Malaysians are bent on building more infrastructure for cars and other private vehicles at a time when many other countries are looking for alternatives to private vehicle ownership as oil prices soar.
Even in the United States, notorious for promoting private vehicle ownership, an increasing number of Americans are turning to public transport – and even bicycles. Nearer to home, New Delhi has bitten the bullet and opted for a Bus Rapid Transit, which it is now introducing with a lot of teething pains. Nobody said it would be easy, but it has got to be done if we care for our environment.
Think again. Do we really want to entrench the use of private vehicles with more highways and road bridges? Shouldn’t the new link for Penang be a rail link? The Penang state government should do the right thing, and not take the easy way out by opting for a KL-inspired solution, which is more focused on inflated construction costs and lucrative toll collections.
Trains, buses, guided buses, trams and bikes are the way of the future. Let us not go against the tide and burden future generations. Even that might not be accurate. At the rate we are going, as one blog reader cautioned me, there might not be any “future generations” left to inherit our polluted and poisoned world.
Trains, Buses and Bikes, Oh My!
Last week, Isaiah reported on the 7% increase in mass transit ridership, and also how limited that increase is. Because the Bush administration did nothing to make mass transit more convenient and accessible, many Americans who want to quit paying for high-priced oil don’t have that choice.
It’s not just mass transit. It’s bikes too.
Today, my local paper headlined “Bike Sales Rise With Gas Prices. In fact, local outlets across the country are reporting the same spike with bikes. And interest seems to be growing beyond the stereotypical hippie bike messenger. Read more
