Suzanne Daley – Helsinki Journal April 25, 2015
Helsinki, Finland — Getting a speeding ticket is not a feel-good moment for anyone. But consider Reima Kuisla, a Finnish businessman.
He was recently fined 54,024 euros (about $58,000) for traveling a modest, if illegal, 64 miles per hour in a 50 m.p.h. zone. And no, the 54,024 euros did not turn out to be a typo, or a mistake of any kind.
Mr. Kuisla is a millionaire, and in Finland the fines for more serious speeding infractions are calculated according to income. The thinking here is that if it stings for the little guy, it should sting for the big guy, too.
The ticket had its desired effect. Mr. Kuisla, 61, took to Facebook last month with 12 furious posts in which he included a picture of his speeding ticket and a picture of what 54,024 euros could buy if it were not going to the state coffers — a new Mercedes. He said he was seriously considering leaving Finland altogether, a position to which he held firm when reached by phone at a bar where he was watching horse races.
“The way things are done here makes no sense,” Mr. Kuisla sputtered, saying he would not be giving interviews. Before hanging up, he added: “For what and for whom does this society exist? It is hard to say.”
The Average American Can No Longer Afford a New Car – instamotor.com
The average transaction price of a new vehicle is $32,086. For the last few years Americans have been buying higher-contented vehicles, which are cars and trucks packed with features and accessories.
The one problem here is that the average U.S. household can’t afford that price.
Interest.com, a consumer finance site owned by Bankrate looked at median household incomes across the US and concluded that new cars are out of reach for most Americans. They looked at the median household income in the 25 largest U.S. metropolitan areas and Washington DC was the only area that could actually afford to buy a new car.
Washington had the highest median household and based on their calculations a car buyer would be able to support a $641 monthly payment, which they translate to a purchase price of $32,531 – slightly higher than the average.
Get on your bike? Not if some Tory councils have their way – theguardian.com
Tom Wall
Transport officials have cut funding to three Conservative-controlled councils for failing to encourage walking and cycling amid a local Tory backlash against government-backed plans to reduce traffic and pollution.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has been forced to reduce active travel funding to a string of councils after Tory councillors removed pop-up cycle lanes and pedestrianised areas before they had a chance to change the way people travel.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead did not receive any funding to draw up cycling and walking infrastructure plans last year after it abandoned proposals for two low-traffic neighbourhoods.
This month the Tory-run borough announced it was removing pavement widening measures on eight streets, partly to increase car parking bays. In a town forum discussing the removal, a council officer declared the “car remains king” in Maidenhead.
Transport officials have cut funding to three Conservative-controlled councils for failing to encourage walking and cycling amid a local Tory backlash against government-backed plans to reduce traffic and pollution.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has been forced to reduce active travel funding to a string of councils after Tory councillors removed pop-up cycle lanes and pedestrianised areas before they had a chance to change the way people travel.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead did not receive any funding to draw up cycling and walking infrastructure plans last year after it abandoned proposals for two low-traffic neighbourhoods.
This month the Tory-run borough announced it was removing pavement widening measures on eight streets, partly to increase car parking bays. In a town forum discussing the removal, a council officer declared the “car remains king” in Maidenhead.
Cycling Minister pleaded with children not to cycle on “terrible” roads, pledges action – Cycle Industry News
Laura Laker 23 March, 2022
England’s new cycling Minister admits she has “pleaded” with her kids not to cycle on her local roads, decrying the state of some “terrible”, “so-called cycle infrastructure” – and says building safe cycling routes to enable disabled people, women and children to cycle more is a priority.
Trudy Harrison, who taught Bikeability as a school governor, and has a degree in sustainable communities, told an All Party Parliamentary Group for Walking and Cycling (APPCWG) meeting active travel will be key in decarbonising Britain, and cited the industry’s “significant” contribution to the economy, but she was bluntly honest about the challenges ahead, criticising cycling conditions in her home county, Cumbria, and expressing a particular desire to improve rural routes.
The MP for Copeland who took up the post in January, wants to work with landowners to develop new cycle routes, and says as well as infrastructure a “cultural change” is needed to get more people on bikes, and shift divisive language around drivers and cyclists.
(Editor’s note: Today the chancellor has again handed the motorist a 5p on the litre fuel duty cut with a reported £5 billion per year cost to the treasury. The five year walking and cycling budget – at a time of climate emergency – is just £2 billion.)
The Australian Government has made an ad about this summer’s floods and it’s surprisingly honest and informative – thejuicemedia
Mar 17, 2022
The Australien Government has made an ad about this summer’s floods and it’s surprisingly honest and informative. 🇦🇺👽🌊 👉 Ways you can support us to keep making videos: 🔹 Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/TheJuiceMedia
Triple7Music: https://audiojungle.net/item/epic-adv…
UK ministers urged to promote e-bikes to tackle health and climate crises | Transport policy | The Guardian
Campaigners say subsidy scheme could create £2bn in health benefits and cut 1m tonnes of emissions annually
Peter Walker
An employee works on an electric bicycle at a factory in Germany. Photograph: Ralph Orlowski/Reuters
Ministers should consider subsidising e-bikes as they do electric cars, campaigners have urged, after a study found that mass use of such bikes could create more than £2bn in health benefits and cut a million tonnes of emissions annually.
While grants of up to £1,500 are available for low-emission cars, vans and motorbikes, there is no such assistance for electric-assist bikes, which help propel riders up to a maximum powered speed of 15mph when the bike is being pedalled.
According to an evidence review by academics at Westminster University, commissioned by the campaign group Bike is Best, boosting e-bike use would bring other benefits not created by electric cars, including reduced road congestion and fewer potentially dangerous particulates from tyre and brake wear.
Tyre Extinguishers – deflating SUV tyres as a form of climate action theguardian.com
Damien Gayle
The activists who took “climate action” against sports utility vehicles by flattening their tyres in the last two weeks have been receiving solidarity and calls for information from around the world.
Tyre Extinguishers provides instructions on how to deflate SUV tyres, offers guidance on who to target and collates reports of actions across the country. They have gauged the campaign’s reach by angry emails from SUV owners.
Car-free Sundays? IEA sets out 10-point plan to reduce global oil demand – theguardian
Energy watchdog says measures could help cut oil usage by 2.7m barrels a day within four months
Rob Davies
Driving more slowly, turning down the air-conditioning, car free Sundays and working from home should be adopted as emergency measures to reduce the global demand for oil, according to a 10-point plan from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Such measures and changes to consumer behaviour would allow the world to cut its oil usage by 2.7m barrels per day (bpd) within four months – equivalent to more than half of Russia’s exports – the global energy watchdog said.
Living without engines and car free day in the Netherlands – A View From The Cyclepath
22 September 2020
The 1970s in Assen. The city was then full of cars. Cars are
now restricted in the city centre, but it would be incorrect to
assume that they’ve gone away. In fact, car numbers have
tripled since this photo was taken.
A myth has grown up about the Dutch being enthusiastic cyclists who live in green cities and rarely drive. In reality, the majority of journeys are made by motorized vehicles and people who live car-free are in a small and shrinking minority.
A life without motorized vehicles
Over the last year I’ve travelled about 7000 km. 6200 km was covered by bike and the rest I walked (I walk our dog 2 km a day on a normal day, sometimes much more). 6000 km is nothing to boast about. It’s by no means an extreme distance to cycle in a year – it’s barely more than enough to provide the minimum amount of exercise required for health.
New Poll Shows 70% of Brits Think E-Bikes Will Help Reduce Carbon Emissions More Quickly than EVs – bikeisbest
Research prepared by #BikeIsBest and the University of Westminster’s Active Travel Academy shows the general attitude in the UK towards e-bikes as well as a huge variety of their benefits, including the reduction of carbon emissions in comparison to electric vehicles (EVs).
The full report is available to download by clicking here.A poll of adults conducted by YouGov, suggests a broad support for e-bikes as a means of reducing carbon, even amongst those who are not currently considering purchasing an e-bike. According to the YouGov poll, one fifth of adults who did not currently or previously own an e-bike were considering purchasing an e-bike in the future, while 67% of participants stated cost was the biggest obstacle preventing them from making a purchase.
With simple policy improvements to address the cost factor as well as improved infrastructure, e-bikes have the ability to transform the way we live. As part of a rapid evidence assessment, the #BikeIsBest and Active Travel Academy report highlighted the benefits of e-bikes:
Membership
