The Hindu : National : Where there is a wheel there is a way

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Wednesday, Mar 12, 2008
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National

Where there is a wheel there is a way

Anil Kumar Sastry

Global campaign to promote public transport for fighting climate change

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Ashok Leyland’s “i Bus“ being displayed at the 9th UITP Asia-Pacific Assembly, organised by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation in Bangalore on Tuesday.

BANGALORE: Union Internationale des Transports Publics (UITP — International Association of Public Transport) has joined hands with the United Nations in the fight against climate change by promoting public transport in a big way.

UITP recently launched a major publicity campaign in association with major television channels across the globe, said Roberto Cavalieri, UITP president and managing director of Metropolitana di Roma.

He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the inauguration of the ninth UITP Asia Pacific Assembly hosted by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) here on Tuesday.

Mr. Cavalieri said global warming could be substantially reduced by extensive use of public transport and reduction in the use of private modes of transport. UITP is concerned about the next generation and hence has stepped up its campaign, he said.

Its advertisement, called ‘The voice of reason (Aged 6)’, is in the style of a child’s drawing and views the world through a little girl’s eyes. This gives it an emotional appeal and a voice of hope for the future.

It signs off with the message: ‘The world is your home. Look after it.’

It was launched on February 21 at the 10th Special Session of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Available in English, French, German and Spanish and produced by McCann Erickson, the campaign will run across major international stations, including BBC World, CNN, EuroNews, CNBC, Sky News, Bloomberg, Eurosport, Fashion TV and E! Entertainment.

These stations have all donated airtime. Additionally the spot is available on a free-to-air basis for local adaptation and use thanks to the generosity of McCann Erickson and the animation company Tandem.

UITP secretary general Hans Rat said offering tax sops to private vehicle users and penalising public transport service providers and users by way of multiple taxes was a wrong policy.

His remark came in response to a question regarding the proposed reduction in central excise duty on small cars by the Indian Finance Minister. UITP will strongly recommend to the Government of India and all State governments to give fillip to the public transport sector and discourage private modes of transport, Mr. Rat noted.

He said following UITP intervention, many countries worldwide have extensively been offering sops for public transport service providers and the users, including reduced or nil tax on fuel, subsidy, heavy tax on private vehicles, reduced incidence of income tax on public transport users and the like.

Mr. Rat commended BMTC for its splendid performance since its formation. He said with sustainable operations having regard to environment, economy and society, BMTC has qualified to sign the UITP’s Charter for Sustainable Development. BMTC established UITP’s India Liaison Office in Bangalore last year.

BMTC Managing Director Upendra Tripathy and UITP Asia Pacific Division Eum Sung Jick were present.

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