China floods. We need dramatic action on #climate. Let's abolish the private auto.

AFP: China rain, landslides leave 9 dead, 62 missing: "BEIJING — Heavy rain in southwest China has left at least nine dead and 62 missing, officials reported Thursday, after landslides crushed homes, bridges collapsed, and dozens of villages were cut off."

MACAU DAILY TIMES - Free electric shuttle bus to Cotai

MACAU DAILY TIMES - Free electric shuttle bus to Cotai: "In order to promote the use of electric buses in Macau, which will reduce emissions, the government begun a trial operation of free electric shuttle buses today. The buses connect the public housing estate of Edificio do Lago in Taipa with the resort district Cotai Strip, and will run between 6:30a.m. and 5p.m."

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Shanghai Metro considering free rides, rebates to beat rush

Shanghai Daily: "The Metro operators are considering offering free rides between 5am and 6am every day, and half-price tickets between 6am and 7am like in Melbourne, said Ji Baohong, a local legislator.

"It is estimated that some 3,000 passengers can avail of the free and discounted tickets before 7am everyday, which is nearly the capacity of three fully loaded trains," Ji said."

China joins mad dash for oil in dangerous arctic

Guest Post: China’s Arctic Strategy | Zero Hedge: "These moves come on top of recently announced deals with Rosneft and Gazprom to explore Arctic fields for oil and gas. At the recent Sino-Russian summit, China concluded a contract with Rosneft to triple the size of current oil deliveries to China to 900,000 BPD, putting it on a par with Saudi deliveries to China, according to a recent report in the Financial Times print edition."

Xiamen introduces free public transportation plan for the disabled

Xiamen: "The municipal government has recently announced that the disabled will be able to enjoy free public transportation in the city, which means that people with disabilities in Xiamen can travel for free on buses and the BRT in the future.

In the past, disabled people could enjoy favorable treatment while taking public transport in Xiamen, but they still needed to pay a reduced fee. In the near future, people with disabilities will be able to use public transportation throughout the city at no cost.
"

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A tramway moves eight times as many people as a road lane

Tramways a pollution-free option | South China Morning Post: " a city that rightly prides itself on putting priority on public transport, and where only 10 per cent of trips are done by private car, it should not be impossible to allocate space to tram lanes that can each carry eight times as many people as a road lane.

In fact, befitting the vision of a "smokeless" Kai Tak, promoting usage of emission-free modern tramways rather than polluting private cars, would be a perfectly sensible policy decision. "

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Public transit must come first to get to a walkable city - Hong Kong Transport Secretary

Speech by STH at Walkable City, Living Streets - Conference on Pedestrian Network Planning, Safety and Streets as Public Spaces in Hong Kong: "if a densely populated city like Hong Kong is to function well as a walkable city, we must first of all provide an efficient mass transit system so as to free up road space. The entire city should be well served by easily accessible public transport with good intermodal connectivity, and pedestrians should be able to move around in a safe and comfortable environment. At the same time, the needs of the elderly and disabled must be well taken care of.

...For too long, like other big cities, Hong Kong has been working hard to cope with motorised transport by building more roads and highways, yet the number of cars keeps on increasing and traffic congestion and roadside emission worsens.

It is indeed time for us to pause, to rethink the future of our city design and transport planning, and to put pedestrians back on our policy map.

When I was a young boy, I lived in Wan Chai, and I went to school by walking. I walked to the City Hall library every Saturday, and I walked to Causeway Bay and Happy Valley for leisure and shopping."