There are cases of growth of bicycle lanes, companies incorporating commercial vans in their fleet and free buses by the sea. In these five cities, the future begins to feel and local initiatives are setting the stage: citizens adhere, the environment is grateful.

 

Let's stay close by - practically next door. In Seville, in the south of Spain, for some time the bicycles started to rotate where, before, the cars parked. In 2005, there were 12 kilometers of bike path (not connected) through the city. Today, the network lands on Seville and connects it by bicycle on the 180 kilometers available to cyclists. A 2011 study by the University of Seville already pointed to the growth in the number of bicycles in the city, as well as significant decreases: more than 25 thousand barrels of oil saved (equivalent to almost two million euros). In addition, the annual equivalent was issued at less than 8000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. There are more than 250 stations to collect the Sevici bikes - the municipality program - that run all day, says the Digital Journalist.

 

We can ride to Dunkirk in the north of France, and then rest our tired legs on the free buses that have been taking people from the car since last September. As a result, it has become one of the largest European cities with free public transport, as the Guardian explains. They are tassels every day for more than 200,000 inhabitants - and even for those in Belgium (more precisely in Adinkerke, village of the municipality of De Panne), proving that environmentally sustainable initiatives can stimulate tourism. Between 2015 and 2017, when travel was free at weekends and holidays, the number of users on Sunday had increased by 78%. In France, there are a further 15 cities with free public transport: one of them is Colomiers in Toulouse, which already had free public transport in 1971.

 

We propose a different experience in Copenhagen. In the Danish capital, natural resources represent savings in money and time. It is that in the waters of this city there are taxis to land from port to port, meeting the needs of the population - from 2020 this will happen in an environmentally clean way. Current maritime taxis will be replaced by others powered by electricity, "totally carbon neutral, with zero emissions of nitrogen oxide and particulates." Frank Jensen, Mayor of Copenhagen, told Politiken that the investment is 10 million Danish kronor. On Ærø, a southernmost island of great maritime industrial tradition, a ferry powered by electricity is also being developed. The E-Ferry is expected to slip through the waters of that island in the first quarter of 2019.

 

Change of continent: in Buenos Aires, Argentina, there are green and red commercial vans in transit. They are from Andreani, a logistics company that decided to invest in fully electric vehicles. The pilot test, supported by the city government - which has been promoting the Clean Mobility Plan - is already starting. It is pointed out that "transportation in the city of Buenos Aires is responsible for 28% of the emissions" of pollutant gases and the commercial vehicles are those who most see from one side to the other on the roads. One of the objectives of the Clean Mobility Plan (which is also supported by the Argentine Ministry of Transport) is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 14% in transport by 2035. It is challenging: the Government of Buenos Aires estimates that more than six million daily car journeys into the city.

 

The last scenario of this trip contemplates many bicycles - and monetary rewards for those who take one and pedal to work. This is something that the Dutch Government is trying to make happen: to create a system through which "19 cents for each kilometer cycled" is paid to those who pedal from home to the workplace. While it does not happen, in Brabant, a region in the same country, there is a project that gives premiums to the kilometer. The B-Riders, as well as a cool name, have remained on the bikes even after they've won the promised rewards.

 

Source, Público.