【22】Green Transportation Infrastructure

When it comes to the idea of a green transportation infrastructure, that’s pretty easy. All one has to do to get across the idea is to highlight the experience virtually all of us have shared at some point in our life.

Bus lanes

A lot of city dwellers profess an interest in taking the bus to work, but when pressed about why they don’t, there are plenty of reasons keeping them in the cars. Convenience is obviously one, but having to wait at a bus stop and then sit or stand on a crowded bus while cars go by is definitely another big impediment. But cities around the world are doing their best to harness the environmental benefits of bus ridership by making them more attractive to ride. How? One major way is by creating lanes dedicated to buses so that they can zoom past cars and trucks on roadways. Part of a concept called bus rapid transit, dedicated bus lanes have been around for decades and are used in South America, Europe and increasingly in North America and Asia.

Subways

Sure, anyone who rides the New York City subway -- or those in a lot of other cities, for that matter -- everyday will probably snicker (or worse) at the categorical statement that subways are clean. But while some individual subway cars and buses could use a good cleaning, the reality is that these modes of public transport take a heck of a lot of cars off the road and contribute mightily towards a greener planet.