Brussels to Make Public Transportation Free – On Bad Air Pollution Days

goodnewsnetwork : "The legislators of Brussels have announced that public transportation and bike-sharing systems will be free for use on days when air pollution exceeds quality limitations set by the European Union.

On such smoggy days, city authorities also plan on banning the use of wood stoves and cutting automotive speed limits by one third."

Health or cars? Capitalism chooses cars. No surprise. It's a war.

German Cities Refuse to Launch Free Public Transport - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency: "Five cities in Germany did not approve the idea of ​​providing free public transport to improve air quality, calling it unrealistic, DPA reported."

The automobile provides subsidized profit. Even they will sacrifice health and the biosphere to keep them running. They twist into pretzels finding ways to keep the car system going.

Free Public Transit Cheaper Than Unmitigated Climate Change

Care2 Causes: "But the German government is pragmatic. If three ministers are backing this, you can safely assume that free transit is possibly one of the cheapest solutions to the complex but well-understood problem of vehicle emissions. Emissions from fossil-fuel burning vehicles are a public health problem, an environmental problem, and a national security problem. The cost of either inaction or insufficient action is markedly higher than the economic costs of much more dramatic action now."

Disingenuous attack on #freetransit ignores auto subsidy

Seoul City spends W4.8b to reduce 0.8 ton of fine dust: "The city government spent 14.5 billion won ($13.4 million) to offer free public transportation during morning and evening rush hours on Jan. 15, 17 and 18 as part of emergency measures to combat high levels of fine dust.

This means it cost the city 4.8 billion won to prevent 800 kilograms of fine dust, or 6 million won per kilogram."

Corporate media ignores the fact that pollution exists because of subsidy to the auto system. For them, it is ok to spend tax dollars creating pollution, but "too expensive" to do anything that reduces it.

#crisisactors, racism, #autosprawl meltdown

The US empire is in decline. There is no money to pay for the upkeep of all the highways, bridges, and cul-de-sacs.

A recent uptick in oil price caused a sudden correction in the stock market, while borrowed billions are spent on wars to keep the oil coming.

The staged school "shootings" are designed to ramp up racism and division. The elites want to divide us into "liberals" who call for more government control, and "conservatives" who want more guns for racist reasons.

They are working hard at dividing and distracting us. They will need us fighting each other when unemployment is suddenly 30 percent.

Nem mais um cêntimo para os transportes públicos

sol.sapo.pt : "Transportes públicos gratuitos exigem, para começo de conversa, um fortíssimo investimento em redes de mobilidade. Qual é o ponto de tornar gratuito o que não funciona agora? É preciso investir em novas redes: mais modernas, mais abrangentes, mais confortáveis. Levar o transporte público para próximo dos cidadãos e dar-lhes oportunidade de escolha é decisivo.  "

Germany considers making public transport free to fight air pollution

The Local : "The German government is considering several measures for improving the quality of air in major cities, including making all inner city public transport free to use."

Free public transport reduces depression

deccanchronicle : "Researchers found that increased eligibility for a free bus pass led to an 8 percent increase in the use of public transportation among older people, and a 12 percent decline in depression symptoms among those who started taking the bus when they became eligible for the program."

Why Is Fare-Free Transit The Exception Rather Than The Rule?

Planetizen : "What I did learn was that there is only one way to run a transit system. And that, I believe, begins to explain why Fare-Free Transit is the exception rather than the rule.

I'm not sure from whence the idea of Fare-Free Transit came to me, but I've since discovered that it not only works but works extremely well when implemented with the same vigour as fare-based systems."

Capitalists fight over oil and gas, as mass murder of civilians continues nearby

Global Daily News : "Iranian forces attempted to advance towards energy fields held by the PYD/PKK terrorist group in eastern Syria, to which the U.S. responded with fierce airstrikes late Wednesday.

Iran launched an attack on PYD/PKK forces — which the U.S. refers to as the “Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)” — in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zour province with the aim of capturing a Conoco gas plant and the Al-Omar oilfield.

The attack reportedly included artillery barrages and rockets."

US makes lightning strike on Syrian forces to protect oil. But protect civilians? meh.

E. #Syria: US officials say around 100 pro-Regime forces were killed last night by US Air Force & artillery when they launched an offensive to take strategic Oil Fields from #YPG & #SDF in E. #DeirEzzor. Tanks and vehicles wrecked. pic.twitter.com/DW5x2QbO75

— Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) February 8, 2018

US and Russia proxies clash in Syria. Nuclear weapon use not far off.

The US and Russia have been avoiding direct conflict while manipulating proxies in MENA. Now the US policy of backing PKK and PMU has left it with no friends who have significant boots on the ground.

This has emboldened Russia and they have allowed their clients to attack a PKK area where US forces are present.

As policy goes from bad to worse, we can expect the US to turn to nuclear weapons soon.

There is another path the US could take.

The US could make urban buses fare-free, and begin the decommissioning of autosprawl. 

15 years since US invasion, now US needs Iran to help steal Iraq oil

After 15 years of chaos and death, bombing civilians, and flattening cities, the US still struggling to get control of Kirkuk oil.

pipelineoilandgasnews: "Iraqi forces are preparing to launch military action to take control of Hamrin mountain range near the Iran border to secure the transit of Iraqi oil, Reuters reported, quoted officials.

The military operation could start this week, two officials told Reuters.

The area lies between the Kirkuk oil fields and the town of Khanaqin at the Iranian border.

Iraqi oil officials announced in December plans to transport Kirkuk crude by truck to Iran’s Kermanshah refinery."

Last year, Americans took 10.4 billion trips on public transit, or 35 million every weekday.

Houston Chronicle : ..."Over the past two decades, public transportation ridership has grown by 34 percent. Last year, Americans took 10.4 billion trips on public transit, or 35 million every weekday.

Those who use public transit don't miss driving. Typically citing convenience and cost, six in 10 riders prefer public transit to other modes of transport.

Americans are giving up their car keys because buses and trains fit seamlessly with the ride-sharing, car-sharing, and bike-sharing services that have revolutionized how we get around.

Consider a survey taken last year of commuters in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Researchers surveyed 4,500 people about their use of public transit, car-shares, bike-shares, and rideshares. They then identified a subset that regularly uses several of these modes of transportation. Nearly six in ten of these "super-sharers" reported that more often than not, they travel on a bus or a train.

These variations of ways to get around -- public transit among them -- are allowing more households to go car-free, or at least car-lite."

Mayors love #freetransit #freepublictransport .... until they get that phone call

Many mayors and mayoral candidates have called for fare-free public transit in their cities... a few examples:

• New York City
• Houston
• Dayton
• Durham
• San Fransisco
• Auckland [candidate]
• Hartford [candidate]
• Paris
• Seoul
• Mexico City
• Chennai
• Tallinn
• many more

Some have had success, and some have been able to implement based on pollution rates.

But in many cases they suddenly go quiet. Mayor Bloomberg was notable example. He said on radio that "of course" fare-free is the way to go. Then he went silent, and has been silent on the topic ever since. 

Free transit is an obvious solution to the headaches and pain of the auto and sprawl, but it threatens to expose massive autosprawl subsidies. When cars no longer have critical mass, people will no longer tolerate their subsidy. Politicians are told by their masters that free transit is a career ender.

Automobile debt bubble still expanding #autosprawl #meltdown

Bloomberg: "It’s all happening in the market for subprime auto bonds, where loans to American consumers with some of the patchiest credit histories are packaged into securities to be sold to big investors. A decade after risky mortgage lending toppled the U.S. financial system, the securities have rarely been so popular. But the collateral behind the bonds is getting less safe: car-owners are increasingly falling behind on bigger loans with longer repayment terms made against depreciating assets."

US policy for: 1-transport 2-economy 3-foreign affairs 4-climate 5-health

#Parisagreement temperature limit already passed

Arctic News: 2017 was hottest year on record: "When determining which year was the hottest year, care should be taken to avoid bias due to temporary conditions such as the El Niño that was present in 2016 and the La Niña we're now experiencing now. Above image uses NASA land+ocean January 2012-December 2017 anomalies from 1951-1980, adjusted by 0.59°C to cater for the rise from preindustrial to 1951-1980, to calculate a linear trend that goes some way to smooth out variability due to El Niño/La Niña events. The trend shows that 2017 was significantly warmer than 2016.

The trend also shows that 1.5°C above preindustrial was crossed back in 2016. This 1.5°C (or 2.7°F) was set at the Paris Agreement as a guardrail that was not to be crossed. The trend further shows that we've meanwhile crossed 1.6°C above preindustrial and we look set to cross the 2°C guardrail within years."

Seoul mayor pushes back on critics and reiterates support for #freepublictransport to fight pollution

The Straits Times: "While acknowledging the fierce debate sparked by the city's decision to provide free public transport on three days when the air was very bad two weeks ago, the mayor insisted there is a need to "take as many measures as possible" to ease air pollution."