| Urban
Actions to Reduce Air Pollution |
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| City |
Initiative
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| New
Delhi, India |
Since 1995,
pollution levels have decreased by 25 percent. In 1996, the government
ordered numerous chemical and textile factories to close. In 1998,
commercial vehicles older than 15 years were banned, and all public
transport vehicles were required to switch to compressed natural
gas (CNG). To date, about 6,000 of the city's 12,000 buses have
converted from diesel to CNG.
A 37-mile commuter
rail network is being built, with the first 5 miles scheduled to
open in December 2002. Once complete in 2005, it will carry an estimated
2 million people daily.
|
| Hong
Kong |
Ninety
percent of taxis have converted from diesel to liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG) in the last two years, with financial assistance from the
government. Since September 2000, all diesel fuel sold has been ultra-low
sulfur diesel. Government incentive grants have also started replacing
diesel buses with LPG or electric buses. |
| London,
United Kingdom |
Beginning
in 2003, motorists will be required to pay $7 a day to enter central
London between 7 am and 7 pm. Intended to reduce weekday traffic by
15 percent, the funds will be used to improve the mass transit system
in the city. |
| Curitiba,
Brazil |
Despite
a population that has doubled since 1974, traffic has decreased by
30 percent. Using bus rapid transit with dedicated bus lanes to get
people out of their cars, fossil fuel consumption and air pollution
have decreased. Some 70 percent of commuters use transit, despite
a high automobile ownership rate and per capita income well above
the national average. With 55 percent of private trips in the city
made by transit, Curitiba has achieved one of the lowest ambient air
pollution levels in the country. |
| Bogotá,
Colombia |
Since
1995, the city has restricted traffic during rush hours by 40 percent
and increased the gasoline tax. Each Sunday, 120 kilometers (75 miles)
of main arteries are closed for seven hours, which allows the streets
to be used for walking, bicycling, and jogging. |
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| Sources:
New Delhi from Tim Sullivan, "New Delhi, drowning in traffic, sees
hope in a technocrat's rapid-transit dreams," Environmental News Network,
11 September 2002; Sugita Katyal, "Indian capital breathes easy after
pollution checks," Reuters, 13 September 2002. Hong Kong from Margaret
Wong, "Record smog shrouds Hong Kong's dramatic skyline; Chinese factories
blamed," Associated Press, 11 September 2002; Keith Bradsher, "A Rosy,
Pink Cloud, Packed With Pollution," New York Times, 10 September 2002;
Thomas Chow, Secretary of the Environment, Transport and Works for
Hong Kong, letter to the editor, Singapore Straits Times, 13 September
2002. London from Transportation Alternatives, Fall 2001, p. 16. Curitiba
from U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration
(EIA), "Brazil: Environmental Issues," July 2001, at www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/brazenv.html
viewed 19 August 2002; U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal
Transit Administration, "Issues in Bus Rapid Transit," at www.fta.dot.gov/brt/issues/pt3.html
viewed 13 September 2002. Bogotá from Lisa Jones, "A Tale of
Two Mayors," Grist Magazine, 4 April 2002, at www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/jones040402.asp?source=daily,
viewed 3 September 2002. |
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