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4th June 2004 CLEAN UP OUR ACT AND GET THE TRAINS ROLLING AGAIN Public transport is an absolute necessity and the provision of safe, clean environmental sustainable public transport is part of responsible action towards environmental sustainability. To those who believe that tourism can be the growth engine of the Cape and that Table Mountain is one of the key attributes, - take note - tourists arriving in Cape Town from Sir Lowry's pass cannot see Table Mountain from the top of the pass. It is shrouded in brown smog. In 1997, the brown haze study found that vehicles contributed 65% to air pollution in Cape Town. The original brown haze study predicted that if nothing were done, air pollution would increase by 48% by 2007. Latest indications are that things have definitely got worse. This has been highlighted in recent press articles which reported higher than normal levels of pollution in the last few weeks. According to a Harvard study, the leading cause of asthma is environmental pollution, due in part at least to emissions from vehicles. So we need to clean up our act. We need to address the transport problem before we all suffocate. COSATU must be congratulated for taking Metrorail to task and forcing them to address commuter safety but that is not the end of the road. We need an integrated transport strategy which provides safe, affordable and reliable rail services for commuters. We need to provide incentives for people to leave their cars behind and go to work by train. We need a system which enables commuters who do not live near train lines to easily access them using taxis fuelled in an environmentally friendly way. In short, we do not need unsolicited greed driven bids for toll roads. We want a needs driven approach. Let us see government and metrorail roll their sleeves up and tackle this critical environmental issue. We call on them to firstly provide a acceptable level of service as a matter of urgency and secondly to embark on a marketing campaign to encourage commuters to use the train. For the rest of us, do your lungs a favour and catch the train. Liz McDaid Earthlife Africa Cape Town ?? |
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