Alastair Dalton: Free bus travel for over-60s is vital

The Scotsman: "FREE bus travel for over-60s is a life-changer worth keeping, writes Alastair Dalton

Providing free bus travel for the over-60s and disabled will cost Scottish taxpayers over £200 million this year, nearly one third more than when the scheme was launched a decade ago."

The author says there should be more study about the benefits of bus travel. He can look here: http://fptlib.blogspot.com 

Scottish Socialist Party - Free Public Transport

Bicycle highways promote growth, extend life of #autosprawl

DW.COM: "Total cost for the 101 kilometers is estimated at around 184 million euros - that's about 1.8 million euros per kilometer.
Almost three-quarters of this (126.5 million euros) will be used to actually build the roads to the required standards. The rest will be distributed among taxes, planning costs, land purchase and illumination infrastructure."

Bike highways get bikes out of the way of cars  to allow more and faster auto traffic. They cost a lot of money and do nothing to reduce sprawl or growth. They actually make autosprawl worse.

Cardiff to set 20mph limits across the city - 20's Plenty for Us

20's Plenty: "20mph limits are being embraced by other large and capital cities in the UK and abroad.  The majority of the largest 40 UK authorities have a 20mph policy including other capitals – City of London and 80% of inner London boroughs, Edinburgh and the centre of Belfast. Paris, Milan and Grenoble are examples of European places announcing 30kph (18mph) limits too."

Take a look at hospital parking to see how the auto system is really unworkable

3,000 want Walsall Manor Hospital staff to park for free « Express & Star: "More than 3,000 people have signed an online petition calling for parking charges for clinical staff working at Walsall Manor Hospital to be scrapped."

Turku bus card offer converts thousands of motorists to public transport

yle.fi : "UUTISET
NEWS
News 4.3.2016 10:12
Turku bus card offer converts thousands of motorists to public transport
It can be tricky to get drivers to give up their cars and hop onto a bus, but an innovative scheme in Turku has helped more than 5,000 motorists swap their car keys for a bus card—free of charge. The special promotion runs to the end of March and is open to anyone who holds a driving license and doesn’t already have a bus card.



Turku has added thousands of new bus users in the last month. Image: Henrietta Lehtinen / Yle
Motorists in the Turku region are able to get a taste of bus travel this spring at no cost. The offer is open to anyone with a driving license who has not previously registered a bus card. If they sign up with Föli, the region’s transport authority, their first card will be loaded with 20 euros worth of travel.

The campaign has been extraordinarily successful since it started at the beginning of February, with some 5,000 motorists signing up to see what it’s like to travel by bus."

The car century was a mistake. It’s time to move on by @carfreecities

The Washington Post: "Transport, however, is not the only important use of streets. Streets are also our most important public social spaces. Most cities in Europe now acknowledge the terrible damage cars have done to this use, which is why cities all across Europe are discouraging automobile use in favor of walking, cycling and public transport. This is most clearly illustrated in Oslo, the first European capital to announce that its downtown core will soon be made car-free in order to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality, as well as to improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists."