In Seoul, Green Transit Is Mayor’s Pet Project
Mar 28, 2010 – Choe Sang-Hun reports in the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times on electric vehicles in Seoul. “On a recent morning, the mayor of Seoul stopped by a local amusement park to inaugurate an electric tram system to ferry tourists around the grounds, replacing an old noisy one that belched exhaust. Music blared. A phalanx of TV crews trailed him.
For some politicians, the event might have been an obligatory photo opportunity, something to be endured en route to more important meetings. But for Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who has been striving to build a defining legacy, it was a signature moment. “We are the first in the world to use the technology this way,” he said, admiring the way the tram sucks electricity from power strips buried beneath the road. “What we are doing is changing history.”
Mr. Oh is among a new breed of South Korean politicians who increasingly stake their political fortunes on so-called green growth. For Mr. Oh, that means creating jobs based on environmentally friendly technologies and figuring out how to make this city, home to one-fifth of the country’s 49 million people, a healthier, more pleasant place to live.
Since taking office in 2006, Mr. Oh has tried to make the city look nicer and greener. Under his Design City slogan, the municipal authorities carted away urban eyesores like leaky shacks for shoe shiners and replaced them with artfully designed, government-subsidized kiosks. They revamped the old city center, turning part of its Kwanghwamun Boulevard into a plaza where children can skate in winter.”
“Seoul began experimenting with hybrid taxis and plans to introduce its first electric buses in April. Within 10 years, the city will replace all 9,000 buses and 72,000 taxis with electric or hybrid vehicles, Mr. Oh said. It will spend 178 billion won ($156 million) on the effort in the next five years. To encourage the shift, Seoul is buying electric cars for public use and offering subsidies for transport companies switching to green vehicles. It also promised motorists who drive electric cars discounts on parking fees and congestion charges.”
What are other cities doing? What is your city doing? What are you doing to start such an effort in your city or state? Read the complete article in The New York Times and then please leave your comments here.