After having banned bottled water sales at the City Hall cafeteria,
London city council is now considering extending the ban to all city
property. Before the ban would take effect, the city would ensure that
there is a supply of tap water at all city sites and is developing new
fountains with longer necks to make it easier to fill reusable
bottles. The proposal would phase out bottled water sales in 3 major
city-owned buildings by September 1, on golf courses and city-operated
concessions by Spring 2009, and at vending machines/food services in
arenas and community centres in the next 16 months. This article details the proposal and discusses the tension between the city and Nestle, the major bottled water supplier in Canada.
Month: August 2008
Commuting Patterns in Canada
This brief put out by BC Stats looks at the latest census data for how people across the country are getting to work. The brief also looks at whether people are adapting their daily commute to reflect such realities as climate change, air quality, and the rising cost of fuel. Among the statistics presented:
- In BC there has been a 3% decline in people using a vehicle to get to work in the past 10 years, from 81% in 1996 to 79% in 2006;
- In Canada younger people are more likely to use public transit: 16.6% use transit between the age of 15-25 and just 7.2% of those over 65;
- 2% of commuters in BC bike to work; national average is 1%;
- Of the CMAs, Victoria and Vancouver have among the lowest percentage of car commuters (71.7% for Victoria, 74% for Vancouver) and Abbotsford has the highest percentage of car commuters than any other CMA at 93%.
San Francisco to Mandate Businesses Promote Transit to Employees
San Francisco is considering a proposal that would require
businesses with more than 20 employees to provide commuting
alternatives to the personal vehicle. The move is an attempt to reduce
air pollution in San Francisco as well as reduce GHG emissions in the
city. Under the new law, businesses would be given three options to
promote the use of transit by the workforce. Participation by
employees would be voluntary. The options include offering workers
free transit passes, to providing door-to-door shuttle service, or
utilizing an existing federal program which helps employees set up
pre-tax commuter accounts to pay for transit. Business groups are not
opposing the plan because the latter option could save employers
money. Read more about the proposed law.