Moving around cities will change in the future as new technologies like self-driving cars gain wider adoption. Science fiction can give us a glimpse into these futures.
Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Leader Doug Ford, Ontario New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath, Ontario Liberal Party Leader Steven Del Duca and Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner debate during the Ontario party leaders’ debate in May 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Some excellent ideas were proposed during the Ontario election on everything from transit to housing. Here’s why the rest of Canada would be wise to consider them.
Self-driving cars could lead to increased traffic and pollution if they spur more travel by car.
Witthaya Prasongsin via Getty Images
Studies show that when people can ride in a car without having to operate it, they increase their car use. That could increase traffic and pollution, unless government puts a price on car travel.
Interstate 980 cuts off West Oakland, Calif., at top, from other Oakland neighborhoods.
Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images
Two urban policy experts explain why taking down highways that have isolated low-income and minority neighborhoods for decades is an important part of the pending infrastructure bill.
People are shoulder to shoulder inside a city bus while commuting at rush hour during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Increasing even part-time remote work disrupts public transit revenue. Agencies need to adapt fare structures and business models to meet the changing work market.
It’s back: Rush-hour traffic in Los Angeles on June 15, 2021.
Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The pandemic offered a tantalizing look at city life with fewer cars in the picture. But with traffic rebounding, there’s limited time to lock in policies that make streets more people-friendly.
Greyhound has permanently shut down its intercity bus service in Canada.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Many communities in Canada currently lack intercity and regional transportation. A national public transportation system would improve connectedness between cities and access to essential services.
Surface parking in downtown San Jose, California.
Sergio Ruiz, SPUR/Flickr
When Buffalo, New York, changed its zoning code so that developers no longer had to provide specified amounts of parking, space was freed up for public transit and people.
A global study of 117 cities finds Australian capitals have fairly poor access by car. Public transport, cycling and walking access is better than in the US, but not as good as in Europe and China.
Governments could capitalize on the growth of telecommuting to promote more car-free lifestyles.
(AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
The pandemic could be a boon to car use, but it would be a mistake for governments to let that happen. There’s a golden opportunity to push towards a zero-carbon transportation system.
Elderly users of public transit face complex challenges to their mobility.
(Shutterstock)
Life cycle assessments of electric vehicles show that they cannot fully eliminate the greenhouse gas emissions of personal travel. We also need bikes, buses and trains to solve our climate problems.
Motorways were once seen as a way of reducing congestion in our towns and cities. But the more we build, the more they fill with drivers.
Bike routes have been expanded in many major cities, including Bogata, Columbia, to encourage people to avoid crowded public transportation.
(AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Bike shops have seen record sales during the pandemic as people try to avoid crowded transportation. But governments must do more to keep new cyclists in the saddle.
Iain Lawrie, The University of Melbourne and John Stone, The University of Melbourne
As COVID-19 restrictions are eased, cities face crippling congestion if people shun crowded public transport. More frequent and faster services, using innovations like pop-up bus lanes, can avoid this.
The world takes tentative steps to get back up and running amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but our post-pandemic world will look different than how we lived and worked before.
(Pixabay)
Our experts look at recovery efforts, how different the post-pandemic world will be, the hunt for a cure for COVID-19, and why we need to mind our mental health.
New research suggests many Canadians cannot afford to forgo public transit during the COVID-19 pandemic — or ever.
Jed Dela Cruz/Unsplash
Many of Canada’s residents, including essential workers, have no choice but to ride transit. Service cuts may cripple their access to essential destinations if governments do not intervene.
Many operators have lost almost all their fare revenue. Even those who operate on contract terms that reduce the impact of falling patronage must bear the costs of disinfection and other precautions.
Australia can learn from what has been done overseas, especially in China, to keep public transport running while containing the spread of coronavirus.
On-demand public transport has now provided over 1 million rides in 36 trials in various Australian cities. Is the problem of poor suburban public transport on the way to being solved?
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary