On Nov 18 2008

Air quality in is Excellent, index I (index max: V).
In , same air would be considered as Good, index 3 (index max :10).
What is the best transportation mean to go around in town?
Monday, 30 April 2007, Written by Julien   
In cities, most of the time we spend outside buildings is during transportation, from home to work, from work to home, from home to the gym, from home to bars, etc. And the place where the exposure to outdoor pollution is the highest is ..... (surprise) .... outside buildings!

So, if we can reduce our exposure during transportation, we could easily reduce the impact of outdoor pollution on our health.

For me, the main factors to determine the best transportation mean are:
  • time of transportation (the shorter the better)
  • exposure (the less pollutants the better)
  • effort (less efforts=less air used and no deep breathing)
  • pollution generated by the transportation mean

Base on this, the best transportation means are electric bicycle and normal bicycle ridden slowly.
  1. Electric bicycle: that's the best, you are quick, without efforts, quite high compared to the traffic and you don't generate pollution on site. It is not perfect though, as coal is burnt to produce power and the recycling of the battery is a complex issue.
  2. Bicycle: quite good, because you are not stuck in traffic jams, are higher than the traffic and do not generate pollution. But efforts are not so good for your lungs, so I recommend to ride slowly (did you ever wonder why Chinese people are so slow on bikes?).
  3. Bus: advisable for long distances, it is OK with modern low emissions buses, especially if they can use dedicated lanes. On the contrary, you generate pollution but still stay longer in a polluted environment.
  4. Cars: that's the worst, all the air you breath comes directly from the exhaust pipes of the other cars (did you realized that air intake is just at the level of the exhaust pipes?). Traffic jams are frequents and you spend a lot of time stopped, breathing and generating pollution.
Comments
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Adrien wrote :
Buying an electric bike changed my Beijing riding experience! I can go distances peacefully and with a clear conscience... :))
Reply
2007-05-17 17:09:47
FRC wrote :
J'ai entendu parler d'un vélo équipé d'une batterie, qui permettrait de décupler la vitesse du vélo, sans effort démesuré du cycliste. Une jeune entreprise lyonnaise essaie de le vendre ; il serait fabriqué en Chine. Do you know that ?
Reply
2007-05-04 01:42:58
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