Monday, October 24, 2011

Saxmaniac for mayor - News1130 - free-transit advocate

Saxmaniac for mayor - News1130: ""The whole linchpin of my candidacy is free transit. Transit fees are a tax on the poorest members of society who are doing the most environmentally-friendly activity."

He points out it's already been done in Hasselt, Belgium. "They've had free transit for 15 years. Tourism is up. People have more money to spend on small items like coffees and pizzas and that.""

'via Blog this'

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Free-public-transport party wins big in Berlin

by on 09.25.11


Pirate party member Susanne Graf House of Representatives photo
Image: Pirate Party/Susanne Graf
As the rest of the world was celebrating talk like a pirate day, the Pirate Party won its first seats in the Berlin state elections.
In Germany, any party winning more than 5% of the votes is entitled to a share in government. With 8.9%, the Pirate party lands 15 seats in the state government, among them 19-year-old Susanne Graf (pictured above), who will be the youngest representative when session opens in October. Is this the beginning of a new kind of politics? Is the Pirate party walking a green plank?

The Greenest Planks of the Pirate Party Platform
Probably the greenest plank proposed in the Pirate program calls for free public transport, and activates against expanding highways through the city. Free public transport speaks for itself as a green platform. Thoughts on how to suppress highway construction projects rest on the main Pirate plank: make the contracts transparent, so the big money cannot win behind closed doors, and give people a direct vote on whether such projects should proceed. [emphasis added]
Read whole article on Treehugger

Friday, October 7, 2011

San Francisco Supervisor David Campos

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle
Free Muni for youths a step closer: "But, said Supervisor David Campos, chief sponsor of the proposal, allowing youths to ride the buses and streetcars for free without having to sneak aboard is "about making public transit more accessible, is about making San Francisco more livable for families.""

'via Blog this'