"Ottawa's lack of vision may derail Vancouver-to-Seattle fast-train service"
A second daily passenger train between Seattle and Vancouver might fail if Canada Border Services continues its plan to outsource government costs to Amtrak.
Biden Touts Green Cities Amidst Parking Lots
The reason our carbon emissions are so out of proportion to our population is largely because of this disastrous mode of urban/suburban development. As I note in my new article on suburban planning, transportation accounts for 32 percent of total CO2 emissions in the U.S. — the most of any end-use sector. Americans use cars for almost 90 percent of all their trips, compared to 58 percent in the United Kingdom. This is more attributable to the proliferation of unattractive, inaccessible environments like the one I saw today than it is to the inefficiency of city automobile fleets. $300 million for cleaner buses is great as far as it goes, but it does not go nearly far enough in curbing carbon emissions. Only a radically new approach to urban planning will have the effect we need.
reblogged from dandrews-deactivated20120326
Is Project PUMA really the future of urban transportation?
Segway and some company called GM unveiled the Puma, or “Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility” vehicle. It is a two-wheeled, one person, electric pod
I am not impressed. These designs are the pathetic death throes of a dying industry. Private vehicle transportation in an urban environment has got to go.
While there MAY be a place for such vehicles in a transit ecosystem (and that’s a big MAY) we’d be better off not having it come from GM. Still, I’m sure they shall receive billions from Canadian and US governments to pursue this. (via City Fix)
