he benefits of free transit helps more than just riders, it can help a whole city. We already give free road access to car owners and provide them with rights of way, so let’s do the same for all people. Why create an artificial divide between people trying to get
Continue readingTag: public transit
The Progressive Economics Forum: What can municipalities do about homelessness?
I recently contributed an essay to a paper series published by the University of Toronto’s Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance. The focus of my own essay is the role Canadian municipalities can play in addressing homelessness. A ‘top 10’ overview of the essay can be found here (in English):
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: Abolish public transit fares – for social justice and climate change
Public transit is much more than getting from point A to point B. It is implicitly linked to broader societal issues like climate change and social justice. Eliminating user fares would be a great first step in the right direction.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Electric Public Transportation is the Future, Not Cars
Politicians and car makers will often tout that the future of sustainable transportation lies in electric vehicles. Let’s be clear: cars won’t save us. In fact, cars are responsible for a lot of death on our streets and for supply chains that cause great harm to the environment. Instead, electric
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: the federal Conservatives’ housing platform
With a federal election taking place in Canada on September 20, I’ve written an 800-word overview of the Conservatives’ housing platform. It’s available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/ten-things-to-know-about-the-federal-conservatives-housing-platform
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Guest Post by Abdul Malik: Let’s not go all NIMBY on public transit — it’s just what Edmonton needs!
Abdul Malik is a photographer and writer based in Edmonton who covers climate justice, decolonization, and worker organizing in the era of extreme climate change. In this post he argues Edmonton doesn’t just need more public transit, it needs free public transit. By Abdul Malik Alberta’s already got a reputation
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ten things to know about the 2019-20 Alberta budget
I’ve just written a ‘top 10’ overview of the recent Alberta budget. Points raised in the post include the following: -The budget lays out a four-year strategy of spending cuts, letting population growth and inflation do much of the heavy lifting. -After one accounts for both population growth and inflation,
Continue readingThings Are Good: Free Transit In Dunkirk a Success
The French city of Dunkirk recently made a major decision to make all their public transit free to anyone. It’s worked really well and now people are hoping the idea spreads to other places in France. It’s noteworthy that the climate crisis wasn’t the driving factor behind the plan it
Continue readingThings Are Good: Free Public Transit Throughout Estonia
We provide access to roads for free to car drivers so why don’t we match free access to movement to people who don’t drive cars? That’s part of the rationale for Estonia providing free public transit for the entire nation – the first country to do so. Estonia is a
Continue readingThings Are Good: Bus to the Future
Every couple of years some new-fangled technological solution pops up claiming to fix all of our transit woes. We’ve long been promised flying cars and still we need to people on the ground. Today cities are hoping that ride-sharing apps will fill in the void left from poorly funded public
Continue readingThings Are Good: To Decrease Emissions Germany to Offer Free Public Transit
Germans have reputation of loving to drive so it might seem a little shocking to see the nation explore free public transit. The push for free travel comes from the need to reduce the country’s emissions – and soon. EU countries that don’t meet emissions targets in the next few
Continue readingThings Are Good: Go Ride the Bus, Busses are Great!
When is a bus not a bus? When it’s a trackless train. Busses are a great solution to traffic congestion, so much so that bus rapid transit (BRT) systems are growing the world over. The problem with getting more money into BRTs and expanding them is the baggage of the
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Transit costs are too darn high
Public transit is a key piece of urban infrastructure, important for getting people where they want to go while limiting congestion and pollution. A central part of the federal government’s infrastructure plan involves expanding and improving public transit, through their newly established Public Transit Infrastructure Fund. Note that Budget 2017 allocates
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Do Calgary and Edmonton need more power and resources?
Over at the web site of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, I’ve written a blog post titled “Do Calgary and Edmonton need more power and resources?” The blog post comes as the Government of Alberta considers the possibility of, well, giving more power and sources to both Calgary and Edmonton. Points
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: What the Vancouver transit plebiscite means for millennials
The Vancouver transit plebiscite offers the opportunity to build the ideal city for millennials, argues freelance writer and photographer, Rhi Myfanwy Kirkland. The post What the Vancouver transit plebiscite means for millennials appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: The Case for ‘Yes’ in Metro Vancouver’s Transit Referendum
Well, anybody could have called this one. According to a new survey by Insights West, 53 per cent of residents plan to vote No in the upcoming 2015 Metro Vancouver Transportation and Transit Plebiscite. Only 38 per cent say they will vote Yes to the proposed half-percentage-point sales tax increase
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Alberta NDP should embrace an Urban Agenda
TweetToday is the deadline to enter the Alberta New Democratic Party leadership race. With 3 candidates having already entered the race, Edmonton-Calder MLA David Eggen, Edmonton-Strathcona MLA Rachel Notley and labour activist Rod Loyola, the Alberta NDP are having their first contested leadership race since 1996. Advice I would offer to the next leader
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: LRT funding a big win for Edmonton, but it is enough to save Redford?
TweetJust five days after provincial finance minister Doug Horner was criticized for delivering a budget that was absent of additional funding to expand the south east section of the “Valley Line” of Edmonton’s LRT system, provincial politicians announced yesterday that it would commit $600 million towards the project. Surrounded by city
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Lousy polls? Redford Tories execute screeching reversal on southbound Edmonton LRT tracks
Fresh off a train in Edmonton’s Churchill LRT station, Alberta Premier Alison Redford announces $600 million surprise funding for an Edmonton LRT less than a week after her finance minister tabled a budget that didn’t mention it. Below: Finance Minister Doug Horner explains how the spending is really in the
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Don Iveson asks: Do you support LRT expansion?
Tweet Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson took the the streets, and then to YouTube, to ask Edmontonians if they support expansion of Edmonton’s Light Rail Transit system. The campaign is part of Mr. Iveson’s bid to convince provincial and federal politicians to support the expansion of Edmonton’s light rail transit system,
Continue reading