correlations between public services and social equality. He brought up great examples and points of benefits and possible downfalls of an Island-wide Public Transit. His lecture served to really inspire some discussion in the room which gave lots to talk about during the breakout session.
After a hearty lunch from the Wanda Wyatt dining hall, Dave McCusker, Manager of Regional Transportation Planning for Halifax Regional Municipality, talked about similar problems both Halifax and PEI are facing. He discussed the troubles, hurtles, and methods in establishing Public Transit in rural areas. His expertise and experience shed a lot of light onto a complicated issue.
The final lecture of the day was about the impact on many seniors when they either lose or give up their licenses. Olive Bryanton enlightened many in the room as to how many islanders are currently faced with this problem but especially stressed how many were headed in that direction. She clearly showed both social and economic impacts upon not only the seniors lives, but the communities around them.
The end of the long day was followed by a casual panel discussion with many of our speakers and attendees to talk about how to really get moving on an Island-wide public transit system. Over the course of the day as many as 40 people graced the symposium while a consistent 20 stayed throughout the day. With representatives from across the island and some from Nova Scotia, the symposium was able to help everyone share their ideas, progress, and projects concerning Public Transit. The casual nature of the symposium allowed everyone to talk, listen and learn throughout the day and hopefully got people thinking about these important issues.

1.2 Riding the Wave
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Dave Stewart, The Guardian

After more than doubling their numbers in the first year, Charlottetown Transit is setting its sights on bus shelters and expanding its reach through partnerships with businesses. The transit service began its run on Sept. 30, 2005, transporting 4,788 passengers through the month of October 2005.One year later, the service celebrated its first anniversary with 10,652 fares through the month of October.
Transit buses continue to flourish on Route 1 (Confederation Centre-University Avenue-Charlottetown Mall) which accounts for 37 per cent of the overall business while the system is still looking to make an impact in communities like Sherwood and Parkdale.
Bobby Dunn, general manager of Charlottetown Transit, says the next big step is to start erecting shelters to protect passengers from the elements while they wait. The first shelter should be in place in early December in front of the Confederation Centre. It will measure 4x16 with benches. A request to the city has already been made for another 13 shelters. Overall, Charlottetown Transit is asking city council to support the purchase of 40 shelters over the next few years. If they’re successful with all of them, it will cost $320,000.
Dunn said they’d also like to see the city add another bus. “We’re challenged now. Winsloe-West Royalty is asking for more service. We are providing service there (but) there’s some out there who think we should be there more often.’’ There are currently five buses on the road, each of them successfully getting people to work downtown as early as 7:30 a.m. and getting them back home as late as the 5:10 p.m. run.
Dunn said they are working towards making it easier for more people to leave their vehicles at home. Another proposal for the city to consider is building up to three park and ride sites. Those are small parking lots built specifically for people to leave their vehicles at and take the transit into town, infrastructure common in other cities. The key locations would be East and West Royalty and Stratford.
Dunn said talks are ongoing with major businesses like Sears where Charlottetown Transit would buy up to 40 parking spaces so people could leave their vehicles there for the day. Dunn said there are also plans to hold talks on Nov. 20 with Charlottetown Area Development Corporation (CADC), the city’s realtor, on finding spots for people to park and take the bus to work or school.
Partnering with schools is another plan. Right now, the transit carries 24 junior high students to band practice at Queen Charlotte school under the new Go for Green School program.
“It’s less stress on the parents after they’ve come home from work, had their supper and (in the past) been forced to rush out the door to get their kids to that one activity.’’ As an added incentive, Charlottetown Transit and Staples have combined to offer $20 worth of school supplies to one of those lucky students. Transit gives 50 cents from each fare back to the school. The school, in turn, gives a portion of that money to the food bank.


2. National

2.1 Tories announce Transit Security Funds
Tuesday, November 14, 2006 | 8:37 AM ET
CBC News

The Conservative government announced $37 million in funding Tuesday to beef up security on public transit systems in Canada's biggest cities. Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon announced that Toronto and Montreal will get the lion's share of the money, while the rest of the funding will go to Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and the Ottawa region.
The money is part of the $80 million that Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged in June for transit security.
"I think what we're seeing in this announcement is that it's a kind of wake-up call for commuters that we are not immune [from terrorism], that we live in a global environment now," said Drew Snider, spokesman for Vancouver's Translink.
Within the last three years, bombings on transit systems in Madrid, London and Mumbai killed more than 420 people and injured at least 2,500 more. The funding is meant to improve surveillance and communication networks on transit systems, as well as hiring additional staff.
Wesley Wark, of the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies, said the measures are long overdue.
"We could easily be a target for terrorist attacks," Wark said. "We've been named by al-Qaeda as a target nation, so while we might like to think we're not a likely target, you just can't gamble with that."
Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier was quick to point out that the threat of terrorist activity isn't the only reason transit security should be improved.
"The requests that we have are not just for terrorism, they're for day-to-day issues that deal with security in public spaces and public places," he said.
The Société de transport de Montréal has already installed 530 closed-circuit cameras and has plans to install an additional 700. Still, Andre Bouchard of Garda, a security consulting firm, said Montreal, like most cities in the country, has a lower level of transit security compared with many cities in the world, partly because that's what Canadians are comfortable with.
"We're way behind," Bouchard said. "But do you want police officers with machine-guns walking through your metro like they do in London? Do you want police walking through the metro system like they do in Italy?


2.2 Toronto area transit has 'smart' vision for future
Friday, October 13, 2006 | 2:17 PM ET
CBC News

Greater Toronto Area commuters are one step closer to transferring easily between the web of bus, train and subway systems across the region. Ontario Minister of Transportation Donna Cansfield announced a 10-year, $250-million contract Thursday with management consultant company Accenture to design and implement a "smart card" system to connect the public transit systems in the GTA.
Working much like a debit card, the fare cards could be scanned as passengers enter the various systems, deducting the fare. The new Greater Toronto Transportation Authority, mandated to make it easy for commuters to transfer seamlessly between the GTA's transit systems, will oversee the smart card program.
"Transit users should be able to get on any system anywhere in the GTA using the same card and travel to wherever they're going without having to worry about crossing municipal boundaries and changing systems," said the newly-appointed chair of the GTTA, Rob MacIsaac.
The project will roll out by mid-2007 with limited participation. Those involved will be four Mississauga bus routes, the Meadowvale and Cooksville GO Transit stations and Union Station in Toronto. The province hopes to have the system running across the GTA by 2010.
However, the Toronto Transit Commission has expressed uncertainty as to whether it will join the smart card system, citing financial concerns.

3. International
3.1 Mass transit still hot after $3 gas
10/2/2006 2:07 AM ET
By Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA TODAY

Although gas prices are plunging, many Americans appear to be continuing to let someone else do the driving. Public transportation officials across the USA say they have seen very little drop-off in passengers on buses and trains in recent weeks despite the dramatic decline in gasoline prices. Surging gasoline costs led to sharp increases in public transportation ridership this summer.
"The $3 gas prompted them to look at" public transportation, says Morgan Lyons, spokesman for Dallas Area Rapid Transit, which has seen double-digit increases in ridership this year. Although, anecdotally, trains and buses seem to be a little less crowded than they were this summer, most people "seem to be staying with it," Lyons says.
Desiree Ingle says she will continue to take public transportation to work, even with gas prices dropping."It's pretty easy, convenient and not too stressful," says Ingle, a research and planning analyst for the county parks and recreation department. "As long as they keep improving the public transportation, I think more people will be using it."
Gas prices have dropped 17% in the last month in large part because of a sharp decline in oil costs. Nationwide, public transportation ridership rose 3.2% in the first six months of 2006 vs. January-June 2005, according to the American Public Transportation Association. That was the biggest increase for the first half of a year since 2000 and more than double the gain seen in the same period in 2005.
APTA President William Millar attributes at least part of the increase in ridership to elevated gas prices. Other factors include increased congestion as well as new and improved train and bus service in a number of U.S. cities.
"People who hadn't used transit before and who hadn't used it in a long time ... were pleasantly surprised" when they tried it out recently, Millar says. "They are finding that, 'Hey, this isn't really so bad.' "

3.2 Colombia city makes a U-turn
October 28, 2006
Chris Kraul, Times Staff Writer

A decade ago, the Bosa slum was the black hole of Bogotá. Its darkest corner was Laurel Park, a grassless, trash-strewn lot with open sewage and gun-toting gangs bent on muggings and murder.
Today, Bosa has paved streets, new schools, health clinics and cafeterias, and links to a new mass transit system. Laurel Park has been rechristened Park of the Arts and is alive with children at play and free theater, fashion shows and concerts.
Like much of this re-energized capital of more than 7 million inhabitants, the war zone that was Bosa has been transformed. "The change has surprised everyone, not just visibly but socially," said Nubia Zuaza, a community activist who has lived in the area for 20 years. "From a focal point of delinquency, the park now embodies a sense of community that wasn't there before."
The same can be said for much of Bogotá, which in the 1990s earned a well-deserved reputation as a world capital of mayhem. Car bombings, assassinations, killings and kidnappings sent thousands of Bogotá's residents fleeing to the United States or had them hunkering down in their homes. Bogotá was, in many urban experts' view, a failed city choked with traffic and pollution and victimized by a seemingly uncontrollable crime wave.
"When I took office, people told me: 'Nobody can fix this. Bogotá is totally hopeless,' " said Enrique Peñalosa, the capital's mayor from 1997 to 2000. Now, visionary leadership by Peñalosa and two other Bogotá mayors is credited with helping turn the city around. Improved public finances, reduced crime and congestion, a slew of public works, and reduced and more orderly traffic have made Colombia's capital livable again.
Urban experts around the world are taking notice. At the architecture exhibition at last month's Venice Biennale, the organizers cited the city as an exemplar in mass transit. Highlighted were the continent's largest network of bike paths and Bogotá's 300-mile Transmilenio bus system, which after six years of existence boasts a daily ridership of 1.4 million.
The United Nations, the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have cited the 70% drop in Bogotá's homicide rate, an even steeper decline in kidnappings, and the addition of a score of public libraries, most of them in poor areas. But the proof of the turnaround is in the attitudes of the residents. Polls show that citizens who once overwhelmingly saw life here as a cross to bear are hopeful about the future and happier to be here.
Urban planning expert Juan Carlos del Castillo said the seeds of change were planted during the administration of Mayor Jaime Castro in the early 1990s. Castro initiated Bogotá's first land-use plan and persuaded the federal legislature to grant him stronger powers, having found himself overshadowed by a city council dominated by corrupt real estate and transportation interests.
Castro's successor, Antanas Mockus, son of Lithuanian immigrants and a former university rector, tried to restore a sense of citizenship, employing a whimsical approach that included using mimes to shame motorists into heeding stoplights and crosswalks. But he also played fiscal hardball to improve tax collection and clean up the city's finances.
A part-time professor and business consultant with the U.S. firm Arthur D. Little before taking office, Peñalosa used the surplus to launch a public works program designed to dramatically reduce traffic, which he describes as Bogotá's bane. "Cars are lethal weapons that dehumanize society," he said.
"I could have used the surplus to build seven elevated highways for more cars, but that would have left no money for public spaces or libraries," Peñalosa said. "Those highways would have been undemocratic since 70% of Bogotános don't have cars."
Using a model set by the Brazilian city of Curitiba, he planned and began construction of the Transmilenio bus system and restricted each private automobile's circulation to five days a week.

3.3 Why Delhi needs cycle-rickshaws
October 22, 2006
Aruna P. Sharma

(*Note One ‘Crore’ is equal to 10 million)

They are clean, efficient, safe and flexible — and banished from Capital roads. The humble cycle-rickshaw may have gained popularity as an eco-friendly pedicab in European and American cities, but its survival in Delhi is in doubt.
Cycle-rickshaws are ideal for short-distance trips. Do not cause safety risk in residential areas and near schools and hospitals. (They) Use renewable energy. Pedal-driven rickshaws provide three times the walking speed, meet urban mobility requirement in colonies dominated by middle-income and lower-middle-income groups and provide a low-cost alternative for transporting household goods and furniture. Reduce air pollution by saving fuel on 10 crore motorised trips all over the country and 1 crore trips in Delhi alone.
Generate employment for one crore poor people across the country. A court ban and motor-vehicle-driven transport and road development policies of the government are driving rickshaws towards an uncertain future.
The ban may make cycle-rickshaws seem like a nuisance but they also have their own advantages. According to the Initiative for Transportation and Development Programmes (ITDP) — an NGO that has introduced the lightweight, modern cycle-rickshaw, now plying around the Taj Mahal in Agra, in Delhi, Jaipur and other cities — cycle-rickshaws are the future solution to Delhi's air pollution.
“In Delhi alone cycle-rickshaws make more than one crore short-distance trips in a day, saving huge government investments in parking and thousands of crores of rupees that would otherwise have been spent on motorised transport for the same number of trips,” says Nalin Sinha, programme director of ITDP. Besides, they provide honest means of living to three per cent of India's population without any financial investment or support from the government.
The socio-economic profiling of rickshaw pullers done by the NGO shows that most of the rickshaw pullers are unskilled, uneducated or landless farmers, of whom 68 per cent belong to the Other Backward Classes and 20 per cent to the SC/ST category. So the rickshaw-pillers do not have a choice.
Then there are misconceptions about rickshaw pulling. “It is a myth that pulling cycle-rickshaws is inhumane. The rickshaw pullers are much better off than construction labourers who have to carry heavy loads on their heads, coolies at railway stations or labourers who pull loads of 500 to 1,500 kg in pushcarts.

Unfriendly Policies
-Rickshaws are not recognised by planners and transport policy makers.

-Illegal ones, costing Rs 5,000 each are seized by authorities, crushed and disposed of as scrap.

-Rickshaw pullers have no insurance cover. They rarely have I-cards or ration cards.

-No funds available for research and design development.

-Master Plan 2021 makes a very weak statement by merely stating that wherever possible

Sunita Narain, also makes a strong pitch in favour of cycle-rickshaws and other modes of non-motorised transport. “It is a misconception that cycle-rickshaws cause congestion. It is the cars that are causing congestion. It is sad that in a socialist country like India, the poor rickshaw pullers are getting targeted for no fault of theirs.”
A study carried out by CSE in Ambedkar Nagar shows that over 60 per cent commuters travel by public transport buses that use up 8 per cent road space, while cars move only 20 per cent people and take over 75 per cent road space. Bicycles move 20 per cent passengers and use 18 per cent road space.
It is the cars that have taken over road space and need to be taken off the road by introducing a dense network of Metro trains, High Capacity Bus System, and Light Rail System with auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws providing the feeder services.
“The city’s air was first stabilised by introducing 10,000 CNG-fuelled DTC buses and now we have to adopt the integrated transport policy, so that the city can breathe easy” says Narain.
Dr Geetam Tiwari of IIT, Delhi, says that redesigning the roads is all that is required to allow the cycle-rickshaws to ply on the arterial roads. “Then they will not come in the way of fast-moving vehicles,” says Dr Tiwari. The cycle-rickshaws are already providing feeder services at 50 metro stations, including the Delhi University station, and they need to be formally integrated with our public transport system, she adds.
As for Old Delhi, it is the motorised vehicles that need to be banned so that the rickshaws can provide noiseless, pollution-free, door-to-door service in the narrow streets and bylanes, Tiwari says. Banning the cycle-rickshaws is only going to compound the environmental and socio-economic problems in the city, planners and experts say. So let the wheels be set in motion to let the rickshaw claim its pride of place on roads.

3.4 – How will the USA cope with unprecedented growth?
10/27/2006 1:59 AM ET
By Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY

The fact the USA is growing faster than any other industrialized country in the world comes as no surprise to Tim Gibbs. The USA added 100 million people in the past 39 years and last week topped 300 million. We'll add the next 100 million even faster. Sometime around 2040, according to government estimates, the population clock will tick past 400 million.
Can the USA, which trails only China and India in population, absorb another 100 million people in such a short time? Where will everybody live? Space itself isn't the issue. More than half of Americans live within 50 miles of the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf and Great Lakes coasts on just a fifth of the country's land area, according to the Center for Environment and Population, a non-profit research and policy group based in New Canaan, Conn.
But people can't live on land alone, especially if they want water in the desert, plentiful fuel to power long commutes, energy to cool and heat bigger houses and clean air and water. How and where they live could determine how well the nation — and the environment — will handle the added population.
"People who work on smart growth development issues say there's no way we can continue over the next 40-odd years without severe consequences to the environment," says Victoria Markham, director of the center. "That presents some really good opportunities for changing the ways we adapt to this growth. ... If population is going to grow, which it will, we have to find different ways to reside on that land."
"We're going in the wrong direction right now," says Don Chen, executive director of Smart Growth America, a coalition of groups working to slow sprawl. "The rate of land consumption is twice the rate of population growth."
Gas costs more and traffic congestion is worsening, making long commutes hard on the wallet and the psyche. More immigrants are arriving, increasing mass transit ridership and carpooling in a country where driving alone still dominates.
Indications are growing that the automobile-dependent suburban lifestyle of the 1950s — tract homes built on streets and cul-de-sacs increasingly distant from central cities — is losing traction. Urban town centers that combine condos, shops and offices in pedestrian-friendly settings are sprouting in suburbia. Residential construction in downtown districts is on the rise because empty-nesters and young professionals want to be where the action is. Areas that have scant histories of mass transit, such as Phoenix and Dallas, are investing billions in light-rail lines.
Now, the cost benefits of buying a house 45 miles from work often are offset by prices at the pump."It takes more money to heat and cool a big house," says Flint, public affairs manager at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a think tank in Cambridge, Mass. "Once you factor in the true cost of that housing by including transportation and energy costs, yes, Americans will get very resourceful very fast and change how they live."

Among the ways the nation can absorb the next 100 million:
•Rail lines and transit villages. Cities that had let public transit wither are revitalizing it and encouraging development around transit stops. Metro areas better known for sprawl are hopping aboard the rail mania, including Dallas, Albuquerque, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Charlotte.
Twenty-seven metropolitan areas have transit systems, and 15 are planning new ones, according to Reconnecting America, a non-profit group that encourages development near or along transit lines.
"As these cities grew, they realized that relying on the automobile was not enough," says William Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association, a trade group that represents public transit providers. "New systems are virtually without exception meeting and exceeding ridership targets, and you're seeing land values (along transit lines) go up."
Once all the transit systems on the books are built by 2030, there will be 4,000 to 4,500 transit stations nationwide. There were 735 planned and proposed stations as of December 2005.