In an event at the US Pavilion which was called "Buses, Trains, and Commuter Vans: Reducing Carbon through U.S. Public Transit", a panel of experts presented the role of public transportation in reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).It is an important sector as 29% of energy related CO2 emissions in the USA.
Robert Cervero, Professor at the University of California in Berkeley, highlighted that they could have 16% less emissions per capita through land planning measures and that you will have balanced flows through a balanced development. The main issue for the future would be a Green Urbanism and transit oriented development.
While John Hickenlooper , Mayor of Denver and a strong advocate for that city's ambitious transit oriented development, described their transport policy and their success through implementing an integrated transport system and a better land use planning. As a main challenge he mentioned is to find the right language and to address the concerns.
Fred Hansen, General Manager of Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet), chairs the American Public Transportation Association Sustainability Task Force and is leading Tri-Met in its comprehensive efforts to "green" its operations and spur livable communities in Portland. With their efforts they eliminated 200,000 car trips a day through forcing public transit and sustainable land use planning. Portland created an urban growth concept for 2040, focused on centers, high capacity transit connections and multi-modal coordinated transport. Mixed land use and good transit reduces ways and is saving travel costs up to $1.1B and time costs up to $1.5B in Portland each year.
John Inglish, the General Manager at Utah Transit Authority, chair of the International Association for Public Transport (UITP) sustainability effort and leader in Salt Lake City's visioning process. He mentioned that people that cannot drive were out of access to health, education and leisure facilities. And the Americans spend 17.6% on transport while Europeans do only 11.9%. So this is also a poverty matter.
We will try to get the Presentations and upload them.
