Go electric - clean air for our towns and cities!

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Tram / streetcar and (electric) trolleybus in Zürich Switzerland.

With the public transports attracting over 50% of all journeys within the urban area the Swiss city of Zürich has the (western world's) most successful urban transport system. At its heart is an integrated network of electric street transports (trams & trolleybuses) and electric mainline railways. As part of environsensible policies designed to protect the health of city-dwellers by minimizing urban air pollution motor buses are generally restricted to outer suburban and rural services. Even so, with just 80% of passengers travelling on electric public transports (2014 data) it is planned to increase this figure by converting more diesel bus services to electric trolleybus and investigate battery electric buses for quieter bus routes.

Go electric and benefit from
clean air in our towns and cities!

As the diagrammatic map suggests, this is a topic which is "awaiting restoration".

OK here in Britain we do have some electric railways and some electric urban tramway systems, however these only operate in a few areas serving only a proportion of our people. And, as yet we don't have ANY full service line haul electric bus routes.

It is not just the health of the British people which would benefit from widespread electrification of street-based urban public transport. With the British Government having been found guilty of not doing enough to reduce urban air pollution, and thereby facing being fined by the EU, so it could be said that by encouraging and investing in electric street-based public transports the Government would be able to prove that in reality it is taking the issue seriously - so therefore it should not be fined. In addition, in the present era of financial prudence it would be far more appropriate to invest the limited available funds on something which improves the quality of life of the British people rather than simply see precious funds drain away when paying fines.

In April 2013 the Supreme Court in London ruled that the UK Government has breached its legal duty to reduce air pollution in British cities, and called for the European Commission to take immediate action to enforce EU law. This link explains more:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/01/government-pollution-supreme-court

Electric railways are looked at on the Railway Electrification page.

The environsensible benefits of electric transport (and especially electric street transport) are fully covered on the Electric Buses page.