Sustainability
Challenge 3: Mass Transit- Activity Sheets
Your Task
Your task today is to investigate the transport situation for either schoolchildren or workers in your own locality and to suggest how you could develop a mass transit system that would encourage people to leave their cars at home and travel more efficiently as a group.
1. Good or Bad?
In your team think of five things you can say about the way in which people like to travel. An example might be that people like to travel in their own cars, generally in ones or twos. Then, as a team, decide whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. When you have decided write it down in the relevant column below. You might also want to make a note as to why you decided to put it in the column you did as your teacher might ask you to explain your decision.
Good Points |
Bad Points |
Why we put it in that column |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2. Transport Impact
Most transport in the UK relies on the burning of fossil fuels to provide the necessary energy. This results in the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) which is a greenhouse gas and is widely accepted to be the main cause of climate change.
Take a look at the figures in the table below and do some calculations to show which method of transport is going to be better for the environment. Get your calculator out and fill in the spaces in the two columns on the right.
Type of Transport |
Carbon Dioxide Emissions kgCO 2/km |
Carbon dioxide emissions per passenger kgCO 2/km |
|
Assuming 1 passenger per car |
Assuming 3 passengers per car |
||
Hybrid/minicar |
0.10 |
|
|
Family car |
0.18 |
|
|
SUV/high performance car |
0.22 |
|
|
Family diesel car |
0.27 |
|
|
Motorbike |
0.10 |
|
|
Train (Diesel engine, 3 carriages, carrying up to 200 passengers) |
5.00 |
|
|
Bus (Diesel engine carrying up to 50 passengers) |
1.64 |
|
|
Coach (Diesel engine carrying up to 50 passengers) |
1.83 |
|
|
Which of these methods of transport emits the least amount of carbon dioxide per passenger per kilometre? Write your answer in the box below.
3. Your Area
Your teacher will give you a map of your local area. Your job now is to look at the map and use a highlighter or coloured pen to show which particular areas get congested with traffic, at which times and why. Use the table below to record your ideas.
Which Area? |
When? |
Why? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4. Mass Transit
Now you have collected some information about transport and your local area you can start to think about how you could improve the situation by designing a new mass transit system.
As you do this, think about the following points:
- Firstly, how many people does your system need to cater for? Once you have an idea you can think about what kinds of transportation systems exist which are capable of moving this number of people around relatively quickly.
- Secondly, think about what type of system would be most suitable for your area? A state-of-the-art monorail is not likely to be suitable for a small market town, likewise cycle rickshaws may not be suitable for transporting large numbers of people in a major city park and ride type scheme.
- Thirdly, look at the energy requirements of the transportation systems you are considering. Any transportation system will need to use energy. In order for the system to be sustainable it will need to use renewable energy. What kinds of technology exist to provide transport systems with energy?
- Next, consider the possibility of people using mixed methods of transport. Park and ride schemes enable people to drive to the outside of a town and then get a free bus service. A combination like this might well be the winning formula for your mass transit system.
- Lastly, how are you going to persuade people to use your system? It can be difficult to persuade people to give up the convenience of their cars. You could consider measures like providing companies with incentives to let their employees work from home, or promoting car sharing, or the development of local shops so that people do not have to travel to out of town retail parks. What about paying to use roads, such as congestion charging?
Whatever you decide on you need to be creative and imaginative. Science and engineering are all about creativity and imagination and with challenges ahead of us like climate change we need new ideas to help solve new problems.