Eco Friendly Public Transport

Denmark and Japan lead the way

Denmark is one of the leading countries to effectively introduce environmentally sustainable transport. The sustainable transport policy of the Danish government aims to promote an efficient transport system for the benefit of the general public and for its industry. The policy ensures that pollution and accidents are minimized in accordance to specific goals.

Radical changes occurred after the implementation of national transport policies in the1990s against the backdrop of growing concern over global warming. The policy was inspired by the Brundtland report in 1987. Sustainable transport maximizes transport efficiency and enhances the social well-being by providing greater mobility for people. It contributes significantly to reduce environmental impacts of transport infrastructure.

When it comes to cycling Denmark is way ahead of Germany and Austria, the other two European countries with significant achievements in eco-friendly transportation. The emergence of Denmark as one of Europe's foremost cycling countries is significant, as cycling is widely regarded as a key mode of sustainable transport.

Japan doesn't lag far behind the European countries when it comes to environmentally friendly transport. A staggering 70% of people in Tokyo metropolitan area depend on public transportation. Japan is making giant strides to incorporate sustainable transportation to minimize carbon emission. It has already decided to develop hydrogen fuel as an alternative to oil dependence. The country plans to invest $11 billion for hydrogen development efforts in a project spanning 28 years.

Japan's motor vehicle emissions and fuel quality standards are some of the strictest in the world (e.g. benzene in gasoline, under 1% and sulphur in diesel, under 0.05%). Though there has been an increase in the volume of traffic it has been offset by an increase in fuel efficiency.

Japan already had a 1992 law in place on automobile NOx emissions which calls for special measures for sensitive metropolitan areas. This law was amended in 2001 to cover particulate emissions from diesel automobiles. There has been a considerable increase in the number of in-use low-emission vehicles. Though LEVs still account for a very small share of the total fleet they total more than 2400 electric vehicles, 5300 natural gas vehicles, 200 methanol vehicles and 37700 hybrid vehicles.

The Japanese government recognized the advantages of bike travel some time ago and provided necessary urban design changes and 37,000 miles of additional bike/ pedestrian pathways during 1970s. Such policies have reaped rich dividends with Japan's cycling modal share reaching a noteworthy 14%.

The bicycle intensive transportation system in Japan has its own merits. With over 80% of Japanese households owning at least one bike the national average is 1.42 bikes per household. The high non-motorized mode share has lowered the Japanese per capita fuel consumption to 10% of Americans.

The high ownership costs for automobiles in Tokyo which include automobile registration charges averaging $1,000 a year and exorbitant gasoline costs which is nearly 3.1 times the U.S. rate, have led to Japanese aversion to pollution-emitting vehicles.