A couple of articles this morning that offered some details on a couple of “Green” transportation programs that Shanghai residents can look forward to:
Eco vehicles for Expo site as part of low-emissions pledge from the Shanghai Daily details the announcement that to support the expo a thousand environmentally friendly buses and cars will be added to:
The vehicles will be used to help the Expo zone stay emission-free and keep the area around the zone a low-emission site.
When I read that, I had the same visceral response as when someone tells me that the air in Pudong is better than Puxi.
However, more interestingly was simply that from officials we have learned that an emission free site does not mean a lack of emissions at the site, but that the site itself does not add its own emissions.
In perhaps a more encouraging sign that the “greening” of the transportaion system is gaining a foothold, Shanghai Daily’s article New Green-Fuel Buses Slated For City’s Transport System:
A fleet of buses with a very high emissions-standard is expected to begin running on the No. 147 bus route by mid-March
…
They first went into use in Shanghai in summer 2006 on the No. 11 route.
I realize that with a couple hundred lines in Shanghai (serviced by more than 18,000 buses), that the addition of a single line may not be something to get overjoyed about, however my joy is coming from the fact that the first line proved itself and allowed for a second line.
Progress!