Day 18: Public Transport
Originally published: 19th April, 2020 on Facebook and Instagram
#Day18 #EarthDay2020 #LatePost
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
I tried to write this about three times now. It didn’t seem appropriate, especially in the current covid19 situation when we all just wish we could go out the way we used to, meet our loved ones, hug them.
From a sustainable standpoint, public transport is very important and so, I am discussing it here. If and when it is safe to travel again, I hope that more of us think of the contribution of transportation to climate change, and be mindful of our choices. Now that we know that our smallest actions can make such a huge impact, this is our opportunity to contribute positively.
Transportation, by far, forms the biggest chunk of energy usage in the world, and therefore, the biggest chunk of carbon emissions too. The 2018 IPCC report says that 23% of total energy related CO2 emissions are from the transportation sector. 94% of the total transport energy demand is in the form of petroleum (that is around 53% of total oil produced). This is a major security concern (because only few countries in the world control oil production and pricing) and is a harmful source of pollution (petroleum oil wells are an extreme source of air, water and soil pollution).
If we can get more people to their destinations with as little energy as possible, that would reduce the carbon footprint per person. And that’s where public transportation comes into the picture.
In India, I never felt the need to drive at all. Public transportation was often extremely convenient and cheap way to get from one place to another. It also meant not having to drive during the rush hour traffic. Yes, we’ve all seen those overcrowded buses and trains… that’s not something that I endorse, but safe, east-to-use public transportation is our best chance to continue increasing opportunity and development without causing overcrowded roads and greenhouse gas emissions. Good public transportation is something to be proud of, maintain cleanly, and use regularly.
I hear Europe is also really good with this as well. In the US, well, not so much… and unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like something that is priority for infrastructure development. Cars are still a necessity rather than a convenience in the US.
Public transportation can,
(1) Reduce carbon emissions per person
(2) Create employment opportunities
(3) Provide a cheap transportation choice for low income households. Create a sense of independence in people
(4) Enable the use of alternative fuels such as electricity and biofuels. Encourage innovation and technology development with alternative fuels and more efficiency. This technology may be more easily scalable and implementable in larger scale.
(4) Reduce traffic congestion
(5) Improve health of people (not breath in those harmful fumes in traffic)
(6) Public transportation is often safer too and could help reduce accidents
I would love to hear all of your experiences from different places all over the world… This might be a good way to know what options are out there and how we can make this better.
Reference: https://www.ipcc.ch/.../2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_chapter8.pdf
