[ox-en] Free (as in beer) public transport
- From: Chris Croome <chris croome.net>
- Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2003 16:30:13 +0000
Hi
I have been arguing for a long time with people that all public
transport should be free, I only today discovered that it has been
tried in one place:
Doing away with ring road brought about urban regeneration
An item by Guy Dauncey, adapted from his Econews No. 94.
68,000 people live in the Belgium town of Hasselt; another 200,000
people commute in and out every day. Faced with rising debt and
traffic congestion, the mayor decided to abandon plans to build a
third ring road around the town. Instead, he closed one of the two
existing ring roads, planted trees in its place, laid more pedestrian
walkways and cycle tracks, increased the frequency and quality of the
bus service and announced that public transport would be free of
charge.
'The use of public transport has increased by a staggering 800 per
cent'
A year later the use of public transport has increased by a staggering
800 per cent. The merchants are happy because business has increased;
there are fewer accidents, fewer road casualties and there has been an
increase in social activity.
The same day that the town made the buses free, they also slashed
local taxes - the inhabitants of Hasselt are now paying less than they
were ten years ago. More people are attracted to Hasselt because it is
easier to get there and the extra income has reduced the local taxes.
One of the reasons the measure was adopted was a shortage of funds -
the city did not have enough money to expand its roads. Free buses
were a cheaper alternative, and it worked. The city had been slowly
losing population, but since the new measures were adopted, the
population has been rising 25 times faster than it was shrinking.
Hasselt has been showered with international awards and prizes for the
innovative way it has tackled congestion and pollution.
Guy Dauncey, Econews, Sustainable Communities Consultancy 395 Conway
Rd, Victoria, BC, V8X 3X1, Canada (tel/fax 250 8811304 (w); 250 881
1555(h); e-mail: guydauncey earthfuture.com; web:
www.earthfuture.com).
http://www.globalideasbank.org/inspir/INS-155.HTML
Chris
--
weblog: http://chris.croome.net/#blog
photos: http://chris.croome.net/photos/
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