Subsidized Transit: Balancing Costs with Social Gains
swissnex San Francisco - swissnex
Swiss people use public transportation for 19 percent of all their trips. Mass transit accounts for just two percent of trips in the U.S., although that number is growing. So, can Swiss transportation solutions provide a model for the American West? The Sustainable Transportation Road Show, launched by the Consulates General of Switzerland in San Francisco and Los Angeles, brings this question and others to swissnex San Francisco during an in-depth discussion of rail transportation in the two regions.Gregor Saladin, media spokesperson for the Swiss Federal Office of Transport, and Elizabeth Deakin, a professor of city and regional planning and urban design at UC Berkeley, discuss rail infrastructure -- its present and its future -- in both Switzerland and California. WIRED Magazine's Rachel Swaby, who recently co-authored an article on bullet train networks in the U.S., moderates.Accompanying the discussion is the exhibit, "The Challenge of Sustainable Transportation for the 21st Century: Prospects for Switzerland and the US." The exhibit looks at the similarities and contrasts between Switzerland and the US with regard to rail travel and presents policies, incentives, infrastructure, land use planning, and timetables for transportation projects including the Gotthard Base Tunnel, set to provide a modern, low-gradient railway through the Alps to allow for shorter travel times and more freight capacity.Partnering with the Swiss Federal Office of Transportation, swissnex San Francisco, the Exploratorium, the Institute for Transportation Studies at UC Davis, the University of Washington, and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Sustainable Transportation Road Show is a project of the U.S.-wide program ThinkSwiss-Brainstorm the Future. As a leading country in science, research, and technology, Switzerland is working with its American counterparts to address key global topics such as sustainability to better understand trends and arrive at solutions.