congestion payment

More and more cities around the world are introducing congestion fees for people who drive their cars into town during peak times.

Congestion Fee Station

The idea is to discourage people from bringing their cars into unnecessarily crowded areas unless they really have to and are willing to pay for the privilege. So far it seems to be working but a lot of the money being raised isn’t used to improve the inner cities but to build more rounds outside towns.

Now Johan Ehrenberg (@JohanEhrenberg) at Dagens ETC has come up with a novel alternative. Instead of just discouraging people from driving their cars, we should actively encourage people to cycle. His idea is that everyone who cycles through a congestion station once per day will be paid 25 SEK. I don’t agree with all his ideas (wearing a hi-vis jacket with a registration number on it and that all people who cycle fast are idiots for example) but I think it’s a great idea. If I knew that I would actually earn money by cycling (as well as the savings I’d make on train tickets), I’d be much more likely to cycle as often as I could.

I don’t know if it’ll ever happen and it’ll certainly need some more thought but it’s pure genius. Read his full article (in Swedish) here.

bikes vs cars

After The Invisible Bicycle Helmet short documentary the new film project from Swedish film director Fredrik Gertten is once again about the awesomeness of bicycles: bikes in a sadly-but-true-booming-car-sales-world or Bikes vs Cars will be released in 2014. Until then we’ll have to live with a 3 minutes and 29 seconds trailer.

Bikes vs. Cars, a new film project from BANANAS! * and Big Boys Gone Bananas! * director Fredrik Gertten. Climate change and the daily frustration of being locked up in a car frustrate people more than ever. People in cities around the world take on the bicycle as a Do It Yourself tool for change. But still: Car sales are booming. 1 billion cars today. 2 billion in 2020.

Join the movement and make the documentary come to life: pledge to the project on kickstarter.