I am in Paris for meetings today - hopeful to do some shopping until a combination of English luck in the rugby and a two-day rail strike conspired to mean i had to take an expensive early morning flight and spend 3 hours getting to the venue - normally one hour tops.
However, in parallel with London after July 2005, Paris's cyclists were out in force, many on the Vélib or "freedom bikes" [so many, that i found the Vélib rank empty with a queue of waiting Vélibistes]. It was choas, road rage, crashes [minor], motorbikes on the pavement. Reclaim the Streets indeed.
Yet, seriously, what is the rail strike's carbon footprint and is it pro-poor?
More people walked, cycled, stayed off work. But many took their cars - with horrendous queues. Plus, from a sustainable development viewpoint, many businesses suffer. The seminar I attended lost 50% of participants earlier this week - cancelled owing to the strike threat - and by 3pm on Friday, half the remaining left early for the airport, worried they would miss planes. Plus, taxis in Paris are not high-earners on "idle" mode - no Hackney Cabs in London these!
In general, it is the poorer paid workers who HAVE to go to their workplaces - who HAVE to travel. They work in jobs where "working from home" is not an option - where the internet plays no part.
In sum, the rail strike is not a boost for sustainable development, but it might be carbon neutral.
If only England will win tomorrow and usher in a new era for Paris and its transport system ...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment