The President of Transport Action Atlantic says they had a great panel discussion about Sustainable Transportation over the weekend.
Ted Bartlett says one of the most memorable moments was Transportation Minister Roger Melanson saying “Policy Changes Behaviour.’
Bartlett says in this case sustainability isn’t just “green” it’s about sensible expenditures.
“Sustainability has to do with affordability as well, and are we spending our public resources in the best possible way,” says Bartlett. “We need to take a good hard look at what we are doing.”
He quoted Yves Bourgeois, the director of the Institute for Urban and Community Studies at UNB saying New Brunswickers spend 20-percent of their income on transportation.
“For low income families, the percentage probably rises and the amount of money they are spending on transportation is unsustainable so it’s a major burden for low income families,” says Bartlett.
He adds people will reduce car usage or ownership if the alternative are attractive enough.
“The alternative is certainly public transit,” says Bartlett. “The figures demonstrate that 4% of the working population in Moncton uses public transit, compared to 24% in Toronto.”
He adds perhaps the provincial Transportation department needs to focus more on policy than infrastructure.
Here at our Annual General Meeting in Moncton, hearing good words about public transportation from @Dawn_Moncton. pic.twitter.com/9Pj9vjuLX9
— Transport Action Atl (@TrsprtActionAtl) April 9, 2016
