2. Introduction –
I wanted to find out about environmentally friendly forms of public transport.
Well, I was going to do a project on the Tasmanian devil, but I thought “I’ve done this a lot over the past two
terms, so why not do something else?”
I instantly thought, PUBLIC TRANSPORT! I then started to randomly say ideas and eventually got onto the
subject of the future of public transport, one of the ideas was magnet cars and magnet roads, these cars
would emit no greenhouse gasses, no co2 and would be a whole lot faster than regular cars. Also the magnet
roads could be built through a forest without damaging it, how? By placing the magnets in the spaces
between trees and having the cars hover via the magnets opposite force above the rainforest. That is why I
wanted to research public transport. Perth has the best light rail system in Australia, has the “CAT” buses in
the city and has a lot of bike and walking paths. If we stop building more light rail we may go down the same
road as LA, literally.
BAD TABLE
Mode of Bus Train Car Planes
transport
Amount of 0.03kg 0.02kg 0.33kg
CO2 (kg per
person per
km)
Number of Approximately Approximately 300 Approximately 4 Approximately
passengers 60 400
Infrastructure roads rail roads -
required
Support Repair & Repair & Repair &
network maintenance maintenance maintenance
required
Power Diesel, electric, Diesel, electric Petrol, diesel, Petrol
required gas hybrid, gas
3. GOOD TABLE
Mode of Bus Train Monorail Walking/ cycling
transport
Amount of 0.03kg 0.02kg 0.0kg
CO2 (kg per
person per
km)
Number of Approximately Approximately 300 Approximately 1
passengers 60 90
Infrastructure roads rail Suspended rail Paths/tracks
required
Support Repair &
network maintenance
required
Power Diesel, electric, Diesel, electric Mainly electric Human power
required gas
4. What is the problem?
High CO2 emissions lead to Greenhouse gases and hence, climate change
Depleting energy resources
Air quality
What are the solutions?
More people use public transport to travel to work in Sydney than any other major Australian city. The more
people that choose public transport, the better our air quality will be. For example, if each bus carries
around 30 people, that's potentially 30 cars off the road. Along with walking and cycling, public transport is
classed as ‘active transport’ – transport that involves some degree of physical activity and reduces reliance
on car use.
5. What is Sustainable transport?
Sustainable transport (or green transport) refers to any means of transport with low impact on the
environment, and includes non-motorised transport, i.e. walking and cycling, transit oriented development,
green vehicles, carpooling, and building or protecting urban transport systems that are fuel-efficient, space-
saving and promote healthy lifestyles.
Sustainable transport systems make a positive contribution to the environmental, social and economic
sustainability of the communities they serve. Transport systems exist to provide social and economic
connections, and people quickly take up the opportunities offered by increased mobility. The advantages of
increased mobility need to be weighed against the environmental, social and economic costs that transport
systems pose.
Transport systems have significant impacts on the environment, accounting for between 20% and 25% of
world energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from transport are
increasing at a faster rate than any other energy using sector. Road transport is also a major contributor to
local air pollution and smog. (ref.3)
Graph from: lets clear the air, New South Wales Government.
6. What type of transport is there now?
Cars:
Cars are the least environmentally friendly road transport at the moment. Cars emit higher amounts of CO2
than 3 buses or 3 trains combined. Here is a graph to prove that:
Graph from: NSW Transport, sydney buses.
Buses:
Buses may be an environmentally friendly alternative to driving a car, but it is still less environmentally
friendly than trains/monorails. They carry around 60 people on average whereas trains and monorails can
carry around 200! A transit bus (US), also known as a commuter bus, city bus, or public bus, is a bus used for
short-distance public transport purposes. The buses we have in Australia aren’t really that much different,
our buses consist of: the CAT buses found in the city, Transperth buses found all over the city and Transit
buses.
Motor vehicle emissions are the main source of air pollution in major cities such as Sydney, and make a large
contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Buses produce around 100 kilograms of greenhouse gases a year,
whereas a car will emit around 4000 kilograms of greenhouse gases a year. Now this is mostly correct, with
some fuel efficient cars only emitting around 2000kg of greenhouse gases a year (that’s still quite a lot).
Trains / Monorails:
Almost all modern monorails are powered by electric motors fed by dual third rails, contact wires or
electrified channels attached to or enclosed in their guidance beams. However, diesel-powered monorail
systems also exist. Historically, some systems, such as the Monorail, located in Listowel, County Kerry, used
steam locomotives. Modern monorails depend on a large solid beam as the vehicles' running surface. There
are a number of designs divided into two classes, straddle-beam and suspended monorails.
7. Transrapid maglev on monorail track
The most common type of monorail in use today is the straddle-beam monorail, in which the train straddles
a reinforced concrete beam in the range of two to three feet wide. A rubber-tired carriage contacts the
beam on the top and both sides for traction and to stabilize the vehicle. The straddle-beam style was
popularized by the German company ALWEG. Magnetic levitation train (maglev) systems by the
German Transrapid were built as straddle-type monorails, as they are highly stable and allow rapid
deceleration from great speed. When in full-speed operation maglev trains hover over the track and are not
in physical contact with it. The maglev is the fastest train of any type, the experimental JR-Maglev having
recorded a speed of 581 km/h.
The French company SAFEGE offers a monorail system in which the train cars are suspended beneath the
wheel carriage. In this design the carriage wheels ride inside the single beam. The Monorail is presently the
world's largest suspended monorail network.
There is also a historical type of suspension monorail developed by German inventors Nicolaus Otto and
Eugen Langen in the 1880s. It was built in the twin cities of Barmen and Elberfeld in Wupper Valley,
Germany, opened in 1901, and is still in operation.
A suspended monorail in Germany.
8. What innovative types of transport are being developed?
Heli-cars
The PAL-V (personal air and land vehicle) can be driven on any road in almost any city with a standard
driver’s license. It can reach speeds of 180 km/h on the ground. It has 3 wheels and is a lot quieter than
helicopters, won’t stall mid-air and is very easy to control. The PAL-V can land practically anywhere. The car
requires a run way to take off and relies on the same fuel as cars. It is not very fuel efficient as it is basically a
car with the ability to fly. Information has only just been released in 2012, made by a Dutch company.
Straddling buses
Traffic jams are increasingly becoming a problem, this new invention could help, the straddling bus is up to
10 metres tall and will have its interior 4 metres above the ground, allowing cars and some small trucks to
pass underneath. It will travel at speeds of up to 60 km/h and will carry 1200-1400 passengers while
straddling 2 lanes of traffic. It is supposed to reduce traffic jams by 20-30%.
Monocabs
The monocab, an invention by David Whittaker, is like a personal monorail. It can carry 8 to 16 people. A
monocab will always be waiting for you at the “ministations”. It will go directly to your destination, meaning
no additional stops on the way. The elevated rails it will be suspended on will not interfere with traffic below
them. There will be 7000 cars on the gold coast monorail. It only costs $6.1 million instead of $28 million for
train tracks per kilometre. Ministations will be 2-3 metres wide, like a bus stop. If it a cab breaks down it will
only inconvenience the people on board unlike train systems where if a train breaks down a whole lot more
will be inconvenienced and can be held up for days! The first monorail was made in Russia in 1820 by Ivan
Elmanov.
9. Conclusion
I found out that cars emit a huge amount of dangerous gases and I was amazed at how little greenhouse
gases buses and trains emit. I found out about Monocabs and Straddling Buses saw what a suspension
monorail looks like and got to see how fast a maglev monorail can go (over 500km/h). I found out that the
first monorail was made in 1820 and that the Disneyland monorail wasn’t one of a kind. I found out how
terrible LA’s public transport system is and how close we are to becoming a metaphorical LA. I found out that
Melbourne has the best public transport system in Australia and that Perth has the best light rail system in
Australia. I’ve learnt what types of transport are in existence now and what types of transport are still in
development. I’ve learnt what is a sustainable mode of transport and what is a bad mode of transport, I’ve
learnt that cars aren’t as environmentally friendly as I thought they were and that buses and trains are a lot
more environmentally friendly than I originally thought.
10. Key words and phrases from what I have found
Public transport
Environmentally friendly
Decreasing the carbon emissions of transport
Energy saving
Sustainable transportation
Innovation
Monorails
Magnetic trains/monorails
Bibliography
1. Office of Environment and Heritage, NSW Government. (2012). Let’s Clear the Air, 19/08/2012,
http://www.cleartheair.nsw.gov.au/initiatives/actions_for_cleaner_air/transport.aspx
2. Wikipedia. (2012). Public transport, 18/08/2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport
3. Wikipedia. (2012). Sustainable transportation, 18/08/2012,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_transportation
4. http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rrd_103.pdf (not actual website)
5. Grosvenor, M. (2008). Energy Saving Tips for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, MILTON.
6. Fordham, A. (2011). Personal Monorail, Popular Science, May 2011, 14-15.
7. Garnaut, R. (2008). The Garnaut Climate Change Review, Cambridge University Press, CAMBRIDGE.
http://www.garnautreview.org.au/pdf/Garnaut_Chapter21.pdf . (Online book).
8. http://www.toxel.com/tech/2012/05/19/helicopter-car/
9. http://www.chinahush.com/2010/07/31/straddling-bus-a-cheaper-greener-and-faster-alternative-
to-commute/
