Fare-free system reduces boarding time

news.hjnews.com: "One factor that frequently came up was the concept of "dwell time," or how long it takes for a single passenger to board successfully. During her presentation, Rhine showed a short video featuring footage of a bus with a fare system and one without. The dwell time was significantly longer for the fare system — over 40 seconds, four passengers entered the fare bus compared with 15 entering under fare-free. The research showed that introducing a fare increases dwell time by 1.5 seconds per passenger."

Supply-side protest will fail

Occupy.com: "U.S. Coast Guard detained two dozen protesters who formed a blockade with kayaks and other vessels Monday to try to stop Royal Dutch Shell's drill rig as it left Seattle on its way to explore for oil in the Arctic Ocean."

The fossil-fuel industry is happy to see activist time and energy wasted on supply-side protest. These protests will fail. Demand drives the economy, not supply. As long as there are millions believing in the promise of car-dependent sprawl living, the fossil-fuel industry will win all battles and the war. 

Cars too expensive in time and money

MyNorthwest.com: "While it might be convenient to have that sedan waiting for you in the driveway, the frequent trips to the gas station, mechanic's shop, car wash and DMV are anything but. Add to that the hours per week you spend sitting in rush-hour traffic and you might be surprised at how much time you're wasting on that "convenient" car.

And then there are the expenses. You already knew what you'd be paying each month when you signed that five-year auto loan, but that's just where your vehicle expenses start. Add to that the costs of gas, insurance, registration, tires, oil changes and general maintenance and you've got a much larger figure. According to Consumer Reports, the true cost to own an average car is more than $9,000 per year for the first five years."