Green public transport – a big YES!

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Did you know that more than 90% of the delegates to the Swiss Parliament take public transport to work? Or that Swedish politicians use it all the time? It might seem unusual at first sight, but there are so many benefits of using public transportation in your everyday life, ranging from public health to household finances.

Recently, transport workers, unions and mayors from leading global cities joined forces for the campaign The future is public transport and they demand the governments to invest in public transport services and infrastructure with the goal of creating millions of jobs and tackle the climate crisis. Green investment in global public transport systems will also safeguard existing jobs and will cut emissions from the transport sector in cities by over 50% in the next decade.

There are so many other benefits of using more the public transport. For example, one other fantastic fact is that public transport users are more active and therefore healthier. Walking to stops and to final destinations lowers the risk for many serious diseases. Furthermore, with fewer cars, the road accidents would get reduced as well, meaning the public safety would increase. Generally, bus related accidents have only 1/20 passenger fatality rates of car travel!

Of course that, sometimes, it is much easier to use your own car or a taxi to reach your destination. Especially when the weather is bad. But using the public transportation means building resilient cities which support the health, social and economic needs of the residents. That is why, almost a year ago, Mayors of Europe team introduced one day in a week when we don’t use our cars at all and we rely exclusively on walking or using public transportation. If you wish to follow the updates on The future is public transport campaign mentioned at the beginning, here is the link. Keep walking or using the public transport! Photo credit: Robert Pastryk for Pixabay