Urgente recuperar modelo de organização de cidades do Sul da Europa

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O director de programação e planeamento da Agência Ecologia Urbana de Barcelona, Francisco Cárdenas, deu uma interessante e elucidativa entrevista ao Jornal Público, da qual apresentamos uma síntese dos pontos que nos parecem mais relevantes: 

Análise: 

•  Actual modelo: modelo de organização de cidade americana, onde o espaço público pertence aos automóveis privados. Ou há peões ou condutores: não há cidadãos. 
•  Urgente recuperar o modelo de organização de cidades do Sul da Europa - cidade compacta : modelo de uma cidade diversa e complexa, onde o espaço público é importante. 
• Veículo privado, pouco a pouco tornou-se o dono das cidades ; dependência do veículo privado é a grande perversão das cidades actuais; planificadores passaram a desenhar as cidades a pensar neles.
•  Na maioria das cidades médias e grandes, no Sul da Europa, cerca de 70 por cento do espaço público é para o veículo privado. 

 Propostas: 

•  Para que um carro não passe numa rua há muito poucas soluções. O estacionamento e as portagens já são utilizadas (estas de forma algo injusta); quarteirões - à volta deles seria possível circular, dentro não.  
•  Funcionalidade das cidades - Mas porque é que as cargas e descargas se podem fazer durante todo o dia? 
•  O transporte público tem de ter qualidade - frequência e cobertura - para ser competitivo. 
•  Em Barcelona, um distrito com 150 mil pessoas, só se tocou em 4% dos carros. O que se mudou é que os carros em vez de irem por onde querem, vão por onde foi definido.  

Agência de Ecologia Urbana de Barcelona: 

•  Quando os arquitectos desenham uma casa pensam muito no conforto - as cores, a luz, a temperatura, o solo - no espaço público não se pensa nisso.  
•  Desenhar cidades como se desenham casas - conceitos de habitabilidade e de conforto têm de estar associados.
•  Retirar os carros das cidades, é preciso levar as pessoas lá - tendência tem sido outra, com as cidades dormitório a aumentar. Expulsava-se a população para os arredores; e depois para os arredores dos arredores... e por aí adiante. 
•  A população irá regressar – talvez daqui a 5 ou 15 anos, mas voltará. 

Barcelona:

•  Nova rede de autocarros; implementação de um urbanismo em 3 planos: altura, superfície e subterrâneo; veículos podem - e devem - ocupar mais o subsolo para estacionamento; optimizar o consumo de energia. 
•  Agência de Ecologia Urbana de Barcelona desenvolve projectos por toda a Europa. Em Espanha, além de Barcelona e arredores, trabalha com Madrid e Corunha, por exemplo. Em Portugal, com vários municípios do eixo atlântico: Porto, Vila Real, Bragança.  

Sustentabilidade em Portugal:

•  É um modelo de cidade difusa, que não cria cidades, cria ajuntamentos urbanos. Em Portugal, o modelo das cidades difusas está implementado de uma maneira particularmente escandalosa. Em Espanha também.  
•  Políticos não têm a coragem de assumir o compromisso de projectos a longo prazo.
•  Ao cidadão cabe a parte de reivindicar a cidade para si, de reivindicar o direito de sair à rua sem medo de ser atropelado, de poder caminhar numa cidade com qualidade de ar, sem ruído excessivo.
•  Insustentável - em menos de 20 anos os recursos poderão acabar. Vive-se como se os recursos fossem infinitos, fazemos cidades como se a energia fosse infinita, como se a tecnologia resolvesse tudo. 
•  Olha-se para o PIB e parece que está tudo bem. Se se vendem mais carros, é possível que ele cresça.
•  ”Há pessoas que aqui [aponta para a cabeça] a única coisa que têm é um automóvel.”

How America can learn from the Clean-Energy success in Portugal

                                                      

Photos by Luis Alves

The New York Times published today an extensive article making reference to the Portuguese success in renewable energies and how Americans can learn from the case: Portugal Gives Itself a Clean-Energy Makeover.

Second the Portuguese newspaper Público the ”New York Times praises the success of the energetic turning in Portugal”

”In Portugal, as in the United States, politicians have sold green energy programs to communities with promises of job creation. Locally, the effect has often proved limited. For example, more than five years ago, the isolated city of Moura became the site of Portugal’s largest solar plant because it “gets the most sun of anywhere in Europe and has lots of useless space,” said José Maria Prazeres Pós-de-Mina, the mayor. 

But while 400 people built the Moura plant, only 20 to 25 work there now, since gathering sunlight requires little human labor. Unemployment remains at 15 percent, the mayor said — though researchers, engineers and foreign delegations frequently visit the town’s new solar research center.”, New York Times.

It´s worth noting that recognition, although there is much work ahead. It is also a good time to remind some articles published here in ”mokkikunta”  on solar power and electric cars.

“Alentejo: Solar Region”

• “Photovoltaic Solar in Portugal” - part 1

• “Moura (Amareleja) Photovoltaic Power Station” - part 2

• “Moura Renewable Energies Project“ - part 3

• The world’s largest photovoltaic power station [PICS] - part 4

• Serpa (Brinches) Photovoltaic Power Station [PICS] - part 5

Regionalização: solução política para o problema do transporte público

Uma excelente entrevista do especialista em transportes, Mário Alves, na qual defende que só com a regionalização se resolverá o problema do transporte público em Portugal, devendo o transporte urbano passar para a tutela de autarquias regionais, supramunicipais. De seguida apresento uma síntese da entrevista, focando os pontos que considero mais importantes:

• MOBILIDADE é um problema político com soluções políticas. 
• Falta planeamento estratégico de longo prazo. 
• Transportes públicos têm de ser apoiados porque trazem grandes benefícios sociais
• Faltam autarquias REGIONAIS que definam estratégias coerentes de transporte e mobilidade a nível metropolitano (ex: autarquia metropolitana de Madrid).
• Falta de coragem política para restringir o uso do AUTOMÓVEL.
• Urgente áreas metropolitanas relançarem o debate da Regionalização.
• Transporte individual é subsidiado e não paga os custos sociais (congestionamento, poluição atmosférica, acidentes rodoviários, emissões de gases, etc). 
• Preparar cidades para pessoas com mobilidade reduzida faz com que as cidades fiquem melhores e mais confortáveis. 
• Nos próximos anos, quase certa a escassez de combustíveis fosseis. 
• Cada vez mais caro o uso de veículos tradicionais.

A record number of new student housing in Helsinki, Finland

A significant change in the structure of the city of Helsinki (Finland) is currently in progress.According to the Master Plan 2002 Helsinki will be developed as an European capital city.Helsinki is an important part of a growing metropolitan area. The urban structure is moderately becoming more integrated and dense, but without damaging the basic city characteristics or compromising its spaciousness and natural features.

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Länsisatama - West Harbour: downtown by the sea, Landscape architecture competition - Press photos--City of Helsinki/City Planning Dep.

The Länsisatama (West Harbour) redevelopment project of the Helsinki City Planning Department is comprised of more than 200 ha of land on the southwest waterfront of the Finnish city. Like other planning projects in the area, this one has generated a lot of public interest. Indeed, the construction of a big new urban district from scratch is rare and raises the question: what is the city of the future? [1]

The areas covered by Länsisatama project include:

• the residential and office area of Ruoholahti (built in the 1990s)
• Jätkäsaari (used previously for cargo and passenger traffic)
• Munkkisaari (used as a dockyard, part of which will be freed for other uses in 2012)
  

In 2007, a local plan for a comprehensive solution to the Jätkäsaari area was in preparation. This year, during the next spring, the first detailed plan with the largest permitted building volume in Jätkäsaari will be handled in the Helsinki City Council. Jätkäsaari will house 15,000 residents and provide 6,000 jobs. The area was freed for construction when the cargo port was transferred to the new harbour in Vuosaari, at the end of 2008.

Planning image of Vuosaari harbour--City of Helsinki/City Planning Dep.

Within the next two decades, the Länsisatama area will have been transformed into a waterfront city quarter with an estimated population of 22,000, which will enhance the appeal of central Helsinki and its services as a whole. [2]

Jätkäsaari (2007 data)

Size: 100 ha
Parks: 19.8 ha (13 m2 per capita)
Residents: 14,500
Jobs: 6,000
Housing: 600,000 m2 gross floor area
Jobs and services: 364,000 m2 gross floor area
Parking spaces: 1 space per 150 m2 gross floor area
City investment: EUR 217 million
Construction start: 2008
Completion date: 2023


The Jätkäsaari planning goals

Länsisatama - West Harbour: downtown by the sea, Landscape architecture competition - Press photos--City of Helsinki/City Planning Dep.

• Produce whole new attractive and ecologically sustainable city district, not just a sleepy suburb

• Meet the everyday needs of residents and workers

• Social well-being

- Differing socio-economic groups live close to one another all over the city (town planning aims to encourage this assimilation).

- Construction of the new district is expected to help meet the need for all types of housing, thus easing the housing situation throughout Helsinki:

About one third of all the housing will be social housing i.e. moderately priced rental flats owned by the City and other non-profit landlords;

Another third will be price-regulated free-market housing and right-of-occupancy housing;

The remaining third will be privately funded housing.

• To take advantage of special features of the area (district is almost entirely surrounded by the sea and shipping)

- The passenger harbour on the east side of the area will remain in its present position, catering for some 3 million passengers per year travelling from Helsinki to Tallinn and St Petersburg and vice versa.

- The buildings have been designed so that the streets do not turn into wind tunnels.

- No residential buildings will be placed in the immediate vicinity of the passenger harbour, because of the noise, bustle and pollution caused by shipping.

- A beach will be created on a sheltered cove in the area.

• Mobility management - New Mobility Culture: non-dependence of private cars in daily traffic

- Available good alternative modes of transport : trams, service bus lines, car share vehicles, taxis, bikes.

- Cycle paths to serve those living and working in every part of the district.

- High quality pedestrian environment.

- Up to three tram lines.

- Helsinki Metro already runs close to the northern edge of the area.

- Very few streets allowing vehicular access.

- Every residential street will be a cul-de-sac.

- Minimizing motorized traffic will also apply to waste management (garbage removal underground): sorted household waste will go straight into a pneumatic conveyance system leading to a central underground collection point.

- Car-free lifestyle: return to the traditional practice of having ground-floor shops in a continuous line along the streets.

- Municipal services be located within walking distance of users' homes.

"We are putting up a whole new city district, not just a suburb. Our starting points are that life there must be ecologically sound and pleasant, and it must meet the everyday needs of residents and those who work there. Social well-being, mobility management and the special features of the area are also important factors,"

"We are realistic enough to know that many Jätkäsaari residents will want their own wheels, but our idea is that local services and routes will be planned so that a car will not be needed for local access. Multi-storey car parks are planned for residents to keep parked cars from clogging up the streets", said, in 2007, the Project Leader Matti Kaijansinkko, the architect in charge of planning Jätkäsaari. [2]

Architecture

Länsisatama - West Harbour: downtown by the sea, Landscape architecture competition - Press photos--City of Helsinki/City Planning Dep.

Another feature that Kaijansinkko was proud of is the green belt winding through the area, reminiscent of Manhattan's Central Park. The green belt is expected to achieve great popularity and importance for the life of the whole district.

"The park has been designed to accommodate as many popular Finnish outdoor pursuits as possible: it will be possible to ski and skate there, to cycle, to play games and to enjoy a picnic. There will also be a sledging hill for children." [1]

Urban Development

InfoCentre Korona, the main building of Viikki green university campus district--City of Helsinki/City Planning Dep.

Urban housing challenges in Finland are relatively new. However, rapid development in recent years have spurred the movement of people into growth centres and increased the demand for housing.

Outside growth centres, part of the housing stock is vacant as the population is declining. A current issue is how to maintain a unified community structure, especially in cities such as Helsinki where high house prices make it difficult to attract people working in the service sectors.

Therefore, in the next decades urban investments are needed in the following areas:

• Regenerating urban harbour areas in Helsinki
• Transport infrastructure in the metropolitan region
• Housing development
• Housing repairs

A record number of new student housing in Helsinki metropolitan area

Eco-Viikki is a housing area but also a noteworthy and internationally renowned experimental project--City of Helsinki/City Planning Dep.

Second YLE, the official site of Finland's national broadcasting company, in three years the Metropolitan area will rise to a record number of new student housing.

HOAS (Foundation for Student Housing in the Helsinki Region), responsible for the construction, plans to build a total of almost 900 new homes. In total, HOAS rents out 8,200 apartments to 17,000 tenants. The average annual construction volume will almost double. The normal annual rate has been 150-200 new homes. New estate will rise, mainly in Helsinki and Espoo.

HOAS was established by 16 student unions and student bodies in 1969 to help relieve the shortage of student housing within the Helsinki metropolitan area. HOAS student accommodation can be applied for by anyone undertaking full-time studies in a secondary level educational institution or university, and part of HOAS’s accommodation is reserved for international exchange students and researchers.

According to Heikki Valkjärvi, CEO of HOAS, the current economic climate is favourable to these plans: “Construction costs have come down, so we are trying to launch as many projects as possible”, Valkjärvi recently said to YLE.

The next few years, the major projects will rise in Viikki, Jätkäsaari, Kalasatama and Matinkylä Matinkylä district of Espoo. In addition, HOAS will also accelerate housing renovations.The Viikki project will launch a construction boom, which is larger than any other HOAS project has been for many years. ”Because of the new Aalto University, the focus on construction is likely to be in the west in the future”, Valkjärvi told to HS.

Kalasatama will be planned for 18 000 residents and 10 000 jobs--City of Helsinki/City Planning Dep.

The chronic shortage of student housing continues in Helsinki, and the queues for housing at the HOAS have been increasing year after year. With the gradual increase in rents, most students are unable to compete in the unregulated rentals market in the Greater Helsinki. In comparison, the Foundation charges EUR 220 for a small 18 m2 room with the basic amenities in a former old people’s home in Helsinki’s Ruskeasuo district, while a bedsitter on the open market would easily cost EUR 600 to 700.

The number of applicants doubled over three years - in August 2005, it was 3,300, while in the autumn of 2008, the figure was 6,200, setting a record in the 30-year history of HOAS.

References:
[1] Salla Korpela, Jätkäsaari – city life for the new millennium?, virtual.finland.fi, Ulkoasiainministeriö, September 2007

[2] City of Helsinki/City Planning Department, Länsisatama - West Harbour: downtown by the sea, www.hel.fi , 15.08.2008

Related articles:

City of the future is for people, not cars 11.10.2007

Renault-Nissan electric cars arrive at Portugal in 2011

Portugal Tecnológico 2008 in Lisbon - Nissan Denki (Japanese for “electric”) Cube Concept

The Portuguese government and the Renault-Nissan alliance signed the final agreement “Zero Emission Mobility”, under which Portugal will create a national recharging network for its project of electric cars, that will be built across the country over the next 3 years.

Portugal will have 320 charging stations for electric cars in 2010.That number will reach 1300 at the end of 2011.

Read more

The final agreement took place four months after the government and Renault-Nissan attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the project, in order to Portugal becomes one of the first world markets (and the first European) where will be introduced the models of Renault-Nissan electric cars, with release scheduled for the beginning of 2011. French carmaker Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan have been working on the development of a battery powered car with a 160 Km range.

The Portuguese Prime Minister, José Sócrates, announced incentives to electric vehicle purchasers, including an income tax credit for individuals and corporate tax reductions for fleet purchases. The government also wants that 20% of public fleet vehicle purchases be zero-emission, from 2011. Other measures, such as reduced parking rates, preferential access and financing subsidies are being studied further.

“Portugal is a global leader in renewable energy. The next step is to make Portugal a pioneer in zero emission mobility. Electric vehicles offer major benefits to our society by reducing imports of fuel, improving energy security, reducing CO2 emissions and offering a reliable and secure alternative towards sustainable mobility,” said the Prime Minister.

Portugal Tecnológico 2008 in Lisbon - Nissan Denki (Japanese for “electric”) Cube Concept

These measures were announced in Lisbon, at Portugal Tecnológico 2008. Nissan’s Denki Cube was on display at the exhibition. This concept vehicle features the same lithium-ion battery technology that will power Nissan’s new electric vehicles.

Google Maps Portugal and Google Transit Lisboa

Yesterday, Google Portugal announced two services in the Portuguese language: Google Maps and Google Transit for Lisbon (Lisboa). After Vienna, the Portuguese capital is the second European city to receive this service. Now, it’s possible to get Google information of how to travel in Lisbon on public transport, a service provided by Google Transit.

Read more

We are satisfied with these news, because one year ago Google announced the launch of Google Transit trip planner in Europe, having only information for some places and transport companies. Nowadays, over 70 agencies in 10 countries make their information available in Google Maps.

When the project was only available in some selected cities, not located in Europe, we published a simple plan for a trip across Europe, between Lisbon and Helsinki, to observe which of the transit agencies’ schedules might be integrated to increase the Google database. This year, Google Transit was developed in partnership with Metro and Carris, companies where is available all the information relevant to public transport in Lisbon, such as the location, travel time and ticket prices.

To plan a trip, you can simply click on the "Get directions " link. Then, it’s only necessary typing the start and end address in the "Get directions" boxes to get the results.

Google believes this is an important step in encouraging people to use public transit. The company hopes that folks will decide to leave the car at home if they can easily discover a transit stop next to a business as they're searching for it, or if they realise it's easy to take a train as they plot their journey from point A to point B.

In a yesterday press conference, Inês Gonçalves, Google Portugal responsible of marketing, said:

"It’s obvious that we want more cities, now it depends on the partners"

"Google Maps is not only put a map online, it’s to get a location where the language is understood, and with local content."

As we notice, on November 2007, Google established in Lisbon to concentrate on online publicity, trying to attract investments from Portuguese companies.

Yesterday, Paulo Barreto, chief executive of Google Portugal, said that "since a year ago that we operate directly in Portugal, our priority has been to adapt products to Portuguese."

Companies can also advertise for free on Google Maps through a Local Business Center, a service now available in beta Google Maps PT or in Google Maps for Mobile. In addition, there is also accessible the Google Maps API that will help developers, webmasters and designers to incorporate the functionality of Google Maps on their websites.

The world integration of the public transit schedules (in different transport modes) will surely be a great challenge to improving the schedule-based service. Indeed, IT and modern real-time logistics are crucial keys for the design of the future public transport.

So, to increase the integration of their schedule-based services, the agencies should have a public transportation data for their cities, and get it included in the Google Transit trip planner. The Google Transit Partner Program describes how to share agencies information on Google Maps. For participating the agencies should provide a transportation service that is open the the public, and operates with fixed schedules and routes.

Related articles:

• Google Transit and Google Maps integration: Cheaper, Faster and Greener
• Google Transit trip planning in UK, Switzerland and Italy
• Google establishes New office in Portugal

European Mobility Week 2008: 200 million people expected

This year, from 16 to 22 September, the European Mobility Week (EMW) - an event which permits to test many ideas - should include the participation of 200 million people.

This week, citizens can try alternative transports and the cities that have joined to this initiative, can also test new services and new infrastructures. The only requirement is launching at least one permanent measure that will help to cut the harmful emissions from the transport sector.

The local authorities participating in this initiative are also encouraged to organise awareness-raising activities around the theme - link between mobility and air quality (“Clean Air for All !A dream or a real possibility?”). For example, on 21 September, in Reykjavik (Iceland), it will be realized a city fair based around the themes of sustainable transport and clean air.

More to the south, also the Lisbon municipality intends to improve the air quality of the city through the EMW programme. Thus, the municipality announced that each day will be devoted to environmental issues and mobility, such as air quality, parking in residential areas, prevention and road safety, public transportation and energy efficiency. The European Car Free day will culminate the initiative, being some streets closed to traffic.

The vice president of the municipality referred to the riverside bike path project, as well as to the bike network of shared use. The municipality and the Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of Lisbon and Tagus Valley (CCDR-LVT) signed a protocol to make a public commitment to improving the Lisbon air quality.

Even more to the south, in the Alentejo region, the Évora municipality is encouraging its workers to start a system of car-sharing ( "carpooling") between the residence and the workplace. For the implementation of this system, this municipality will launch one Intranet - a site where the users could identify residence areas and workplaces.

Last year, 2000 cities in 36 countries participated in the European Mobility Week. The initiative is coordinated by the non-governmental organizations Eurocities, Energie-Cités and Climate Alliance.

According to the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), 65 localities are participating in the 2008 European Mobility Week and European Day Without Cars.

Google Transit trip planning in UK, Switzerland and Italy

Google announced the launch of Google Transit trip planner in Europe. Now you can plan your entire journey using public transportation. So far Google has information for the following places and transport companies:

Read more1 - Traveline South East, UK

"The UK's No 1 website for impartial information on planning your journey, by bus, coach or train... or any combination of the three!"

Google Transit can plan trips on the following agencies in this area: Traveline Southeast, including national data for long-distance coach services.

2 - SBB, Switzerland (train, ferries and long distance bus coverage)

3 - VBZ, Zurich, Switzerland

4 - Turin, Italy (Gruppo Torinese Trasporti)

www.5t.torino.it/5t/en/percorsi

5 - Florence, Italy (ATAF&Linea, AMV, ACV)

www.provincia.fi.it/mobilita/

www.ataf.net/travelPlan/calcolapercorso

You can try it yourself: type your start and end address in the "get directions" boxes. The default results are driving directions, but in the areas that Google has transit routing coverage, you can simply click on the "Take Public Transit" link.

Google believes this is an important step in encouraging people to use public transit. Google is hoping folks will decide to leave the car at home if they can easily discover a transit stop next to a business as they're searching for it, or if they realise it's easy to take a train as they plot their journey from point A to point B. Google is always looking to improve the coverage and work with more partners and they will keep you posted as more places and transport companies are added.

How to provide transit data to Google Transit Trip Planner

Recently we made a plan for a trip across the Europe, Lisbon - Helsinki. The aim was to see which of the schedules of the transit agencies might be integrated to increase the Google database, giving to the users a chance to check which would be the cheapest, probably fastest and most environmentally friendliest trip.

Lisbon – Helsinki trip plan
Start: Rotunda da Expo 98; Lisbon, Portugal
End: Mannerheimintie ; Helsinki, Finland
Travel: 4,069 km – about 1 day 20 hours (by car)

Transporlis is a multimodal information system of the metropolitan area of Lisbon.

It is a system that integrates the main transport operators of the metropolitan area of Lisbon, and that allows to optimize the use of their transports in function of the schedules of each company. It also integrates the flight schedules of the airport of Lisbon.

YTV door-to-door Journey Planner gives you advice on the best public transport connection to your destination within the Helsinki region.

The principal duties of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV) comprise transport system planning, regional public transport provision, waste management and air quality management for its four member municipalities (Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa).

We can say that the world integration of the public transit schedules (in its different transport modes) will surely be a great challenge . Once achieved, this previous example would be highly simplified, improving the schedule-based service. IT and modern real-time logistics are crucial keys for the design of future public transport.

So, to increase the integration it's necessary that the agencies have a public transportation data for their cities, and get it included in the Google Transit Trip Planner. The Google Transit Feed Specification describes how to provide transit data in a format that Google Transit Trip Planner can use, i.e. how a public agency that oversees public transportation can submit a feed to Google Transit Trip Planner.

Greenpeace: Neste palm-based biodiesel not so green

A full-page advertisement in Tuesday's Helsingin Sanomat by Neste Oil (which perhaps wants to be to biodiesel what Nokia is to mobile phones) promoting its biodiesel as an environmentally friendly option was immediately disputed by Greenpeace. According to the page advertisement, biodiesel reduces emissions of greenhouse gases.
Read more

Stockholm, Sweden - Sweden's Greenpeace organisation held a demonstration on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Swedish oil company OKQ8 to protest plans to buy bio diesel fuel produced by Neste Oil using tropical palm oil as the raw material.

Photo: Greenpeace / Ludvig Tillman

WATCH THE VIDEO

Harri Lammi of the Finnish section of Greenpeace:

"The production of palm oil is one of the greatest causes of deforestation in Southeast Asia. Neste Oil says that it imports the oil from Malaysia, but the company that they use plans to expand to Indonesia, where 80 per cent of deforestation stems from the production of palm oil"
Greenpeace calls the oil a "rain forest fuel", and says that the production of its raw material, palm oil, increases greenhouse gas emissions, rather than reducing them.

Jarmo Honkamaa of Neste Oil says that the palm oil comes from Malaysia from monitored plantations. The subcontractor is a company called IOI.

"Our palm oil can be traced back to the plantations. The plantations have been examined by a foreign company, and they have made a report. We didn't get top marks on every aspect, but there are no great causes for concern"

Honkamaa says that Neste Oil has been actively developing a certification system for sustainable palm oil production, called the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil, or RSPO.
"We will use certified palm oil as soon as possible, and IOI is also committed to this"

The certification system is not yet in use, and Lammi of Greenpeace says that Neste cannot claim in its advertising that a single drop of the palm oil that it uses is extracted without damage to the rain forests.

"It seems unlikely that certification would have any significance, because such a small proportion of producers will be a part of it"

"If demand increases, there will be more producers, and when the oil brings a good price, it will be produced in an unethical manner"

Following protests by Greenpeace, the Swedish filling station chain OKQ8 announced that it would cancel its plans to market biodiesel fuel produced by Neste Oil.

Links
Greenpeace: Neste palm oil-based biodiesel not so green
Swedish filling station chain cancels deal with Neste

Neste Oil press release: Neste Oil aims to become the world´s leading biodiesel producer

www.greenpeace.org/finland/fi/mediakeskus/
www.greenpeace.org/sweden/press/

Greenpeace Opposing Neste Palm-Based Biodiesel

Biofuel buses introduced in Helsinki public transport 28.08.2007

Finnish oil company Neste to invest billions in biodiesel production 28.09.2006

Every second bus in Helsinki may soon run on second-generation biodiesel 20.04.06

Google Transit and Google Maps integration: Cheaper, Faster and Greener

Lisbon – Helsinki trip plan with Google Maps ( for a while , car-free travel planning isn't available in Europe)

Google recently announced that Google Transit has graduated from Google Labs being fully integrated with Google Maps . This means that Google Transit allows travelers to choose public transportation instead of driving and to receive customized directions (in areas where Google has transit coverage). Thus, you have freedom of choice to check which is the cheapest, probably fastest and most environmentally friendliest trip.

Read moreYou can select the time of departure or arrival and Google Transit will plot the best course (you can choose from a few alternate routes). Considered parameters are: walking directions to and from public transportation stations, cost of the trip (compared to the cost via car) and estimated total time of travel.

For a while, the project is only available in selected cities, not in Europe. Next, we will make a plan for a trip across the Europe, Lisbon - Helsinki. The aim is to see which of the schedules of the transit agencies might be integrated to increase the Google database.

Lisbon – Helsinki trip plan

Start: Rotunda da Expo 98; Lisbon, Portugal
End: Mannerheimintie ; Helsinki, Finland
Travel: 4,069 km – about 1 day 20 hours (by car)

Note: the following information is merely experimental , it doesn't release the consultation of the transportation services. In reality, traffic, construction works or other events may affect the results.

1. Selection of flights from the available options (booking)

Estimated time of travel – 6h25min + 1h30 (check-in, luggage, etc)

Itinerary
From---------To--------- Departure-------------Arrival
Lisbon------ Munich ----- 29Oct, 06h30---------29Oct, 10h35
Munich ---- Helsinki------ 29 Oct, 11h20 ------29 Oct, 14h55

2.Trip between Rotunda da Expo98 and Portela Airport (2 points placed in Lisbon city) 3.9 km
Estimated time of travel (public transport) – 88 min
Estimated time of travel (by car) – about 8 min
It's better to call a taxi...

Transporlis is a multimodal information system of the metropolitan area of Lisbon.

It is a system that integrates the main transport operators of the metropolitan area of Lisbon, and that allows to optimize the use of their transports in function of the schedules of each company. It also integrates the flight schedules of the airport of Lisbon.

Path Finder
Video

3.Trip between Vantaa Airport and Mannerheimintie(Helsinki) 19.8 km
Estimated time of travel (public transport) – 43 min
Estimated time of travel (by car) – about 22 min

YTV door-to-door Journey Planner gives You advice on the best public transport connection to your destination within the Helsinki region.

The principal duties of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV) comprise transport system planning, regional public transport provision, waste management and air quality management for its four member municipalities (Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa). It also maintains regional databases and conducts studies on different issues affecting the region. Besides its member municipalities, YTV also serves a number of nearby municipalities on the basis of separate contracts.

Departure (Lisbon) - 4 h 30min
Arrival (Helsinki) - 16h 47min
Estimated total time of travel - 10h 17m

Level of satisfaction of the residents with public transport in selected cities (2006)

Satisfaction of the residents with public transport in selected cities in 2006.

Source: Survey on perceptions of quality of life in 75 European cities. European Commission 2007. The survey was carried out in November 2006 by interviewing 500 people in each 75 cities participating in the survey. There were 23 questions on the quality of life in the respondent’s area.

In this above graph we can notice the satisfaction of the residents of selected cities with public transport in the year of 2006 ( survey on perceptions of quality of life in 75 European cities). Helsinki is placed in the first position followed by Wien, Rennes, Hamburg and Munchen. Paris is in the middle. Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon are in the last third, while Roma and Napoli are at the bottom.

In Helsinki, the central city, the share of public transport is among the highest (in European comparison). This is a result of active policies of promoting public transport.

In relation to the national wealth (GDP per capita), monthly passes are very inexpensive in Helsinki (the price difference of single and monthly passes is significant).

In the Helsinki metropolitan area the share of the operating costs of public transport financed by ticket revenues is higher than in most cities included in international comparison and all the public funding is derived from municipalities, contrary to most of metropolitan areas in Europe (particularly in capital cities), where the central government usually takes the main responsibility of public transport.

It is not surprise that the YTV door-to-door Journey Planner service is among the most visited sites of the country, due to its simplicity and efficiency - a Helsinki “slang” site version complements the 3 languages of the site (finnish, swedish and english) and the site also includes one mobile version and journey planner for cyclists.

The Finns seem to have learned from the success of the world of IT and modern real-time logistics , keys for the design of future public transport.

How to provide transit data to Google Transit Trip Planner

We can say that the world integration of the public transit schedules (in its different transport modes) will surely be a great challenge . Once achieved, this previous example would be highly simplified, improving the schedule-based service.

So, to increase the integration it's necessary that the agencies have a public transportation data for their cities, and get it included in the Google Transit Trip Planner. The Google Transit Feed Specification describes how to provide transit data in a format that Google Transit Trip Planner can use, i.e. how a public agency that oversees public transportation can submit a feed to Google Transit Trip Planner.

References
Petri Jalasto, Eeva Linkama,Seppo Lampinen (YY-Optima Oy), Finnish transport system in European perspective, Ministry of Transport and Communications, 28 September 2007

Fast Transport on Request: new alternative intercity transport

The contemporary city is a multidimensional reality. More than half of the world's people will soon live in highly urbanized centres, in conurbations or in metropolitan areas - continuous networks of urban communities. The massive use of private cars causes serious problems in these urban networks, when industrial areas and vital urban facilities are blocked by traffic congestions and parking problems. Despite this situation, for many the private car remains favourable, but it is obvious that an effective alternative in the form of public transportation is strongly needed.

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In that context a new type of public transportation is sketched, which is focussed on intercity travelling - the travelling between urban centres situated at mutual distances from 10 to 50 Km, covering an area with a length up to 200 Km. This transportation concept (Fast Transport on Request) is based on three key ideas: the success of the private car, the new world of Internet and communication and modern real-time logistics. [1]

Two rapidly evolving areas of advanced transportation and energy technology are hydrogen energy systems and intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Projects involving the use of ITS and hydrogen-powered vehicles include a “superbus” project where a hydrogen-powered transit bus is also equipped with the latest ITS telematics technology to optimize its operation and potentially to help attract ridership, potentially in conjunction with “hot lanes” for transit vehicles at peak times. [2]

1.Indications for the design of future public intercity transport [1]

Learning from the success of the private car, the world of IC and the success of modern real-time logistics - the resulting indications for the design of future public intercity transport.

1.1 Private car

Chevrolet Volt/H2mobility.org by LBST

Reliable, unconditional access to fast mobility

• High driving frequencies, or quick service on request

• Stops on short distances from desired departure and arrival points

• For individual traveller, no detours and no intermediate stops

• Travel times all-in shorter than private car, parking included

• Certainty about back travel

Comfort, privacy and control over travel environment

• Comfortable, automatically adjusting chairs

• Environment for digital information providing and amusement

• Direct connections without change over

Suitable for family or group travelling

• Option to book several neighbouring seats in the same vehicle

• Facilities for travelling kids

General Concepts (Automobility)

“Automobility and personal autonomy are complementary and arise from, and give expression to the fundamental human quality of self-determination.” (philosopher Lomasky, 1995)

“Waiting in traffic congestions is a waste of time, but also a frustration of freedom”
“For many people, car driving gives a feeling of freedom, power and social participation.” (sociologist Sheller, 2004)

Experience of privacy

Hidden conflict between authority and personal autonomy.

In this way, automobility is experienced as a continuing rejection of governmental policy to discourage car driving and to promote public transportation.

Transport “new style” scores on aspects such as availability, speed, comfort, and social integration.

Changing over must be avoided

1.2 IC world

Superbus/TU Delft

Integrated in communicative life style

• Booking via Internet and intelligent mobile telephone

• Identification and financial settlements via personal smart carts

• Compatible with active metropolitan life style

Response on demand

• Anticipating deployment of vehicles, using dynamical statistics

• Anticipating response on public happenings

Co-ordinated autonomy of actors

• Autonomously operating vehicles, prevents system failures

• Overall co-ordination promoting quality of service and efficiency

General Concepts (Virtual mobility and autonomy)

With the modern mobile telephone people can communicate instantaneously from any place to any place at any time, without meeting each other.

Communicative life style

The rise of Internet has led the world of Cyberspace

“Cyberspace accommodates many forms of service providing, taking advantage of the unlimited access to information and of the possibilities of taking virtual decisions and to settle financial commitments. There is no need to work within an organisation to get access to these facilities.(…)

Markets are agile and enterprises must react fast. New organisations operate with autonomous business units, co-ordinating the work with the help of digital performance contracts.”

Railways still follow the traditional model:
Trains are rigid
Trains cannot leave the rails
Trains cannot pass each other
The following times between trains are at least three minute.
Trains must operate in fixed schedules
Operational control is focused on maintaining the schedules.
Organisational form is hierarchical.
Local perturbations can propagate fast (which may lead to stagnation of the whole system)

Bus transport operates differently:

Each bus functions autonomously and is committed to the running operation plan via a performance contract.

Malfunction of a single bus will not lead to failure of the system

“The current ICT offers special means to implement an intelligent customer interface with a booking system, a virtual ticket market and with an interactive travelling supporting system.”

1.3 Modern logistics

Ford Airstream/H2mobility.org by LBST

Service dynamics: service on four types of stations

• Intercity stations with parking and change over facilities

• Stationary local stop places

• Demand related varying local stop places

Demand intensities and selection of assortment

• Service related to ABC-classification and minimal requirements on service providing

• Balance between differentiation of service and demand intensities

Concept

• Combination of collect-sprint-disperse and line-hub-spoke

Production on stock or on demand

• Serve minimal required service level with fixed schedule

• Serve A-segment largely on the basis of demand forecasts

• Serve other demand on request

Logistic control

• Capacity planning, using aggregated demand forecasts

• Real-time operations planning on combined deployment of vehicles and allocation of seats

General Concepts ( The logistical viewpoint)

Virtual ticket market

In logistics ABC-classification, the assortment is subdivided in highly, moderately and rarely demanded products (often the so-called 80/20-rule applies):

A-segment - 80% of the demand concerns only 20% of the assortment.
B-segment - represents 15% of the demand on (say) 30% of the assortment.
C-segment - the remaining part.
Often the C-segment is loss making, but can’t be missed because of complementary with other segments.
In the transportation market:
A-segment - typically consists of trips during rush hours.
B-segment - covers daily trips on popular trajectories
C-segment - typically lies on nightly trips.

“Production may be induced by keeping stocks. Stocks may cause stock risks, implying that possibly they can’t be sold. For products of the “A-segment”, such risks can be small and therefore acceptable. Since the seventies production on stock is largely replaced by production on demand.”

From the viewpoints of quality of service providing and efficiency, the appropriate form is production on demand.

Using modern ICT, the demand could be entered via Internet or telephone.

Public transport operating with fixed schedules is a form of “production on stock”. These stocks consist of seats in the acting vehicles. Unsold stocks are visible as empty seats.

Dial-a-ride public transport “produces on demand”

“The logistical viewpoint gives indications how to arrange the locations and selection of stops, how to serve strongly varying demands, which transportation concept is to be preferred and how to control the operations.”

Transportation concepts
Line-hub-spoke concept:
Intercity personal transport mainly goes by train, where the stations are passed in line. On each station travellers may use the local transport system to start or to complete their travel.
Collect-sprint-disperse concept:
Busses offer other possibilities. A trip along the intercity tracks both may start and end with a local trip, serving a rather small number of popular stopping places.

“The leading idea is to avoid transfer between local transport and intercity transport, and with this shorten travel times. Line-hub-spoke and collect-sprint-disperse might be combined in the sense that a part of the travellers may avoid local related transfers indeed, whereas others use separate local transport.”

2.Characteristics of Fast Transport on Request (FTR) [1]

Van Hool Prototype Bus/ ISEcorp

“Characteristic is the application of advanced technology in vehicles, traffic control and communication. Remarkable is the rigorous integration of the words of public transport, cyberspace and system intelligence, aimed to offer a quality which can compete with the use of the private car.”

• For the transport between the cities, there are dedicated and protected tracks (sprint tracks) for fast driving cars, which are connected with (dedicated) local road networks.

General Concepts

Busses can be constructed safely driving 180 km/h (with proven technology)

Sprint tracks are reserved for qualified vehicles.

Driving at normal speeds, such vehicles also can be used on public roads.

To be allowed to drive on a sprint track, a car must be equipped with:
- a system for lateral stabilisation
- a system to follow a virtual roadmap
- an intelligent cruise controller (however the driver will stay fully responsible)

• Trips have to be booked via Internet or telephone, which can be done “on-timing”, “on last-minute”, or as “option”. The booking system is connected with a virtual ticket market. One may book bundles of trips and “connected tickets”.

“Travelling can be shortened by reducing the number of intermediate stops and by avoiding making detours. To issue such special trips, the planning system needs information on the demand. This information can be deduced from real-time forecasts, but above all from requests to be served, entering via Internet and telephone. Clearly a booking system is a natural apparatus to improve the service level and therefore has to be the core of and intelligent customer interface.”

• An operations control system clusters the travel requests, deploys the vehicles and allocates the seats, such that travellers never will make a detour and such that intermediate stops are avoided.

• The vehicles are equipped with digital facilities and comfortable seats, which adapt themselves automatically to the profile of the traveller.

General Concepts

Each seat is equipped with digital facilities for communication, radio and television.

3.Combination of BRT and DR systems [1]

It is natural to combine the systems of BRT and DR and add a few elements related to the structuring of the routes, the intercity travelling speed, the availability via an intelligent customer interface and the personalised service.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Public transport with busses, driving on dedicated lanes, with separate halting lanes and with right of way on crossings

Demand Responsive Transport (DRT)

Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) mainly concerns transport with minibuses to serve scattered demands in rural environments. The routes and the deployment of vehicles are planned in response on requests entered by telephone.

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“For a new concept such as FTR extensive R&D is needed to elaborate and to verify the technology, the logistic control system, the safety aspects and the societal acceptance. People are not used to book their daily travelling, but the unique buying reasons are that travelling with FTR is cheap, fast and “tailor made”.”

References

[1] Joseph J.M. Evers , Discussion note by Prof. Joop Evers: Profile of new intercity transport, Transport Policy and Logistics Organization / Technology, Policy and Management / Delft University of Technology; EJTIR- European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure, Volume 7, Issue 3 (September, 2007), pp. 257-266

[2] TIMOTHY E. LIPMAN, OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTEGRATING HYDROGEN-POWERED VEHICLES AND INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS: ANALYSIS OF “SMART REFUELING” TO OPTIMIZE HYDROGEN INFRASTRUCTURE, INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORTATION STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – BERKELEY AND HYDROGEN PATHWAYS PROGRAM UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – DAVIS, ITS-World 06 - October 8-12, 2006