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Sustainable Transport Award 2008

03 Jan 2008

London and Paris edged out Guatemala City, Guatemala; Eugene, Oregon; and Pereira, Colombia to win the 2008 Sustainable Transport Award. These cities were nominated for the 4th annual international honor for enhancing the sustainability and livability of their community or region by adopting innovative transportation strategies that lessen the impact of climate change by reducing transportation greenhouse and air pollution emissions.

Click here for the Sustainable Transportation Award 2008 Presentation

2008 Winners

Paris, France

Paris revolutionized bike sharing programs of the past to create an individualized mass transit system called Vélib (“Freedom Bikes”).  People pay a low fee to use the bikes from one of the many bike parking stations located in the city and they can return the bikes to any station they wish.  By the end of 2007, Vélib had more than 1,200 stations and 15,000 bikes in the system.  “Freedom bikes” in Paris fill the streets, proving more popular than anticipated.  As of November 2007, more than 11 million trips have been made on these bikes. 

Vélib is just one component of Paris’ new mobility plan that uses transportation innovation to revitalize community life in public spaces.  Paris is prioritizing pedestrians by renovating public squares and plazas, widening sidewalks, and adding new landscaping and raised crosswalks.  Paris has built more than 314 kilometers (195 miles) of bike lanes, and bicycling has increased 48 percent during the past five years.  Three corridors of the new bus rapid transit system also opened in 2007.  These improvements led to a decrease in private vehicle traffic by 20 percent and a nine percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. 

Denis Baupin, Deputy Mayor of Paris, 2008 Sustainable Transport Award Acceptance

London, United Kingdom

London is the largest city to adopt congestion pricing and its success has inspired cities in the United States, such as New York City and San Francisco, to consider implementing it. Cities in developing countries such as Shenzen, P.R. China also see congestion pricing as a meaningful instrument to address the problems associated with the rapid growth in vehicles. In 2007, London expanded on the success of its groundbreaking 2003 congestion pricing plan with a doubling of the congestion zone, increased fees for motor vehicles, and new city-wide emission-based tolls that are spurring more rapid adoption of cleaner, fuel efficient vehicles. 

Prior to the charge, London drivers spent 50 percent of their time in traffic jams, costing the city between £2–4 million ($4–8 million) every week.  Now, congestion has dropped 21 percent in 2007.  About 70,000 fewer vehicles enter the extended congestion pricing zone on a daily basis, reducing global warming carbon dioxide emissions by 16 percent.  Each year more than £123 million ($243 million) are raised for public transport improvements. Bus ridership has increased 45 percent as people are switching to bus transportation in London because their travel time has decreased due to congestion pricing.  Bike use has increased by 43 percent. Emission-based toll incentives further boost environmental benefits.

Click here for London’s Sustainable Transport Award Presentation

2008 Honorable Mentions

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Guatemala City, Guatemala implemented TransMetro, the first bus rapid transit system in Central America, in 2007.  The first 11 kilometers of dedicated median busways with on-level boarding have reduced travel times by 20 percent, as well as significantly reducing air pollution and traffic accidents.  The first corridor carries 145,000 passengers a day and by the end of the year more than 50 million people will have taken the new service.  TransMetro is part of a grander vision of Mayor Arzú to create “A City for Living.” This plan focuses on sustainable development for the fastest growing city in the region, as well as bringing social cohesion to Guatemala City after suffering 30 years of civil war. 

Click here for Guatemala City’s Sustainable Transport Award 2008 Presentation (in Spanish)

Eugene, Oregon

Eugene, Oregon opened one of the first full bus rapid transit systems in the United States using diesel-electric hybrid articulated buses.  The Green Line of the Emerald Express Rapid Transit system (EmX) has dedicated busways and on-level boarding, as well as having a parallel bicycle lane along the corridor.  The buses were also designed so people can bring their bikes onto the buses with them.  Since opening, bus ridership has doubled on the corridor, surpassing projections. More corridors are being planned because EmX has shown that it is politically possible to take traffic lanes in the United States from private cars for a high-quality, lower-cost rapid transit system.

Pereira, Colombia

Pereira, Colombia continued to be a leading city in the country for coordinating land use development and transport planning.  Megabus, its bus rapid transit system and one of the key elements to this development strategy, was appropriately designed according to the local conditions and financial capacity, and carries 155,000 passengers per day. In the narrow streets of downtown Pereira, Megabus makes a clear statement of the importance of giving priority to bus users, rather than the users of private vehicles.  It is also well coordinated with the improvement of pedestrian facilities in downtown, the redevelopment of the old marketplace area into large plazas, and redevelopment of the city center.

The Award recognizes the city or major jurisdiction that has made most significant progress during the year in:

  • improving public transportation,
  • improving non-motorized travel for bicyclists and pedestrians and public space,
  • implementing traffic demand management programs to reduce private car use,
  • reducing urban sprawl by linking transportation to development, and / or
  • reducing transport related air pollution.

The Award is open to all cities and major jurisdictions.  The cities or regions that are nominated should be distinguished by their impact, innovation, and leadership in the transport sector.  This degree of change could be seen in:

  • Creating safer streets, resulting in fewer road accidents and injuries,
  • Improving the air quality by reducing traffic-related air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions,
  • Increasing healthier choices for its citizens for getting around the city, such as walking and cycling, and
  • Achieving greater passenger satisfaction on public transportation by offering better alternatives or as illustrated in increased ridership.

The award selection is organized by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), Environmental Defense (ED), the US Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Transportation in Developing Countries, the regional Clean Air Initiatives (CAIs) for Asia, Latin America, and Africa; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and the United Nations’ Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD).

Each organization is responsible for nominating one city or jurisdiction for the Sustainable Transport Award and may nominate cities or projects for best practice honorable mentions. The regional CAIs are encouraged to solicit nominations from the local nonprofits and cities that they work with.

Past Winners

For more information about our award and previous winners, visit:
http://www.itdp.org/index.php/news_events/event_detail/sustainable_transport_award/

Space is limited
so please RSVP as soon as possible by clicking on the link below:
https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/ITDP-InstituteForTransport/OnlineRegistration.html