Sofia, Bulgaria, campaign for free public transport

Гражданска Инициатива за безтаксов градски транспорт

Здравейте тази група, е инициатор за създаване на по-широка организация бореща се за свободен или безплатен градски транспорт(Г. Т.) в София. Основната фунция на Г .Т. е да бъде достъпен за всички нуждаещи се. Сегашната система за таксуване на гражданите ограничава този достъп, докато приходите от продажба на карти и билети са незначителни на фона на субсидиите и компенсациите, които Центърът за градска мобилност ( ЦГМ) получава.
Нашата алтернатива е свободен (безплатен) градски транспорт, финансиран изцяло от гражданите - данъкоплатци, достъпен за всички граждани и гости на София - без ограничения!
Който желае да се включи активно в групата и подкрепя целите и нека ни пише.

The campaign for free public transport in Poland

Since December 2012 Free Trade Union "August 80" and Polish Labour Party are organising a nationwide campaign under the slogan "No to increases in ticket prices, yes to free public transport".

Currently, free public transport in various forms exists in Nysa and Olkuszu (for drivers), in Ząbki (for residents) and Kielce (2 free lines in the city center). In May 2014 free public transport will start in Żory. In many other cities across the country free public transit has became the subject of public debate (Radom, Chełm, Lębork, Sokołów Podlaski, Płock, Tarnów, Łódź, Opole, Elbląg, Sosnowiec, Lublin among others).

On November 1 (in Poland this is a day off work, people go to visit the graves of their loved ones) Free Trade Union "August 80", Polish Labour Party, Polish Labour Party Youth Organization and the Youth Movement (youth group of the center-left parliamentary party Your Movement) urged local councils to introduce a day with free public transport. Some cities like Białystok, Zgierz, Stargard Szczeciński, Nowogard, Lubań and Gorzów Wielkopolski decide to do so.

In March 2014 Free Trade Union "August 80" and Polish Labour Party activists (with the support of various other organisations and groups) intend to promote the idea of free public transport in other cities in Poland.

More unrest brewing over school bus fare

Cyprus Mail: "THE PARENTS’ association of Cypriot technical schools has announced a number of measures in protest of the decision to impose a monthly €15 bus-fare to students wishing to use public transport.

The association is urging students to refuse paying when the system comes into effect on January 7."

'via Blog this'

Car culture traps people in their homes

Hagley family fear elderly and disabled will be "totally stuck" if council bus cuts go ahead (From Stourbridge News): "A HAGLEY family fear elderly and disabled people in the village will be cut off if plans to axe subsidies for rural bus services go ahead.

Neil Lambert, who lives in Wind’s Point with his 25-year-old disabled son Andrew, and his 88-year-old mother Evelyn Lambert, who also lives in the street, rely heavily on bus services for trips across the border from Worcestershire into the West Midlands."

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UK privatization of buses is a disaster

Brian Souter drives hard on the Thatcherite Right and is chucking his toys out of the pram - Kevin Maguire - Mirror Online: "Bullying bus boss Brian Souter is a road block who needs bypassing to give passengers a better ride.

The megabucks Stagecoach ­motormouth drives hard on the ­Thatcherite Right and is chucking his toys out of the pram over plans to impose order on routes in Tyne and Wear."

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PETICIJA ZA UKIDANJE BUSPLUSA

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PETICIJA ZA UKIDANJE BUSPLUSA:

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Public transport good for shopping. Cars bad. UK town discovers.

Why Camden Council says no to free Christmas parking: ‘There’s no benefit to traders’ - News - Hampstead and Highgate Express: "Camden Council says free or half-price festive parking schemes lead to clogged-up streets as commuters take advantage of the temporary measures, meaning that fewer shoppers stop."

'via Blog this'

Wales politicians serve their oil-industry masters and trap pensioners at home

Pensioners left isolated and lonely as bus cuts reach 'critical levels' - Wales Online: "Cuts to Welsh buses are reaching “critical levels”, according to a report by a transport pressure group.

Up to 47% of councils in Wales and England have cut support for buses this year, while the next financial year is likely to be difficult, said the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT).

The Welsh Government is trying to cut £15m off the cost of free bus travel, a move that could see hundreds of services funded by councils stopped or renegotiated."

'via Blog this'

Parking is costing Bath business dear

law firm Withy King: "Nearly two-thirds of businesses in Bath are being hampered by parking problems in the city, a new survey suggests.

The cost of parking, the lack of spaces, the limitations of Bath’s three park and ride sites, the state of public transport and the idea of a car-free city centre have all been criticised by business owners in a survey, conducted by law firm Withy King."

'via Blog this'

Will Madrid become car-free?

Madrid's Big Plan to Swear Off Cars - Feargus O'Sullivan - The Atlantic Cities: "Trees, bikes, and walking are in. Cars, historical protection, and new apartments are out. This is the gist of a new plan Madrid has hatched to help it catch up with its European neighbors. "

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Star comment: Cuts are a tram route to disaster

Express & Star: "The cuts unveiled today may help the transport authority to balance its books in the short term, but the consequences elsewhere could be to pave a road to ruin."

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Transport minister Lewis calls for free bus travel to reduce traffic

This Is Jersey: "Deputy Kevin Lewis is working on plans to make bus travel free for one day as a one-off initiative to help reduce traffic on Jersey’s packed roads and help the Transport department meet a States-backed reduction in congestion by 2015."

'via Blog this'

Could cities of the future have free public transport?

cnbc : ""We win more than lose," Edgar Savisaar, Mayor of Tallinn, said in May. "First of all, citizens have more mobility options in town. Secondly, there are environmental benefits, as air quality is getting better. Thirdly, there are major improvements in the traffic flow."

What could free public transport offer to other cities around the world? "You would make some direct operational savings by removing the complexity of the ticketing system, where you have cash payments that slow buses down," Peter White, Professor of Public Transport Systems at the University of Westminster, told CNBC.com."

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The lonely pedestrian

Step one, two, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ……

It's six in the morning and outside it is pitch-black. Even the moon is nowhere to be seen. And what am I doing this early? I am on my way to work to the place called Hoče, 7,2 km away. Equipped with a flashlight and looking forward to an adventure, the path takes me through an orchard and a vineyard with its sweet smell of ripe grapes. I can hear the early morning traffic noise from the valley, disturbing the peace of the night. But the moment I take the steep winding forest path downhill toward the old graveyard, again the silence embraces me. Now the graveyard candles light the way further down to the wakening settlement of Fram. 

…. 1589, 1590, 1591, 1592, 1593………. I look ahead, then turn around, not a soul. No pedestrians, just cars blinding my sight.

Cars are pulling over in front of the school. Parents have brought their children to school. Yes, children around here almost never walk to school. Kids are getting used to the car from their early childhood. When I started going to school 50 years ago, a car was so valuable and rare that my father wouldn't give me a ride, not even in his wildest dreams. And that's fine, because that way I could experience new things each time I walked to school with my classmates.

There. Now I find myself on the main road. Just passing by the bus station, where I often wait for the bus to take me to work. But not today. Today I just walk by. Today, I am a pedestrian. As I keep walking, a group of highschool kids look at me with surprise. The road doesn't have a sidewalk, so I walk along, on grass and sand. The first sunbeams fall across the sleepy landscape. Before me I see a long straight road section with cars rushing by.

……  3500, 3501, 3502, 3503, 3504, 3505, ……… I look ahead, turn around, not a soul. No pedestrians. Just me and my road.

I don't quite understand him barking and wagging his tail, but it's much nicer listening to him than to the noisy road. And this will not be the last friendly tail-wagger to welcome a lonely pedestrian and make his day.

...................4509, 4510, 4511, 4512, 4513, ……. I look ahead, turn around, not a soul. No pedestrians. Just me and my road, and a tragic scene every few hundred meters. A cat, sometimes a fox, snakes, frogs, birds, but mostly hedgehogs ran over by a car. You can't notice the slaughter while driving a car, but I can see it, because I am walking.

Have you ever noticed that plant diversity is much higher by the road than on the wide meadows? Near the road you can find: chicory, common sorrel, broadleaf plantain, mugwort, erigeron, milfoil, evening primrose, camomile, common dandelion, rough hawksbeard, thistle, tear-thumb and many more. And what about the meadows? There's nothing. Just grass for silage. For the milk to flow and a thriving business. Nobody cares about the fact that milk no longer contains extracts and vitamins given by the healing herbs growing near the road. I look around. All I see is a green desert and a noisy highway.

I'm walking and thinking. I have already walked half the way and my feet keep moving and moving. They don't need fossil fuels to move, only a bit of organic matter and a drop of accumulated sun energy from yesterday. We have conquered the planet on foot, and we will trample it down by car. This magnificent planet shouldn't be called Earth, but a planet of lunatics.

................ 5834, 5835, 5836, 5837, 5838, …………I look ahead, turn around, not a soul. No pedestrians. Just me and my road.

There is heavy traffic. Everybody's rushing to get to work. So do I. I look ahead. Bumper-to-bumper traffic. Suddenly the traffic lights go out and the vehicles stop moving. Some are nervously blowing their horns while I overtake them all. One after another. For a split of a second I'm faster than them. I'm moving closer and closer to the company, where I work. I can see it already. Another 20 minutes. My feet don't hurt and I feel good. Rested rather than tired.

................8756, 8757, 8758, 8759, 8760, 8761, ……. I look ahead, turn around, not a soul. No pedestrians. Just me and my road.

Oh, look at that. Deer and crows in the field, and there's a kestrel among them. What a beautiful sight. A flock of starlings rests on the electric wire. A stork is looking for the last remaining grasshoppers and reckless frogs, not far away from me the grey heron is touching down. A buzzard is sitting motionlessly on a willow, observing the action underneath, and I'm on my way to my workplace.

................ 10594, 10595, 10596, 10597, 10598, ………I look ahead, turn around, not a soul. No pedestrians. Just me and my road.

I take a left turn and after an hour and 35 minutes I reach my goal.

................ 11003, 11004, 11005, 11006 and the last 11007. step.

Now off to work and afterwards back home, probably on foot. I'll see. The walk home lasts a bit longer, because the last part is pretty steep. And picking mushrooms, chestnuts, wild grapes and plums takes a bit of my time as well.

This is a brief testimony of a solitary pedestrian, who desires to finally meet someone on his way to work, with whom he could share the same path, or just to say hi.

Time: October 2013
Location: Slovenia

From A to B: Morje pri Framu – Hoče

A: my home

B: company

Distance: 7,2 km

Number of steps: 11.007

Walk time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Why on foot or by bus: because I believe it is the right thing to do

Conclusion:

We are turning the planet into a gas cell and we're inside. Nature has not given us feet in order to sit in a car, step on the gas and pollute the air, but to walk and thus take care of our health as well as keep the environment clean. That's why. Step out of the car and hop on a bus, train, buy yourself a bicycle or make an effort to walk more. Action is required more than ever; mine, yours, everyone's.

The 21st century will be a century of personal maturing and social enlightenment. In this century of enormous social changes the humanity will fight the biggest battle of all time -- a battle between ourselves and our conscience. This will be a battle of personal decisions whose outcome will be crucial for us as well as future generations. The fight between good and evil, goodness and greed, modesty and lavishness, tolerance and violence, honesty and deception, bravery and fear will decide how we will enter the next century. As winners or as losers.