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posted by martyb on Saturday July 18 2020, @07:21AM   Printer-friendly

Social distancing is making public transport worse for the environment than cars – here's how to fix it:

While more people opt for travel by car and private transport, the number of passengers that trains and buses can carry has also been reduced to meet social distancing guidelines. This means that people from different households must keep one to two metres apart. So, once a seat is taken, surrounding seats must be left empty.

This has had a profound effect on the climate impact of train and car travel. When running at normal capacity, public transport is more environmentally friendly than travelling by car. Although a train or bus can produce more C0₂ than a car, they transport far more people, so emissions per person are lower overall.

But under social distancing conditions, and assuming that any unfilled seats correspond to a commuter driving to work instead, diesel-powered public transport produces more C0₂ emissions per passenger than a small car.

Can passengers be seated so public transportation can be more efficient than cars while maintaining social distancing?


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by MostCynical on Saturday July 18 2020, @09:25AM (4 children)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Saturday July 18 2020, @09:25AM (#1023312) Journal

    and assuming that any unfilled seats correspond to a commuter driving to work instead

    A huge number of people are working from home, so are not commuting.

    Public transport would mean my commute to work would be between 1.5 and 2.5 hours each way, so I was driving.
    Now, working from home means I am not driving. My company's office is almost deserted.

    People are not commuting. Now re-do the calculations just based on the number of people on the train or bus - but also compare it to the actual occupancy levels for the same hours of the day and the same period in prior years.

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday July 18 2020, @10:15AM (3 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday July 18 2020, @10:15AM (#1023317) Journal

    People are not commuting.

    Hey, ho! not so fast. If you're not commuting and neither your fav south-american barrista does, it still doesn't mean others aren't.
    Like those poor souls that man Coles/Woolworths and Aldi, or those sparkies that maintain the grid.
    Or even those train conductors or bus drivers, they need public transport to get to drive those empty trains and buses all the day long (grin)

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 18 2020, @10:56AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 18 2020, @10:56AM (#1023325)

      Anyhow, the advice from Canberra is to mine more coal while sucking Gautum Adani's massive cock.

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday July 18 2020, @11:13AM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday July 18 2020, @11:13AM (#1023328) Journal

        Canberra has nothing to do with Adani. It's the Queenslanders that want more royalties and jobs.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Saturday July 18 2020, @11:02AM

      by MostCynical (2589) on Saturday July 18 2020, @11:02AM (#1023327) Journal

      luckily, my favourite barista is two blocks from my house :-)

      all the tradies* drive utes** or work trucks***, so there is no change on public transport there...

      * tradesmen and tradeswomen

      ** utility vehicles [wikipedia.org]

      *** actually usually vans [cowleyelectrical.com.au]

      --
      "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex