Thoughts on the new transit plan
By b5baxter@drupal.org on January 14, 2008 - 1:47pm
The BC government has announced a new Provincial Transit Plan.
Finally something that addresses transportation, one of the biggest contributors to ghg emissions in BC. But is it enough?
It appears the first of the new projects announced won't be finished until 2014. This is after the Gateway Program highway expansion. This
indicates to me that highway expansion is still the priority, not mass transit.
The goal of the plan is to increase ridership by 1-5% (depending upon the region) by 2020. This doesn't seem to be enough to meet the 33% ghg reduction that the province has set for 2020.
The plan has a goal of reducing ghg emissions by 4.7 millions tonnes "cumulatively" by 2020. I assume by "cumulatively" they mean over the course of the 6 years that the plan is rolled out. This number seems high given the 1-5% ridership change but if we assume it is correct that works out to about 0.78 million per year.
However, our current annual ghg emissions from light duty vehicles in BC are over 11.1 tonnes. That means that this plan will only reduce emissions by 7 % ! Not even close to the government's target of 33%.
Update: It turns out that 4.7 million tonnes figure is actually spread out over 12 years so the plan is even worse than I thought. It will reduce by less than 4% the emissions from light vehicles in BC.
From a little book called "Quotations with an Attitude", by Roy L. Stewart -
Nikita Khrushchev: "Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build bridges even where there are no rivers."
Charles de Gaulle: "Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him."
:-) Good quotes.......
I completely agree with you, b5baxter. The plans all seem to miss the point (to lower emissions), and instead offer "solutions" that make it look like they're doing something for the good of everyone, when really they're contributing to the same problems in the long run. Sometimes, I wish I had an island... Great post!
Plato (427-348BC): "Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber."
H.L. Mencken (1880-1956): "It is inaccurate to say I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for any public office."
Oscar Levant: I once said cynically of a politician, "He'll doublecross that bridge when he comes to it."
Maureen Murphy: "The reason there are so few female politicians is that it is too much trouble to put makeup on two faces."
George Burns: "Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair."
I've heard that George Burns quote before, and it's definitely one of my favourites.
Amanda and Ray - thanks for your thoughtful comments.