Vietnam cities increasingly choked by traffic and pollution

Guardian: "Although two-thirds of Vietnam’s population live in rural areas, its two major cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, are increasingly choked by traffic and pollution. By some estimates, Hanoi is the most polluted city in south-east Asia, with concentrations of carcinogenic particles often measuring twice the recognised safe levels. The pollution is made worse by a huge annual increase in numbers of cars and motorcycles, while public transport remains inadequate."

We want to move the people, not the machine(s)

Malay Mail Online: "“We want to move the people, not the machine(s),” Azmin told reporters here.

“Is highway the only option? Of course we are looking at developed nations that are also looking at other public transportation options such as LRT (Light Rail Transit), BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), trams and this need(s) to be given focus,” he added."

Buses jammed, highways jammed. Population is blamed. Solution: #freetransit

Al Jazeera English: "Transport facilities have long lost their battle with exploding demand.
Even the most polite people turn into animal-like creatures when a bus or train arrives. Something that might have looked like a queue disappears instantly and the best and most aggressive pushers are getting on board. Unless every inch inside the vehicle is taken already.

I have learned this the hard way. Trying to be polite will cost you many hours of waiting on a weekly basis. The only real queues are the long lines of cars queuing patiently day-in, day-out on nearly every stretch of road in every major city. Yes, it is that bad."

Buy buses, not planes says MP

Free Malaysia Today: "JOHOR BAHRU: The federal government has been urged to pay for buses instead of paying for road construction.
If the government is so rich as to be able to purchase a new executive jet, there was no reason why buses cannot be subsidised by the government, said Liew Chin Tong, MP for Kluang.
He said new ideas were needed for public transport, as a social good. “The more people using public transport means fewer people driving on the road,” he said. “We need a paradigm shift from the government paying for road construction to the government paying for buses.”"

Oil extraction in Southeast Asia

@westernwitness

Public Transport Outsourcing and Risks

Sustainable Cities Collective: "Every world class city needs a functioning and accessible transportation network, however, Phnom Penhers mainly travel by tuktuk, car (Toyota Camry) or SUV (Lexus).

These large vehicles travel at a very slow pace among all the motorbikes and bicycles weaving between traffic in either direction.

Phnom Penh is flat, and everyone owns a bicycle or rides a cyclo, yet there are no bicycle lanes and very few sidewalks. The city has developed plans to ease the congestion, but little progress has been seen besides a few flyovers and “friendship” bridges.

While the bridges undoubtedly help connect the land between three rivers, the placement and design is quite inefficient -the two main bridges were built directly adjacent to one another."



'via Blog this'

Baspel Proposes Free Public Bus Rides For School Children

malaysiandigest : "KUALA LUMPUR -- The 1Malaysia Tour Bus Drivers Association (Baspel) has proposed that public bus operators provide free bus rides for school children to help ease the people's burden, especially parents.

Baspel president Noraizam Abdul Kadir said the proposal aimed to help parents so that they no longer had to spend much on bus fares.

"Baspel proposes that public bus operators provide free bus rides for students in school uniforms on school days to ease parent's burden," he said on the 'Ruang Bicara' talk show televised live over BernamaTV last night."