Facing serious health alerts over smog and pollution, Paris tries to
get its citizens out of their cars.
By: Sami
Grover Mother Nature Network, 14 March, 2014
It's not just China that's looking
for novel ways to cut down on air pollution. Facing health warnings over
dangerously high levels of particulates across much of France, authorities in
Paris say levels have reached levels four times those deemed safe by the World
Health Organization, and the city is taking extraordinary measures to
bring emissions under control.
Salon reports that all
buses, subways, trains and the city's bike-share scheme are going to be offered
free of charge over the weekend. Even the city's famous Autolib'
electric car-share scheme will offer a first hour free. The measures come
alongside other initiatives such as newly reduced speed limits — which police
are taking extra measures to enforce — as well as municipal vehicles being
taken off the roads unless their use is absolutely necessary.
The free transit, however, offers the promise of more than
just temporary respite from smog. Even though transit ridership is increasing
in many parts of the world, including
in the U.S., transit advocates often say that getting people to try public
transit is often the biggest challenge; once they do they often find it easier,
more convenient and pleasant than they had imagined.
It's a shame, of course, that it takes dangerous levels of
pollution to spur such measures in the first place. Perhaps a case could be
made for making
all transit free, or at least offering free rides on certain days to get
people hooked
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