Feature Article
Interview

Train Talk: Interview with Margrethe Sagevik

Margrethe Sagevik works as Senior Adviser on Sustainable Development for the International Union of Railways (UIC). Carbusters called her up to talk about the “Train to Copenhagen” campaign, the world of sustainable transport after COP15 and the future of the rail business.
Could you tell us a little about UIC and your position there?
UIC is the [...]

Car Cult Review

Parking on the Edge

Last month in Tusla, United States, a car broke through an outside wall on the 6th floor of a parking garage and was hanging over the edge. The 67-year-old driver told the police that he somehow got his foot stuck under the gas pedal. There were no injuries in the accident; only a few parked [...]

Blog

Don’t believe the hype

Don’t believe the hype. The GM Volt plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is a threat to those who care about livability, equality and the planet.
For over 1300 days GM has touted the Volt and its ability to run for 40 miles on electricity before switching to a gasoline engine. In January 2007 the Financial Times concluded [...]

Action Report

One Scrap of Fleece

Little things, like a handful of fleece, can make a big difference. In Chicago, bicycle activists from Break the Gridlock helped fair weather cyclists stay in the saddle year round with simple gifts of homemade head gear.
Ten years ago, Bike Winter emerged from Chicago’s Critical Mass community as a way to encourage people to keep [...]

Book Review

The Road to Somewhere: David Byrne’s Bicycle Diaries

“Mainstream” may not be the best word to describe David Byrne, yet when a man best known for his role in a rock band writes a book – albeit not completely or for many even sufficiently – about cycling and the infrastructure needed to support it, one is tempted to believe that the issue has [...]

Media Club

Scrub the Greenwash off the Freeway Olympics

This year’s Winter Olympics has been branded the “Greenest Games”, but they are linked to a massive freeway expansion scheme. In Vancouver, Canada activists are working hard to scrub off the greenwash and getting public money spent on real priorities such as public transit and affordable housing.
The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada have been [...]

Carfree Place

Vauban: Solar-powered instead of Fossil-fueled

The small community of Vauban, on the outskirts of the South-Eastern German town Freiburg is a good example of how citizen participation can play a vital part in a city’s effort to reduce its ecological footprint. With the aid of car-sharing programmes, parking policies and good bike and public transport infrastructure the city of Freiburg [...]

Carfree Conversion

Better Public Transport

In the first article (Carbusters #38), we considered the basic principles of carfree conversion that were established in the Lyon Protocol. In Carbusters #39 we looked at the need for a phased conversion in existing cities. We also considered measures to reduce car traffic almost immediately.
In this article we look at the need for [...]

World News

Obama and Transportation

With collapsing urban transportation systems and an out-of-control oil spill (not to mention a stubborn 10% unemployment rate) recently battering President Barack Obama, to what degree is he leading a paradigm shift in transportation policy?
Follow the Money…
On February 1, president Obama unveiled his Fiscal Year 2011 US$3.8 trillion budget. Sustainable transportation activists saw some reason to celebrate: out of US$6.7 [...]

Member Profile

LivableStreets Alliance – Rethinking Urban Transportation in Boston

It wasn’t long ago that Boston was labelled the worst city for bicycling in the United States. This was during a time that Boston’s advocacy groups fought separately, with limited success, to improve conditions for their individual modes: walking, cycling, handicap access, transit, trains, and cars. Boston-area advocates for transportation, public health, city planning, smart [...]