Whatever the cause (and there’s good reason to blame all three to some degree), most so-called experts these days aren’t expecting oil prices to drop anytime soon. In fact, Newsweek this week features a sobering article titled, “The Coming Energy Wars,” that predicts we’ll soon see oil prices top $200 a barrel. When that happens, the authors warn, we can expect everything about our daily lives to change.

Which cities in the U.S. are best prepared to deal with the new reality of costly and/or scarce fuel? I’ve been thinking about this a lot, especially as I live in a part of the country (northwest Florida) that’s got little in the way of public transportation or walkability. On the other hand, I do live fairly close to Seaside, a community built according to the ideas of New Urbanism.

According to SustainLane’s ranking of the greenest cities in the U.S., the communities with the best options for commuting — including public transit, bicycling and walking — are Washington, D.C.; New York City; San Francisco; Boston; Philadelphia; Chicago; Baltimore; Seattle; Honolulu; and Portland, Oregon. But even cities like these could face serious problems if a down economy means fewer dollars for public transportation just when the need is greatest.

Daniel Lerch at Post Carbon Cities notes that’s already become an issue for Denver, which has seen sales tax revenues drop recently, forcing it to consider making cuts to the public transit system that depends on those tax dollars.

How does your region measure up? Post Carbon Cities features a neat Google Map showing parts of the U.S. and Canada that have taken steps to deal with the new energy reality. Among the places showing some foresight: Minnesota, whose legislature recently approved a resolution asking the governor to “prepare a plan of response and preparation to meet the challenges of Peak Oil”; Connecticut, which has launched an energy scarcity and sustainability task force; and San Francisco, which was the first city in the U.S. to approve a measure to deal with peak oil.

How are you preparing to live in a new age of pricey and hard-to-get fuel? I’m interested to hear what steps you’re taking in your part of the country: let me know!

Tonight’s theme on BIFASP is “Transport,” and it’s a show that will get diehard tech enthusiasts and community activists excited about the possibilities available for getting from here to there with a lighter environmental impact. Unlike some of the previous episodes, “Transport” takes viewers to places they’d probably expect, and definitely know: New York City, Portland, Oregon, and Boston. While New York’s famous for its public transportation, discussions with city transit officials show they’re moving forward rapidly to make an established system more user-friendly and sustainable. In Portland, human-powered transportation is the focus: Portland’s the most bicycle-friendly city in North America, and you’ll not only find out why, but also see how green transport evangelists are shopping its model around to other American locales.

If your inner techie is underwhelmed at this point, stick around for the third “big idea”: the City Car, a project in development at MIT’s Media Lab. Just imagine the offspring of car sharing, airport rental carts, and electric propulsion. “Transport” also features a range of experts filling in the gaps and connections between the stories told: tonight, you’ll hear from Environmental Defense Fund’s Michael Replogle, transportation consultant John Kaehny, David Suzuki, Simran Sethi, and others.

Following Big Ideas, Sundance presents the documentary Contested Streets, which takes an in-depth look at “New York City’s chronic gridlock and its concurrent quest for safer, less crowded streets.”

And, yes, we did pick a winner last week for our giveaway of a Sundance gift bag… but, no, we haven’t heard back from the winner, so, if you subscribed to the GO Media newsletter by May 20th, you may still have a shot… and if tonight’s episode of Big Ideas gives you a real green transport jones, spend some time at Gas 2.0 and CleanTechnica.

Seems logical, right? But knowing how your transportation costs can affect your decision on where to live isn’t easy. Fortunately, along comes a new online tool that makes it considerably easier.

The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index lets you see which parts of the U.S. are truly affordable when you factor in both housing and transportation costs. The index lets you zoom in and explore 52 metropolitan areas across the country and, to be honest, it’s both fascinating and a little addictive.
Go to the index’s results for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area, for example, and you’ll see the outlying regions — the suburbs and exurbs — are the most affordable when considering housing costs alone. Switch to a view that shows affordability when both housing and transportation costs are factored in, and the picture is almost entirely reversed. Many of those “reasonably priced” suburbs, it turns out, have housing-transportation costs that eat up 48 percent or more of the region’s median income.

Cooler still is the index’s “goal for affordability” tool. When you highlight that choice for a region, you’ll see in stark teals (less affordable) vs. yellows (more affordable) which areas let you keep housing and travel expenses below 45 percent of median income.

The index was developed by the Center for Neighborhood Technology in partnership with The Brookings Institution.

“The index tells an alternative story of affordability than we’ve become accustomed to hearing,” said Scott Bernstein, president of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. “The real estate pages may list 2- and 3-bedroom homes for under $150,000 in suburban communities. That sounds affordable, right? But once you factor in transportation costs, the bargain goes away. Transportation costs can be as much or more than housing costs. The index protects consumers by divulging those costs and helps planners and decision-makers work toward providing truly affordable housing.”

Check out the index yourself to see how your area measures in true affordability. I bet you’ll discover it gives a whole new, greener meaning to the old real-estate cliche of “location, location, location.”

27,500 students attend the university. “We encourage commuters to use alternate forms of transportation,” said Brian d’Autremont, TPS director. “Approximately 43 percent of UC San Diego commuters use some form of alternative transportation, including, bikes, buses, trains and vanpools.” In addition, last fall UC San Diego reduced the number of single occupancy vehicles on campus by 800 cars.

UC San Diego uses AlterNetRides as a platform, making it easy for staff and students to be matched with the van pool or carpool that best meets their destinations and schedules. Use of HOV lanes and access to preferred parking make shared rides considerably faster. Zipcar on campus makes cars available by the hour, helping students avoid the need for owning a car.

In 2006, UC San Diego doubled the number of people riding buses on campus. A key to this growth was establishing the best routes and schedules. UC San Diego uses realtime tracking and demand management software to do this. The University uses a hosted customized application from Syncromatics, which performs realtime tracking with GPS and cellular communication to determine the location and speed of each bus.

Another big payoff of UC San Diego’s alternative transportation is a reduction in needed parking spaces. Each spot in a parking structure costs the university $22,000 to $29,000.

More people will ride on transit if they know how to get to their destination and if long waits are not necessary. The Syncromatics realtime tracking system which integrates with Google Maps to show actual bus locations on an LCD in the student lounge, on arrival signage, on mobile devices, and even in text messages. Ridership continues to grow. Realtime Display

UC San Diego is supporting energy independence and climate solutions by encouraging clean transportation. The university fleet also is becoming more fuel efficient. Over time, the university’s 50-plus buses will be converted to hybrid CNG, reducing their emissions. UC San Diego Article The University is also purchasing 225 electric vehicles and 32 hybrid vehicles for its fleet.

The importance of climate solutions is integral to the institution. UC San Diego evolved from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography under the leadership of Roger Revelle, who with Charles Keeling first measured the growing atmospheric concentration of CO2. Revelle College is one of six of the university’s colleges. The National Academy of Sciences recognizes UC San Diego as one of the top ten science universities in the nation. Professors include Nobel Laureates Paul Crutzen and Mario Molina whose chemistry research with Sherwood Rowland lead to the discovery of the ozone hole and the Montreal Protocol.

The University of California has made a system-wide commitment to reduce carbon emissions, energy consumption and reliance on imported fossil fuels. The University supports and adheres to the UC Policy on Green Building Design, Clean Energy Standard, and Sustainable Transportation Practices.

Universities and Colleges are leading in many areas of transportation demand management. An encyclopedia of best practices is available at the Victoria Institute.

John Addison speaks at conferences and publishes the Clean Fleet Report.

They disregard sitting capacity here and the bus is never full until the last passenger tilts with it while hanging precariously on the door rails. And there will still be enough room for another one! The foul-mouthed crew had packed passengers at the previous stop like sardines on a hot afternoon with temperatures running to nearly 40° C (104° F) and one must endure the sticky sweat of the person sitting next to you.

That person most probably will be a rotund lady with a basket-full of damp clothes and groceries as well as sun-dried fish and a live chicken for soup on one hand. On the other will be a six-month old baby with his mouth holding on to his mother’s teat, and a two year old wailing profusely and tagging along.

The bus window next to your seat won’t open and your legs won’t fit the spacing forcing you to put your leg astride to expose your feet on the aisle, also packed with all sorts of goods, from a sack of charcoal to sticks of sugarcane. You feel like a caged animal. Sounds familiar?

Back in Nairobi, it has been choking with traffic lately and getting to and out of the central business district is a daily nightmare for many office workers. Unkempt, narrow and potholed roads that sometimes look like cattle paths are bothersome enough, but when you add the vehicular congestion and smog from exhaust fumes to the already teeming human masses that compete for every available space with cars it is disgusting.

As if adding more salt to injury, early in March, the local government ministry responsible for metropolitan Nairobi directed all public commuter vehicles from the eastern side of the city where the poor majority resides out of the city center.

The result? Junior office employees and blue collar workers are forced to walk three or more kilometers into and out of the city to the nearest bus terminal each morning and evening against their will.

Now carrier bicycles and mopeds (known as boda boda) are taking over, ferrying for a fee those who for some reason wouldn’t walk to the city center. And there are no bike paths here so the jostling on the roads…

To say that Nairobi has no functional bus system is an understatement - it is daily chaos and exasperation for many commuters. I saw similar confusion in Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria a few years ago but I was surprised that the public transportation system in Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa was so systematic, with everything falling into place without any major hitches.

The local government ministry responsible for metropolitan Nairobi has introduced shuttle buses from the bus terminus, which many ignore because of the additional fare. Walking here is cheap and bliss; Kenya is a Walking Nation not a Working Nation as commuters waste an average of three hours daily trying to reach their respective destinations. And we have not factored the carbon gases emitted into the atmosphere by running engines of cars stuck in snarl-ups for hours on end.

Typically, traffic jams in the morning and afternoon rush hours are a fact of life and a twenty kilometer stretch many take you over two good hours on a normal day, enough to fly the 400 kilometers between Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa, back and forth.

Then there is the matatu menace. Or the taxi vans on many African roads from Nairobi to Dakar to Kampala to Lagos. These are laws unto themselves; the acrobatic drivers overtake on blind rises and return to their lanes at 130 kph without much ado. Blaring music and colorful graffiti are their hallmarks, yet some have bald tires and doors hanging from their hinges. All this going unnoticed by traffic police at strategic roadblocks for a bribe!

Some are classic case studies on social media with stickers like: “Sex using a condom is like eating a sweet with the wrapper on” or “A woman is like a magazine, you drop her someone picks her up again”. Or “The driver only drives, but Jesus receives you at your final destination”.

So if you can endure breakneck speeds, haphazard maneuvering on potholed roads, jostling and bustling and crumpled bus cabins on a hot afternoon, dusty and filthy bus parks with overflowing toilets and no running water, jungle law where bribes speak for you, take a ride with me…

Photo credit: Flickr

Not much of a story there.

When there is not much happening in Switzerland and I need to file an EcoWorldly post, I usually look at wider Europe. My notes on bus travel in other nations around Europe read: mostly reliable, mostly clean, mostly efficient.

Still not much to write home about.

And then I read Pem Charnley’s article about bus transportation in Britain, which struck much more of a chord. Having recently written here about the woeful state of British rail transportation, I thought it might be appropriate to continue Pem’s theme and recount my experience of bus travel when I returned to our sunny island for a brief visit recently.

The story starts in the West Midlands with a Saturday shopping trip from my residence in Warwick to the nearby town of Royal Leamington Spa. As before, I shall evaluate the transport infrastructure of the 4^th richest nation in the world using some carefully chosen criteria.

Time

British bus firms are fully committed to the information age, providing extensive online timetable and route information. Many bus company websites look as if they were designed by a 12 year old in the late ‘90s, but all the required information was available to help me plan, allowing me to set off for the bus-stop in plenty of time.

Arriving at the bus-stop, I was curious to note that the faded and stained timetable displayed at the stop didn’t match the information provided on the web. After some initial concern I began to realise that the published timetables are anyway irrelevant since British buses run to their own, secret timetable. This time table is determined by a complex formula based on the average time taken to smoke a packet of cigarettes and drink several cups of tea, multiplied by the number of pages in The Sun newspaper.

I once thought that bus-shelters were vandalised by bored youths with no other outlets for their frustrations. Now I know that they are vandalised by people tired of wasting their lives waiting for busses with no other outlets for their frustrations.

Travel Experience

Eventually, a bus appeared on the horizon. I stood at the curbside expectantly as the bus roared straight past me leaving me standing bewildered in a fog of diesel fumes. It seems that for a bus to stop for a single passenger only, he or she must display the appropriate level of desire to travel in order to justify the inconvenience of stopping. You see, bus services are heavily focused on convenience - the driver’s that is, not the passenger’s.

I now know that in this circumstance one must wave an arm, jump up and down a little and stand partly in the road in order to demonstrate to the driver that one is really committed to the journey. If possible, try to make eye contact with the driver - just so there is no doubt that you really are waving at the bus and not at some other moving object.

Some people may say that standing in a busy road and staring down a 20 ton bus is dangerous, but personally I like a little adventure on my travels.

On boarding the bus, however, enthusiasm begins to wane. I remember as a child that sitting on the top deck of a double-decker bus was a fun experience – one can look down on other cars, see into other peoples gardens and generally feel a little more elevated than normal.

Unfortunately, I seriously doubt that the cleaning staff have ever stepped foot on the top deck of a bus in the West Midlands. The floor is strewn with litter, the windows are opaque with grime and the air smells like the stair-well of a town centre multi-story car park (UK residents will know the odour to which I refer). Instead of feeling elevated, one feels quite the opposite.

To summarise the travel experience, it can be said that once one gets the hang of it, the experience is functional, if not entirely sanitary.

Cost

Bus travel is not expensive. But value for money depends on how many times you have to buy the same ticket – allow me to elaborate;

Having survived the outbound journey, done some shopping, waited seemingly endlessly for the bus home, become hungry, brought a sandwich and waited around in the cold a while longer, a bus finally arrived. Unfortunately I was unable to board immediately - once the arriving passengers had alighted the driver immediately jumped out of the bus to have a cigarette with a colleague parked in the next bay. If you ever doubt that bus drivers can physically move quickly then just watch one go for a break.

Meanwhile the queue of passengers shivered in the cold while the empty busses sat chugging diesel fumes into the air.

Eventually our driver grudgingly got back to business, allowing the weary looking queue of travellers to board his bus. He was a charming fellow, and as I waited for him to take the fare from the passenger in front of me I presumed he was married to a lady named Kate – at least by the letters A T E which I noticed were tattooed on his last three knuckles. On seeing his forefinger I realized that I wrong about this, just as I had been naive about so many aspects of this journey. I was about to understand that the forefinger ‘H’ merely completed the motto instilled on the customer service training course.

Pesenting the return ticket that I had purchased some hours previously, I was told rather bluntly that “You can’t come on this bus with that ticket”.

Certain that there must be some confusion I explained that I had brought it earlier this morning and invited this ambassador of Travel West Midlands to inspect the ticket more closely.

“Wrong bus.” He explained flatly. Sensing my confusion with his special talent for empathy, the driver tiredly explained that I was holding a ticket issued by the Stagecoach bus company, which runs similarly liveried busses on the same route. Reluctantly he pointed to the Stage Coach bus in the next bay as it pulled away, driven by his smoking companion. I’m all for competition in public transport, but a little bit of integration would be useful. Besides, on what are these two firms competing? Rudeness, dirtiness, lateness, hopelessness?

In resignation at my fate I asked for a new ticket, but it wasn’t to be. Having only a £10 note for the £1.25 fare proved to be the final obstacle of my journey as the Travel West Midlands employee of the month told me he didn’t have enough change for the £10, and suggested that I either wait for another bus or get some smaller currency. There was little interest in exploring solutions for this predicament – it was apparently my problem, and bizarrely, he suddenly had a schedule to keep.

I took my £10, and went to look for a taxi.

Conclusion

I don’t wish to sound crass, but in most of the UK busses are only for poor people, or people that for some other reason can’t drive. It is clear that even the most ardent environmentalist would choose a car instead of submitting to this hell on a daily basis. And if you think I am exaggerating then I challenge you to try this for yourself on a cold, damp Saturday morning.

I’ve been on busses in third world countries, where passengers share space with goats and chickens, where the most relaxing place to sit is on the roof and where the driver employs an assistant to wipe the front windshield – whilst the bus is still moving. But although third world transport may lack comfort, it does not lack civility. Sharing space with livestock is one thing, but feeling like livestock is another.

My notes for bus travel in Britain read: avoid.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

1. You have access to a good schedule and map of the bus routes. Certain places get a gold star for laying out a detailed, clear schedule. Others leave you guessing on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

Getting from A to B punctually and happily on the bus requires that you do a little bit of homework first. Your local bus is your city or town’s low-cost green chauffeur service. Find out where Jeeves stops as well as how often the lines run at different times of day and on the weekends.

If you’re traveling out of town on local buses, make yourself a travel itinerary of the connections to other bus or transit services. To avoid stress, especially if it’s the first time you make a particular trip, leave yourself plenty of time. When you transfer between bus companies, be sure to give yourself about a 20 minute window to catch your connecting bus. Give yourself more transfer time if the connecting bus comes less frequently than every hour.

Best on schedules: Most of the San Francisco Bay Area, California. In most of the world, schedules are available from the kiosk where you buy your bus tickets or at the bus stop. This has been my experience in Korea, Venezuela, Italy, etc. In addition to this, the SF Bay Area an easy-to-use website (511.org) and phone help line (dialing 511) with schedules, fares, connections… you name it.

Bust on schedules: Napa, California. In my experience, I’m embarrassed to say that one of my hometowns, Napa, California, is an example of a place where schedules are missing on bus stops, connections between other transit systems are horribly timed, and service is spotty on weekends. You’d think that in the valley where the world comes to get fashionably tipsy, there would be better mass transit.

Bonus on schedules: Buses get bonus points for coming more frequently than every 30 minutes. Excellent bus lines come every 5-10 minutes. More bonus points for coordinating effective, timely schedules with other transit companies to make transfers easier. Add extra kudos if there are regular evening, nighttime, and weekend buses.

2. You feel clean and comfortable on the bus. Suffice it to say that if a station or bus stop smells like urine, it’s not the nicest transit experience and it’s probably not going to attract the most elegant riders. Sorry Amy Winehouse.

Best on cleanliness and comfort: Seattle, Washington. For me, Seattle sealed the deal for comfort by offering a free wireless internet connection on some of its commuter buses. A close runner up is South Korea because of its cleanliness. The seats and floors are cleaned regularly by attentive drivers. Also, the bus stations themselves are hubs of socializing and shopping, which is pleasant and inviting.

Bust on cleanliness and comfort: San Francisco, California. San Francisco’s buses are amazingly frequent and widespread. They’re excellent for getting you where you want to go. Don’t get me wrong; I love traveling by bus in the city of gold, fog, and flowers. But let’s talk about the smell. The number 6 bus line, for example, runs on a route with especially few frequent showerers. 6, why can’t you be more like the 38, where smartly dressed men and women exchange glances while reading the Chronicle? What’s more, the SF Greyhound station could also benefit from a little “no peeing zone” signage. And while we’re on the subject, does anyone ever wash the seat covers on BART?

Bonus on cleanliness and comfort: Bicyclists among us appreciate the comfort of placing one’s bicycle on the bus rack to take a brake from the grind of pedals and relax on the bus from time to time. Bike racks on buses are definitely a bonus.

3. You feel safe on the bus. The importance of not feeling like you’re going to die should not be overlooked. First of all, riding bus is much safer than driving a car. Let’s just say that if your hummer or SUV and my bus get in a fight, I’m pretty sure my bus would win. Bus drivers are also transit professionals while too many car drivers are either inexperienced teens, Speed Racer fans, or cousin Joe with a six pack in the passenger seat.

Best on safety: South Korean Express Buses. Buses in Switzerland may be more posh; buses in Seattle may have free Wi-Fi; buses in Japan may be a hair more punctual. Still, for some reason, when I get on the bus in Korea, I’m more able to calmly forget about traffic and relax than on many other bus systems.

Bust on safety: None of the following make me feel especially secure.

• Busing through the cardboard housing ghettos of Los Angeles, California. Although the LA bus system in general is just as safe as any other, it’s the ghettos that’ll get ya. A two-year study by the University of California Transportation Center found that about six times each day, someone gets drunk enough or crooked enough to make bus travel unpleasant in LA’s inner city areas.
• Riding the bus on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. For all its beauty, amico mio, it seems like a small miracle each time a bus doesn’t fall off the side of sheer cliffs or get pummeled in the narrow tunnels along this coast.
• The number 25 bus route in London. According to London Local, this is London’s most dangerous bus route. Has anyone taken this route?

What makes a good bus ride for you? What good or bad bus experiences have shaped how (or if) you ride the bus?

Resources:

The Bus Station | Find information on buses around the world.

511.org | Transit information and more for the San Francisco Bay Area

Photo Source: Flickr

Last week, we asked what issues matter most to you. With the initial results rolling in, we’ll concentrate first on public transportation, which currently leads as the number one issue on everyone’s minds.

Recently, Pem brought us a chilling account of England’s bus system, which has much room to improve. We’ll follow this article with a focus on the bus as a public transportation method.

All week long, EcoWorldly writers from six continents will put their heads together to describe bus travel in different countries around the world.

As we explore bus systems around the world, lend us your thoughts. What good or bad experiences have you had with buses? Do you think that taking the bus is a good transportation option?

The wind howls, the setting some kind of Arctic wind tunnel. Sure, there’s a waiting room over there, but it’s deserted. And no wonder. The strip lighting such an intense hue that it dazzles – a fluorescent goldfish bowl that makes the squall preferable.

There’s only a few people here. A mum yells at her kids, then tells her friend about her recent sex life, the wind carrying her conquests to the damp corners of the platform and anyone unfortunate enough to have hearing as functional as her genitals.

To use the bus is not a green option, it’s the last ditch attempt of the stranded.

I loathe the fact I can’t drive tonight. My mind drifts back to when I was 17 and stole a car, took me and my mates to the hills before writing it off and waking up in hospital to be told I’d need an operation to rebuild my nose.

The joys of youth. The joys of joyriding. I never got behind a wheel again. I instinctively always put my pedal to the metal and treated country lanes as the world rally championships. I now know that I’m being punished.

Tonight, I wish I’d got a car.

The bus drivers awaiting their shift huddle around the No Smoking signs. Smoking. Scaffolding obscures the bay where my bus is due and the twenty minutes remaining stretch off into the blackness. I bury my chin inside my coat collar and wait.

The bus arrives. I pay. I take a seat. Just me and three others. The stench inside is overpowering. I imagine a hobo’s armpit. I bury my nose inside my coat collar, ruing the fact they rebuilt it.

As we collectively navigate our way along the roads, a rogue cola can chimes with the bends, rolling first that way, then back again. The atmosphere is cloying as all the passengers stare straight ahead, eyes appearing haunted by the experience, all desperate for their destination.

This is a travesty! An insult to the tax payer. A Dickensian scene powered by diesel. The chancellor’s coffers funding an illegal war rather than tackling this disgrace.

I thank the driver, alight, glad it’s over.

A short trip, yet another reminder that the UK’s public transport has a long journey ahead. How can this land have stooped so low?

Source:

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

So who are the world’s most railway friendly countries, and what can we learn from them about implementing practical rail services that people will actually want to use?

Data provided by The International Union of Railways shows Japan as the world leader among major economies in rail kilometres per inhabitant, followed by Europe lead by the Swiss. The United Kingdom comes, unsurprisingly, near the bottom, with the USA coming last - US citizens traveling one thirteenth the distance of the Japanese by rail.

Japan

The fully privatised rail transport network is a popular mode of transport for the Japanese, who are pioneers of the high-speed “bullet train” or “shinkansen” which travels at speeds close to 200mph. With high speed rail links between major cities providing the fastest and most convenient method of getting from A to B Japanese trains are famously punctual, and drivers pride themselves on timing stops to the exact second.

Switzerland

Switzerland is home to the most dense railway network in the entire world, with only the smallest and most remote villages missing a railway station. Switzerland may currently lack the high speed trains used in Japan and in neighbouring countries Italy, France and Germany, but it’s trains are always clean and on time - if lacking the exact per second accuracy of the Japanese. The Swiss take great pride in their railways, and so tolerate the thumping financial losses sustained by the state owned railways each year.

United States

By contrast, passenger travel in the United States barely gets a look-in against the bus, airplane and automobile. Much of this is due to the geography of the US, being sparsely populated with vast distances between cities. However, with rising fuel costs and congestion at airports and on highways there has been renewed interest in the potential development of high speed rail services within the US in recent years.

Whilst the latter part of the 20th century has seen a continuous decline in rail travel across the world, with many favouring the speed of the airplane or the personal freedom of the automobile, population growth and environmental concerns are slowly bringing rail back in to favour. In twenty years rail travel around the world may look very different - with its many wide open spaces providing far more scope for high speed rail development than more densely populated countries in Europe and Asia, perhaps the US has the opportunity to become a rail world leader?

See also: Britain: My Worst Rail Experiences Ever

That’s a 32% increase since 1995.

via GreenCarCongress

Photo Credit

Several weeks ago, EcoWorldly investigated public transport options around the world in a series of articles which concluded that public transport can be a pleasant, effective and extremely viable form of transportation.

During the week we looked at many positives, from bus travel in South Korea, to Rail Travel in Europe and even Camel Transport in the desert.

But what of the negative aspects of public transport? These aspects are becoming increasingly important, since despite the best efforts of governments and environmental groups, motorists will not give up the car unless viable alternatives exist.

Authors, Anthony Miall and Davil Milsted, wrote in The Xenophobes Guide To The English, “The English take an almost masochistic pride in their public transport system, a system which even a third world country would consider as a disgrace.” With this in mind, and having previously had the opportunity to sample public transport around the world from the Railways of India, Thailand and China, to the Metro of Mexico City, the River Boats of Dubai and the cross country buses of Guatemala - not to mention the super efficient railways where I live in Switzerland - I decided to sample the railways of my native Britain once again to see how they compare against the rest of the world, and more importantly, against the car.

Were Miall and Milsted right or wrong? After evaluating my British railway experiences from several different perspectives, here are my conclusions:

Cost

“That will be 92 pounds please sir,” asked the clerk behind the ticket counter at Coventry station.

“No, I’m sorry - I would like a single ticket to London, second class,” I replied, being sure that my initial request had been misunderstood - no doubt due to the the thick wall of glass and scratchy intercom that separated us in order to isolate rail workers from lower life forms such as passengers.

“Yes, 92 pounds,” he answered testily, oblivious to the fact that this sum of money could have easily transported me by aircraft to Helsinki, Barcelona, Estonia, practically any destination in Europe, much less the 1 hour train ride to London.

In disbelief I handed over my credit card, just as a helpful passenger in the queue behind me pointed out that if I asked instead for a return ticket, then my journey would be significantly cheaper - which it was, by almost half.

Whereas fares in most countries are a simple mathematical function of distance travelled, class of travel and sometimes age of traveller, in the UK it appears that a whole new branch of mathematics has been devised to calculate rail fares which is well beyond my understanding. Meanwhile the ticket clerk’s eyes remained focused on something far in the distance as he no doubt wondered how anybody could be so stupid as to not understand why a day-return is cheaper than a single ticket.

Time

Having quickly become used to the experience of daylight robbery, which is effectively rail travel in Britain today, my initial expectation was of fast and efficient travel - after all, those huge amounts of cash must end up somewhere, right?

At 10.42 my train had yet to arrive. Ok, 2 minutes late is not a problem. At 10.52, by which time a Japanese train driver would be reaching for his Samurai sword, there was still no sign of a train. Never mind, as an Englishman, one rarely complains and tries to maintain a stiff upper lip in all circumstances. By 11.00, presumably having finished his tea break, the Station Master (or whatever they call themselves these days) made an announcement informing expectant passengers that our train would be 50 minutes late due to “congestion in the Reading area”.

Congestion? Trains? I had always, and apparently wrongly understood that congestion was a phenomena attributable to road traffic: random variations in traffic volume which can lead to buildups of heavy traffic in some areas and hence delays, known as congestion.

Trains, on the other hand, rely on a strict schedule, known as a Timetable which is designed to ensure that the journeys planned match the infrastructure available. Clearly the mathematicians at work in the fare calculation department have also had a hand in timetabling, using perverse forms of mathematics to introduce random variability and therefore congestion into the timetable.

Non UK residents often dismiss jokes about British railway problems such as delays due to “Leaves on the line” and “Wrong kind of snow.” Surely this is typical British over exaggeration of the pessimistic side of life? Few realize that just like congestion, these are genuine announcements heard by many a traveler on our island.

Facilities

British Railway stations are often windswept and desolate places. If you ever want to know what the end of the world may feel like, and if you can stand the smell of urine, then spend 30 minutes waiting at Southampton Central station, or Birmingham International, or any number of passenger confinement areas around the country.

Many of these hubs of the British transport network feature cosy warm cafes and book shops, providing glimpses of civilization. The trains themselves feature useful innovations such as small shops, bars, Internet access and power outlets for laptops. In fact pretty much every need is catered for, except that of actually getting to your destination on time.

Many toilets are equipped with sophisticated hygienic systems, such as touch free toilet flushers, taps and soap dispensers. In fact, railway staff have such confidence in the ability of these systems to provide the ultimate in toiletry hygiene that they stopped actually cleaning them years ago.

Summary

Accepted, this article fails to look on the bright side. But is my experience atypical? No. Talk to many UK rail travelers and they will recount similar and frequent experiences. The real problem is that, unfortunately, many people expect little more and are subsequently conditioned to favour the car and to discount public transport as ill-effective.

If we are serious about moving people from private to public transport then we must first focus on providing a system that people can feasibly use, and which meets our real needs for freedom of mobility.

I no longer live in the UK, but if I did, having been spoiled by the comparative luxury of public transport in other parts of the world, I believe I would have some serious reservations about selling the car and submitting my self to the purgatory of British rail transport.

Unfortunately Miall and Milsted were undoubtedly correct.

Photo courtesy of Luke Seall.

As for India, it has been two years since I went back and whenever I go I tend to visit the same 2 or 3 places. I always go to New Delhi. I think based on Delhi alone I would say I have seen a strange dichotomy. On the one hand, Delhi has planted a lot of trees in recent years in an attempt to counteract the increasing air pollution.

In fact, a few years ago there were boards all over the city promoting “Keep Delhi Green.” They also have created a Metro rail system that runs within Delhi as well as to some outlying areas. From my experience traveling on it as well as accounts of friends and relatives who used it recently, it is fast, efficient, and clean. It’s hard to find anything that actually stays clean in Delhi!

On the flip side of these environmentally-friendly strides, you have the introduction of a ridiculous amount of cars on to the already crammed roads of this congested city. I’m sure you read about the Tata Motors Nano.

Automobile-generated pollution aside, I would have to commend India on at least emphasizing “reuse” more than I see here in the US. In the US, it is far more expensive to go have something repaired if it has been damaged. Thus, most people just go out and purchase a new product. Helps GDP. However, this mentality generates a lot of waste. I recently caught myself swept up in this mentality as well since it is all around us. This is a simple example: in India, if you have a damaged shoe you can find a repairman sitting out on the street or even if you take it to a shop it will not cost you a lot to fix up the shoe. In the US, shoe repair is so expensive most times you’re better off just going out and buying a new pair of shoes even if it is just one shoe that is damaged.

Deepti currently lives in California, the United States of America, where she works as a credit analyst

Here is something that might surprise you though: Singaporeans don’t recycle. Or if they do, it’s not as blatantly apparent as in the United States. Occasionally, you’ll see a receptacle on the street that is divvied up into plastics/metals, paper and waste, but for the most part, everything gets tossed into one big trash can. Trash shoots aren’t sorted into blue recyclables and black everything-else-goes here. I remember once during the summer, I was sorting trash while at work when my boss came up to me and asked what I was doing. Apparently it’s all just trash over there — nothing specific about it.

Lately, however, there has been a growing concern in the country, due to rapid industrialization and urbanization. Over recent months, the government has been giving the country a massive developmental face lift, introducing towering high-rise apartments and chicly designed shopping plazas to rival those of Paris, Tokyo and New York City. There are more plans to introduce casinos (”integrated resorts”) and a Formula One race track — all for the sake of drawing more tourists to Singapore and boosting the country’s economy.

Financially, this may seem lucrative, but for a country that barely covers 270 square miles (think about half the size of Hawaii’s Oahu island) and is already a dot on the map, space is limited. Downtown metropolitan areas and subway cars have become bodies-packed-like-sardine-cans during rush hour, and real-estate sites have popped up left and right. All the recent developments have had environmentalists wondering just how much more land the government is going to sacrifice for the sake of a good business venture.

But does that mean Singaporeans don’t care about the environment? I don’t think so. This is a country that prides itself on being clean, green and beautiful, and almost everything — including water — is imported. There are other ways Singaporeans express their care for Mother Nature. Recently, larger branches of grocery and shopping outlets have started charging extra for plastic bags. Some designer shops have even gone out of the way to make eco-friendly bags that are hip and trendy — à la the popularity of Anya Hindmarch’s “I Am Not A Plastic Bag.” And of all the renovations that have been going underway, one was for the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a park filled with lush trees and gardens located just off the cusp of Orchard Road. And there are probably more eco-friendly movements underway, but on the surface, they’re not readily apparent.

Do I consider myself to be an environmentalist? I care about the environment, but I don’t think I make a conscious enough effort to be considered passionate — I don’t always recycle, or turn off the tap when I’m brushing my teeth. I think I often leave the house with a light bulb or two on. But on the other hand, I walk almost everywhere and make it a point to somewhat sort my trash. In all fairness, I think I walk a middle road.

Julie is an American who has lived in Singapore. She currently lives in California, the United States of America, where she is a university student.

Levitating Monorail, Germany. An electric car? Cool. An electric train? Awesome. An upside down electric monorail?? Now that qualifies as unusual public transportation. Believe it or not, this transit system was built over 100 years ago. While Ford was fidgeting with his “quadricycle,” the city of Wuppertal built this transportation marvel that still appears ahead of its time today.

It’s a zero emissions, all electric transit system, and it floats through Wuppertal (the self-styled “German San Francisco”) with over 20 million passengers a year. Photo: Flickr

Mae Klong Train Market, Thailand. Yes, those are train tracks running through that market. One of the shortest train routes in Thailand is also one of the most bizarre. Ambling past windmills and salt flats, the train stops halfway through its route at a river. Right, no bridge. So, people get out and ferry across to a second train, which picks up where the first left off. But wait, it gets better…

In order to arrive at the Mae Klong station, the train must pass right through the middle of a crowded street market. Vendors quickly pull in their stalls several times a day as the train goes by. For an excellent account of the journey, read Steve Van Beek’s article on the Tourism Authority of Thailand website or this article at 2Bangkok.com, or see this video. Photo: Thai-Blogs.

Buscycle, United States and Netherlands. Forget the bus… All I want to do is bicycle! Now you can do both. Peddling its way across the United States, here comes the Buscycle. It’s a 15 passenger bus, stripped to the bolts and refitted with bicycle parts. See this great video for more, or visit the official Buscycle website.

But believe it or not, the U.S. Buscycle isn’t the only one of its kind. Buscycles have also appeared in Eindhoven, Netherlands, courtesy of some creative students. In fact, businesses are even invited to use a modified buscycle in team building workshops. As the Utne Reader observes, if this catches on, it could hail a whole new era of carbon-free transit. Photo: Flickr.

General Class Rail Ticket, India. Indian trains are a travel experience unlike any other in the world. There are nine classes of trains in India. Travelers can take the easy route in air-conditioned first class on the 140 km/h Rajdhani Express. Tea lovers can visit Darjeeling, a World Heritage Area, on the Darjeeling “Toy Train.” Vacationers can even partake in some extravagance and pampering on the Palace on Wheels.

But some would say that you haven’t traveled in India until you buy a general class rail ticket during the summer. It’s not always as packed as in this picture, but you’re sure to get to know your neighbors. Passengers unable to fit inside the cars sometimes ride on top, as parodied in this Ballywood video. Before you go, here’s some advice on Indian rail travel. Photo: Marcofolio.

South Lake Union Trolley (SLUT), United States. Come ride the S.L.U.T.! Seattle, so the story goes, was preparing to roll out a new street car system for the Lake Union district when the powers that be realized the unfortunate acronym. Whatever the real story, the S.L.U.T. (actually called the South Lake Union Streetcar) is a great way to get a giggle with your ride.

Besides introducing the world to the S.L.U.T., Seattle also boasts a short but chic monorail, free downtown bus fare, and commuter buses with free WI-FI. You can even take a ride to the popular local hamburger chain, Dick’s… Oh dear. Photo: City of Seattle.