sustainable transport

Rewarding senior citizens for their contributions to the economy and society is the befitting response for their hard work in their younger years. India provides several concessions to honour them including tax deductions and welfare schemes. One such scheme is that senior citizens living inside the #Chennai city limits can travel for free. Do you know of any senior citizens using this scheme?

Use these resources as talking tools to promote and commit to sustainable streets. Streets facilitate movement, provide access to various facilities and also act as great public spaces - but only if they are designed for it. The recent increase in private motor vehicles and the decrease in the usage of public transportation have made our streets dangerous for large swathes of the public. These resources will help people and policy makers re-imagine our streetscape.

More than half of the world's population live in cities & towns with the number growing every day. These changes are happening as the #climatecrisis, rising costs & slowing down economies, all loom over us. #Sustainable urbanisation is now more important than ever. While a whole city going sustainable might seem a daunting task, there are small local changes that #governments can make to create national & global ripples. #WorldCitiesDay

Less than half of India's #children between the ages of 6 & 14 go to #school (Smile Foundation,India). Several factors influence a child's ability to attend school & it's important that the risks from each of these factors is minimised as much as possible. #Free #travel #concessions like this ensure that travel expenditure doesn't hinder a child's access to #education. What is your opinion on this? Comment below.

#Chennai #UrbanThinkers #InclusiveCities #PublicTransport 

Did you know that since June 21, 2021 trans men and trans women can avail free travel on all MTC whiteboard buses? This scheme helps in cutting down their daily expenses, aids to remove social boundaries and provides some form of recognition to these communities that otherwise face multiple layers of oppression.

If #Chennai is to make a shift towards greater #publictransport use, ensuring useful & timely information is available in various modes (online & offline - signages, announcements, etc) & in various languages is crucial.  Updating information regularly is also important! How do you access public transport information?

The TN government free bus scheme for women on all whiteboard buses left some women confused. Which buses were free? Sometimes, it's challenging to spot a whiteboard bus from afar. Recently all free buses for #women have been painted #pink to help set them apart. A great move!

#Chennai #OneCityForAll #MTC 

Free public transport, especially for women, empowers, allows for some fiscal savings, and increases mobility & participation in the workforce. But to ensure sustainable, equitable transport for all, Chennai needs to improve its public transport services, its infrastructure, develop an integrated system, and ensure funding so the transit network is affordable for all. What are your experiences with free public transport? Tell us here.