The "freedom" of the private auto vs the slavery of #publictransit

Daily Mail Online: "He said: 'There is a bit of a drinking culture among BA staff and on the flight back he indulges in the free alcohol.

'Normally when he gets back to Heathrow he uses public transport to get back to South Wales, it is cheaper and it means he can sleep.

'He doesn't know for whatever reason he decided to drive.'

He said Ford became a 'functioning alcoholic' following the shock death of his father in 2008 and added: 'The shock hit him quite hard. That was the start of his clinical depression and alcoholism.'"

How many people are depressed and self-medicating while driving? The auto system does not work.

Belgium - 1% of GDP goes to traffic congestion

Inverse: "And the problem is only getting worse. Brussels boasts a metropolitan population of 1.8 million, which has grown by 1.5 percent each year since 2000. “Traffic congestion in Belgium already costs 1 percent of the GDP annually for the nation,” says Keseru. “If the current situation continues, the city would come to a gridlock with serious economic, environmental, and social consequences. Accessibility of public institutions and workplaces would suffer and economic competitiveness would be impaired.” Couple worsening traffic with environmental degradation, and he fears companies and residents will flee the city."

UK "free market" buses a disaster

The Guardian: "Travel outside London, however, and Britain’s deregulated bus system reveals itself as the source of widespread, justified disgruntlement – an overpriced, inefficient, poor-quality mess. According to a report to be published this week, since deregulation in 1986 – unleashed with the promise that “more people would travel” – bus trips in big cities outside London have collapsed from 2bn to 1bn a year. In London, on the other hand, where everything from how much we pay to which routes exist is decided by the mayor and Transport for London, bus use since the 1980s has gone in the opposite direction: from around 1bn to more than 2bn trips a year. Britain’s bus privatisation disaster is a story of profit before need, and a discomfiting tale for those who believe the private sector automatically trumps the public realm."

Kostenfreies Schülerticket für ganz Hessen

Online Petition: "Die Unterzeichnerinnen und Unterzeichner ersuchen den Hessischen Landtag, den §161 Hessisches Schulgesetz zu streichen.

Er soll ersetzt werden durch folgenden Absatz:
"Die Schülerbeförderung in Hessen ist bis Ende der Sekundarstufe II kostenfrei.
Die Schülerinnen und Schüler in Hessen erhalten ein Schülerticket."

Chancengleichheit statt Benachteiligung auf dem Schulweg!
Der Landeselternbeirat Hessen und die Bildungsgewerkschaft GEW (als Erstunterstützerin dieser Petition) wollen Chancengleichheit für alle Schülerinnen und Schüler. Dazu gehört auch, dass der Besuch einer Schule nicht am Geldbeutel der Eltern scheitern darf, nur weil die Fahrkarte zu teuer ist. Das kostenfreie Schülerticket ist ein Baustein für Chancengleichheit."

Portugal's new government starts undoing privatizations, starting with public transport

Winnipeg Free Press: "LISBON, Portugal - Portugal's new Socialist government is making good on its promise to roll back the previous government's privatizations, with public transport companies first in line."

Paris to close Champs Elysees to cars one Sunday a month

Reuters: "Paris' Champs Elysees avenue will be closed to cars one Sunday a month to let pedestrians reign supreme, the mayor of the French capital announced on Wednesday."

Romania’s Timisoara will provide free public transport by boat on the canal crossing the city

insider : "Romania’s Timisoara will have a new means of public transportation starting this spring: boats on the Bega canal. The boat rides will be free."