Friday, September 27, 2013

Shanghai may expand free public transport to more seniors

cns: "Among the changes being considered is a suggestion that non-local senior citizens be included in the free public transport scheme as well.

It is also being mooted that people between the ages of 65 and 70 pay 50 percent of the fare; and do away completely with the ban on free travel during peak rush hours.

Shanghai started offering free use of public transport for the elderly in 2007, except in the morning between 7am and 9am and between 5pm and 7pm during working days."

'via Blog this'

Monday, September 23, 2013

Shanghai promotes public transport on car-free day

Eastday: "It was the seventh year Shanghai participated in World Car-Free Day along with 150 other cities around the country. Officials used the theme“Greener Traffic, Cleaner Air”to encourage car owners to take public transportation more often and help ease road congestion and contribute to better air quality.

A total of 150 volunteers bicycled past some of the city’s landmarks including Xintiandi, Yuyuan Garden and the Bund to raise awareness of the health and environmental benefits of cycling."

'via Blog this'

Thursday, September 19, 2013

China credit bubble expanding

CollapseNet: "The country has relied on loan growth to keep the economy firing on all cylinders but the law of diminishing returns has set in, with the each yuan of extra debt yielding just 0.20 yuan of economic growth, compared with 0.85 five years ago. Credit of all types has risen from $9 trillion to $23 trillion in five years, pushing the total to 200pc of GDP, much higher than in emerging market peers."

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

China confirms new gas pipeline through Tajikistan

NDTV.com: "Dushanbe, Tajikistan: China's Xi Jinping at a regional summit signed a deal to build a gas pipeline through the impoverished ex-Soviet country of Tajikistan, Tajik television reported on Saturday.

The pipeline will transport gas from energy-rich Turkmenistan to China in as part of a huge supply deal.

"Carrying out this project will allow us to attract more than $3 billion of direct investments from Chin into the economy of Tajikistan," said the press service of Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon."

Sunday, September 8, 2013

China buys into giant Kazakhstan oilfield for $5 billion

The Times of India: "ASTANA: President Xi Jinping on Saturday will oversee China's entry into Kashagan, a vast oilfield in Kazakhstan, as he tours post-Soviet Central Asia to secure hydrocarbons for the world's largest energy consumer.

The $5 billion deal futher increases China's rising clout in Central Asia, once Russia's imperial backyard, and blocks an attempt by global rival India to get a stake in the oilfield, the world's largest oil discovery in five decades. "

'via Blog this'

Hong Kong choked with cars, roads, and parking.

Government should stop coddling private road users | South China Morning Post: "Instead of learning from these mistakes, or from cities in the van of urban planning, the government is now planning, and in some cases already building, a vast system of highways and spaghetti junctions for east Kowloon and the Kai Tak area as though it were trying to follow 1960s Los Angeles."

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

The United States: "the example not to follow."

Economy - John de Graaf | Center for Humans & Nature: "In short, his argument is this: Growing inequality has left median American hourly incomes flat for a generation while GDP doubled. We were able to purchase the increased volume of consumer goods produced by working longer hours and by taking on excessive personal debt. But more work and more stuff have left us lonelier and less connected with each other, while growing debt has led to calls for slashing taxes, leading to higher prices for public goods such as higher education or access to public parks.

We have been encouraged to counter these losses by purchasing even more private goods (Want friends? Buy a hot car… Want nature? Fly to a tropical paradise…), leading to even heavier debt and workloads. Moreover, our lifestyles, built around private consumption, have created low-density sprawl that makes public transit too expensive and encourages automobile dependence, longer commutes, and even less social connection, while further reducing public space and access to nature. It’s a vicious circle."

'via Blog this'

South Korea to have universal #publictransit swipe card

Arirang News: "That means cardholders will be able to visit almost any corner of the country with the swipe of a single, pre-paid card."

Now prices can gradually go to zero in a controlled way.