L410Turbolet From Czech Republic, joined May 2004, 5394 posts, RR: 19 Posted (8 years 8 months 5 days 13 hours ago) and read 698 times:
I just wonder if your hometown took part in this effort and if so how? Did anyone bothered to leave his/her car at home?
I'm glad my hometown participated by closing the inner city center for non-essential traffic, all public transport being free today and the city's transportation authority offered some 1960s and 1970s buses and trolleybuses for nostalgia rides, which was really cool.
Do you think such symbolic things make sense? I personally think they do, however the outcome of such initiative is mixed since so many people are just too lazy and ignorant to even think about getting their fat asses out of their cars.
Before you stone me to death and label me treehugger or whatever, I want to say that I'm great fan of cars and I love driving.
However driving them around the city while having convenient and extensive public transport network available, going from one traffic light to another with endless searches for parking spots is just stupid waste of money for the fuel in my eyes.
Air2gxs From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 1, posted (8 years 8 months 5 days 13 hours ago) and read 689 times:
I really don't think this symbolic thing do anything. Every now and then when the gas price spikes here in the US an email starts going around asking to not buy gas on a certain day to show the oil companies we can live without them.
You want to prove something? Go 2 weeks without buying gas or using your car or whatever. Otherwise you're just participating in an empty exercise. The only "day without..." I feel may work is the National Smoke Out, because it shows some people that they can go for a day without a cigarette.
Lewis From Greece, joined Jul 1999, 3448 posts, RR: 5 Reply 2, posted (8 years 8 months 5 days 13 hours ago) and read 687 times:
In Athens the public transport was also free for today. I am not sure if they closed the city for traffic because I live in the subirbs and I used my car today.
N229NW From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 1850 posts, RR: 36 Reply 7, posted (8 years 8 months 5 days 7 hours ago) and read 656 times:
I think those symbolic days CAN get people to think.
I'm carless and proud! Bikes and public transportation forever!
If everyone did this as much as possible: global warming goes down, obesity goes down, traffic goes down. I realize that some people live in places where they need cars, but many could do without much more easily than they think, or (in this country) CERTAINLY do with smaller cars.
OK OK...If you disagree, I don't want to hear about it. I'm off to hug some trees now
Damirc From Slovenia, joined Feb 2004, 692 posts, RR: 8 Reply 8, posted (8 years 8 months 5 days 6 hours ago) and read 647 times:
Yeah. My hometown took part in this stupidity. It was the reason why I left for Ljubljana Tuesday evening around 11pm (2-2.5 hour drive) - the alternative would've been dragging my bags at 6 am on Monday a mile to a parking outside of the town centre (since they closed off the whole town centre from 5 am to 7 pm and I unfortunately live in the said centre).
Ljubljana also took part in this and the result was smog - bad day weatherwise plus severe trafficjams (heard of people needing 90 minutes to get to work where they usually need 30) - which caused more exhaust emissions - yes, but the centre of Ljubljana was perfectly empty. The shops enjoyed their '70% less business today' day too ...
StarFlyer From Germany, joined Sep 2002, 987 posts, RR: 1 Reply 9, posted (8 years 8 months 5 days 4 hours ago) and read 631 times:
Car-free day? That would explain how packed the buses and trains were yesterday!
And I joined in "by accident" as well!
Anyway, it should have made much more public (though I didnt have much time for a thorough read of the paper lately, so it might just be me...).
JGPH1A From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 10, posted (8 years 8 months 5 days 4 hours ago) and read 630 times:
We had an email about it yesterday, which I completely ignored. As soon as the build a light rail between Antibes and Sophia-Antipolis, I'll use public transport to get to work, but no way in hell before ! A single hourly bus ? They can bite me.
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