cchange workshop travel

Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 16:49:56 -0400 (AST)
From: Wayne Michael Groszko <rain@chebucto.ns.ca>
To: sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <sust-mar-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

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I read the attached message about a climate change workshop in Truro. It
sounds interesting and I may go, but I have the following comment:
*****************************************************
I find it ironic that the directions to reach the Climate Change
workshop were written on the assumption that people would only be
arriving in automobiles.

For those travelling from Halifax to Truro, there is frequent bus
service on Acadian Lines. According to their online schedule at
www.smtbus.com, there are 6 buses per day from Halifax to Truro. The most
relevant for this meeting are as follows:

Departing Halifax:  7:00 AM  every day
Arriving Truro:     8:15 AM 

In the afternoon, returning buses are:

Departing Truro:  4:00 pm and 6:30 pm
Arriving Halifax: 5:20 pm and 8:00 pm

You could finish the workshop, have a bite to eat, and rest on the bus
home at 6:30 pm.

The adult one-way fare is $15.23  (Round trip twice that amount).

The Truro bus station is on Willow Street. The Best Western Glengarry in
Truro (site of the workshop) at 150 Willow Street is about a ten minute
walk north (towards town centre) on Willow Street from the bus station.
Taxi service is also available in Truro.
The Halifax bus station is inside the VIA rail station in the South End
(Hollis Street, beside the Westin). The bus to Truro also picks up
passengers in Dartmouth (Highfield Park transit station) on its way to
Truro, so there is another place you can catch it.

It would be rather convenient for me (and possibly others in Halifax)
to take the bus to this workshop, but this was not mentioned in the 
information message I received about the workshop.

Is there any interest in "bus-pooling" (taking the bus together) among
those people going to the workshop from Halifax?
If so, contact me:
Wayne Groszko  phone:  902 429 0787   email:  rain@chebucto.ns.ca
************************************************
P.S.:
How does this relate to climate change?

As a mode of transportation, inter-city passenger buses have among the
lowest average greenhouse gas emissions per passenger kilometre. By
using the bus, you support a system that reduces greenhouse gas
emissions. Also, the bus system has to maintain a certain schedule, so
that bus is going to travel anyway whether you use it or not. If you use
a previously empty seat on a bus, the average per-passenger-kilometre
emissions of the bus system go down. It's like participating in a big
car-pool. Which brings me to my next point:

Bus-Pooling over Car-pooling

Bus-pooling means getting together as a group to take the bus.
Car-pooling is great, but by car-pooling you are still adding a 
vehicle to the road and to the emissions. By bus-pooling on buses
that are already scheduled to travel, you create almost no additional
emissions (because that bus was going to go anyway).

The only situation in which you would actually increase emissions by
bus-pooling is if the bus was already full and the additional
people caused the bus company to run an extra bus. In my experience of bus
travel in Atlantic Canada, this would happen sometimes but not very often.

Cost of Bus-Pooling

One of the barriers to bus pooling is that if everyone in the bus pool
buys an individual bus ticket, the total (apparent) cost may be more than
if those same people borrowed or rented someone's car and drove together.

To reduce the cost of bus-pooling, it may be worthwhile to approach
Acadian Lines and ask them for a discount group rate or even to sponsor
free travel to the workshop. This contribution could be acknowledged
and become a public relations benefit that the bus company may find
valuable enough to offset the discount.

Opportunity

A Climate Change workshop is an opportunity to demonstrate innovative ways
of working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It's quite handy that the
workshop location is so well-served by bus transportation, making a
demonstration of bus-pooling feasible, at least between Halifax and Truro.
I have not yet investigated other routes (Yarmouth, Cape Breton, Pictou,
Antigonish), but if people are interested in those too, I can do the
research.

happy days,

Wayne Groszko			rain@chebucto.ns.ca
				home phone:    902 429 0787
				office phone:  902 490 6993

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Steve Harder" <tehlsee@ns.sympatico.ca>
> Date: Mon Nov 25, 2002  11:28:02  AM America/Halifax

[. . .]

> Directions: Take Highway 102 to Exit 13 in Truro. If you're coming from
> Halifax or other communities south of Truro, turn right at the exit and
> keep
> driving until you come to a "T" in the road and a set of lights
> (there's a
> gas station on one side and a Tim Horton's on the other). Turn left and
> keep
> driving until you see another set of lights. The Best Western
> Glengarry, 150
> Willow Street, will be on your left. If you're arriving from Cape
> Breton or
> other communities north of Truro, still take Exit 13 off Highway 102,
> but
> turn left. The rest of the directions are the same.

[. . .]



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