Green transportation systems including electric trains, trams and electric buses, metro combine the advantages of green vehicles with those of sustainable transport.
Hong Kong ranked number one in clean commuting overall, Paris ranked second, and Zurich ranked third. Seven of the top ten spots were in European cities.
While personal vehicles may be the most common mode of transportation, they aren’t always the most environmentally friendly. Especially in large, populated cities, public transportation systems can be a lot more energy-efficient and more beneficial to the environment.
To determine the Top 5 Green Transportation Cities, several factors were taken into consideration, like the average time spent commuting and the system’s hours of operation.
Other factors include how reliable the transportation system is, how much coverage they provide, what the congestion is like during travel times and the system’s ability to lower emissions.
In their new Sustainable City Index, Arcadis ranks the world’s leading cities according to three main sub-indexes:
- People, which examines health, education, income inequality, work-life balance, dependency ratio, crime, housing, and cost of living;
- Planet, which looks at energy consumption, renewable energy, green space, air pollution, drinking water, sanitation and other environmental factors;
- and Profit, which rates cities according to business performance, transport infrastructure, tourism, GDP per capita, employment rates, and other economic factors.
Which are the Top 5 Cities with Green Transportation System?
Let’s start with the world’s top five cities with the green transportation system, according to data from the Sustainable Cities Mobility Index by Arcadis.
5. Prague
Prague has three metro lines covering 65.2 kilometers, serving more than 1.6 million passengers daily. It also has 142.4 kilometers of tram tracks serving almost 900,000 people per day, as well as an extensive bus network. The city has recently been exploring increased use of electric buses and trolleybuses. A fourth metro line is being built.
Efforts to reduce car traffic in the city center such as parking zones and park and ride lots have been underway for several years.
4. Seoul
The city has a population of around 25 million people which is about half of the national population. The South Korean economy is ranked as the 13th largest in the world by GDP.
A four-mile elevated highway that once covered the Cheonggyecheon River in the city center was replaced with a riverfront park, high-quality walkways, and public squares.
A range of programs were introduced as part of improving their green transportation Ssstem to encourage citizens to leave their cars at home, for instance, congestion charge on motor vehicles passing through Namsan tunnels, the No-Driving Day campaign, promoting green cars such as electric vehicles.
3. Paris
The city is running one of the biggest infrastructure projects. It aims to create a sustainable and unified city, built upon a renewed public transport system and new metro lines. Paris is working on a plan to double bike lanes by 2020, electric taxi boats will start tests later this year. Diesel cars will be banned by 2025, driverless electric shuttles are being tested.
The greenest and most sustainable forms of transportation are trains, bicycles, and walking. Some of the world’s best and fastest trains have been in operation for more than 25 years in Europe, and more than 40 years in Japan. These include futuristic high-speed trains like the Eurost.
2. Zurich
Zurich’s approach to sustainable green transportation system is both highly successful and widely relevant. The city has been able to design and implement a very efficient interlocking multi-modal transit system forming a great network for public transport using trains, trams, and buses. System is so effective and efficient and that most of the Zurich city citizens make use of public transport to get in and around the city.
High-quality public transport at lower costs with smaller infrastructure – it has Europe’s highest per capita use of public transport within two decades of starting its public transit. It is the most populated city in Switzerland. An important factor in creating more sustainable cities is reducing the dependence on the car by creating reliable and useful green transportation systems.
Zurich also imposes a high toll on cars in their effort to keep them away from the city’s main populated areas. The city is working to increase the number of bikers by creating safe, designated bike lanes that don’t overlap with trains, buses, and car paths.
1. Hong Kong
Hong Kong has been identified as the top city worldwide for sustainable transport according to the 2017 Sustainable Cities Mobility Index from Arcadis.
Hong Kong ranked number one in clean commuting overall, Paris ranked second, and Zurich ranked third. Seven of the top ten spots were in European cities.
Hong Kong’s metro system is highly effective for both locals and tourists, which is a large factor in their top spot. Its well-connected and innovative transport network handles an impressive 12.6 million passenger journeys every day. Even with this high number of travelers each day, the city’s public transportation is still efficient for users and the environment.
Public transport is relatively cheap compared to other world cities and less than one-fifth of people in Hong Kong own a car.
The top European cities ranked well due to their organized metro systems and efficient infrastructure. These cities also use a lot of green technology in their transportation efforts, which means they give off fewer carbon emissions.
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