In order to explain my idea properly, i will give the example of how it could work in my hometown, which is Lisbon, Portugal.
"The Idea"
My personal experience tells me that lots of people who don't use public transportations don't do it because they have a wrong idea about them. Especially in this new century, public transportations have reached a very positive level of confort and efficiency, overall. They have confortable seats. The confirmation of registration is made electronically trough a chip in the card. They have exclusive lanes, which enable them to overtake traffic. In Lisbon, for instance, the combined network of bus, subway and tram covers the whole city, efficiently. Still, the rush hour is allways chaotic, both in the mornings and the evenings.
And people... they want money. Especially in this crisis, if there's a chance of getting something they want for free, they take it. My idea is all about giving something to some people for free, which won't cost much to the institution which offers it. On the contrary, it would probably be profitable for them too. And, of course, for the enviroment. A win-win-win situation, you might say.
The institutions which can make this idea turn into reality are the city halls all over the world. In my city, it would be the Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, with their 2 companies which manage the city's public transportations, Metro de Lisboa (subway) and Carris (bus and tram).
So...here it goes. The plan is to make something resembling a lottery... in which the winner is a given bus, tram and subway car, in a given time, in a given place... each month. The prize? The people in the winner bus, tram and subway carriage dont pay the monthly fee for the public transportations next month.
There would be a raffle each month, (something like the lotto balls) supervised by a jury. In that raffle they would get: a bus number, a bus stop, a number for the hours and a number for the minutes. Very important: the hours would allways have to be inside the rush hour period, for 2 reasons. Firstly, because that's the specific time of the day in which we need to act, for the huge amount of traffic and polution to reduce. Secondly, because that's the time when most of the people are using the public transportations. People which can be driven to start trying the public transportations because of the lottery, will try it when they can be usefull for them, and thats when they go to whork or school and come back. For instance... if the "average Joe" knew the lottery could also choose a bus at 2:00 a.m. he wouldn't feel impelled to try the public transportations, because he only uses it at mornings and evenings. But if he knew that the only chance of getting the prize is exactly at those times that he WOULD use them, he's motivation to try it would be a lot bigger.
So... all this to say that, in the Lisbon case, the possible hours would be something like from 6 a.m. to 11a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8p.m.
In the subway case, there would be one more element on the raffle, which would be carriage number.
The raffle would be secret, of course, until the 3 are chosen. For instance, if a raffle choses a bus on the 4th of a given month, a subway on the 9th and a tram on the 24th, that raffle could only get public (on the internet, tv, etc...) after the 24th. Around that time, in the end of the month, would take place the raffle for the new month, secretly, of course. When I mean secretly, I only mean people can't watch it, but of course everyone would know they happen!
So, as I said before, each month a given tram, bus and subway carriage would be selected. Then... lets imagine: the bus 34 at 9:56 a.m. on the bus station X won. What would happen? Very simple.
One of those people who randomly control if everyone has the bus card in order to go on the bus, goes to the bus station X before 9:56 a.m. At that time, if the bus 34 is not there at that moment, he waits for the next bus 34. When it comes, he enters it and shows some ID to the bus driver, that he knows he's from the raffle organization. Very important: he must be dressed like the normal controllers are, or all the people which would see him on a bus stop would know the next bus would have the prize and go to get it.
He enters the bus and, of course, some people will go out. What he has to do is let all the people who go in the bus at that time to enter it. When both doors are closed, he shouts "Lottery!" or whatever the lottery directors decide that he shouts. People get happy in the bus. Whohoo! But... how is the next step done? Very simple.
Let's remember we're talking about rush hour, so all this operation must be relatively quick. After shouting it, he takes some cards from his pocket, with those electronic chips, and gives one to everyone on the bus. This card will be the tool for everyone to secure their prize. This would happen exactly the same way in the tram and subway. The most important thing at that time is that the driver doesnt let anyone in the bus (or tram, or subway) until the lottery guy is finished with giving the cards. I believe this wouldn't take more than 2 or 3 minutes.
Then, when they would go to renew their pass, they would only have to give that card, for the person there to "blip" (?) the chip and renew the bus pass for free. Of course that, if someone wins the card, they can give it to someone else to use it. There would be no rule against that. Then, all those cards would be collected for the next raffle.
Results: Let's stick with the bus example. The average bus pass cost (with all its variants) is somewhere around 25 euros. At rush hour, an important bus would have something like 40, 50 people, average. So, if that bus wins, the city hall would lose around 1125 euros each month, for the bus lottery. That's nothing compared to: what this would do for the traffic, if people start to try it and, of course, for the enviroment. And finally, if this has the expected effect, more people will decide to try the public transportations... which would increase the income of bus, tram and subway passes for the city hall. I believe that, after a few months, the buzz around it would be very significant, in a "have you got it already? My cousin just got it last month!" kind of way. Not to mention the big smile on those people faces, who can't wait to get out of the bus to tell everyone at work or at home.
And of course, I trust my product. I think public transportations is a much quicker, environment friendly and cheaper solution to get to work or school. So, I truly believe that, once people start to try them, they won't go back to their cars. And our environment would appreciate that.
And us, drivers who want the road all for ourselves, would too. Muah...ahah...MUAHAHAHAHA!
Don't worry, I'm just joking, I go for work and school every day by subway :)
Afonso Azevedo, 27
Enrolled at Lisbon aD School, in Lisbon, Portugal.
And people... they want money. Especially in this crisis, if there's a chance of getting something they want for free, they take it. My idea is all about giving something to some people for free, which won't cost much to the institution which offers it. On the contrary, it would probably be profitable for them too. And, of course, for the enviroment. A win-win-win situation, you might say.
The institutions which can make this idea turn into reality are the city halls all over the world. In my city, it would be the Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, with their 2 companies which manage the city's public transportations, Metro de Lisboa (subway) and Carris (bus and tram).
So...here it goes. The plan is to make something resembling a lottery... in which the winner is a given bus, tram and subway car, in a given time, in a given place... each month. The prize? The people in the winner bus, tram and subway carriage dont pay the monthly fee for the public transportations next month.
There would be a raffle each month, (something like the lotto balls) supervised by a jury. In that raffle they would get: a bus number, a bus stop, a number for the hours and a number for the minutes. Very important: the hours would allways have to be inside the rush hour period, for 2 reasons. Firstly, because that's the specific time of the day in which we need to act, for the huge amount of traffic and polution to reduce. Secondly, because that's the time when most of the people are using the public transportations. People which can be driven to start trying the public transportations because of the lottery, will try it when they can be usefull for them, and thats when they go to whork or school and come back. For instance... if the "average Joe" knew the lottery could also choose a bus at 2:00 a.m. he wouldn't feel impelled to try the public transportations, because he only uses it at mornings and evenings. But if he knew that the only chance of getting the prize is exactly at those times that he WOULD use them, he's motivation to try it would be a lot bigger.
So... all this to say that, in the Lisbon case, the possible hours would be something like from 6 a.m. to 11a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8p.m.
In the subway case, there would be one more element on the raffle, which would be carriage number.
The raffle would be secret, of course, until the 3 are chosen. For instance, if a raffle choses a bus on the 4th of a given month, a subway on the 9th and a tram on the 24th, that raffle could only get public (on the internet, tv, etc...) after the 24th. Around that time, in the end of the month, would take place the raffle for the new month, secretly, of course. When I mean secretly, I only mean people can't watch it, but of course everyone would know they happen!
So, as I said before, each month a given tram, bus and subway carriage would be selected. Then... lets imagine: the bus 34 at 9:56 a.m. on the bus station X won. What would happen? Very simple.
One of those people who randomly control if everyone has the bus card in order to go on the bus, goes to the bus station X before 9:56 a.m. At that time, if the bus 34 is not there at that moment, he waits for the next bus 34. When it comes, he enters it and shows some ID to the bus driver, that he knows he's from the raffle organization. Very important: he must be dressed like the normal controllers are, or all the people which would see him on a bus stop would know the next bus would have the prize and go to get it.
He enters the bus and, of course, some people will go out. What he has to do is let all the people who go in the bus at that time to enter it. When both doors are closed, he shouts "Lottery!" or whatever the lottery directors decide that he shouts. People get happy in the bus. Whohoo! But... how is the next step done? Very simple.
Let's remember we're talking about rush hour, so all this operation must be relatively quick. After shouting it, he takes some cards from his pocket, with those electronic chips, and gives one to everyone on the bus. This card will be the tool for everyone to secure their prize. This would happen exactly the same way in the tram and subway. The most important thing at that time is that the driver doesnt let anyone in the bus (or tram, or subway) until the lottery guy is finished with giving the cards. I believe this wouldn't take more than 2 or 3 minutes.
Then, when they would go to renew their pass, they would only have to give that card, for the person there to "blip" (?) the chip and renew the bus pass for free. Of course that, if someone wins the card, they can give it to someone else to use it. There would be no rule against that. Then, all those cards would be collected for the next raffle.
Results: Let's stick with the bus example. The average bus pass cost (with all its variants) is somewhere around 25 euros. At rush hour, an important bus would have something like 40, 50 people, average. So, if that bus wins, the city hall would lose around 1125 euros each month, for the bus lottery. That's nothing compared to: what this would do for the traffic, if people start to try it and, of course, for the enviroment. And finally, if this has the expected effect, more people will decide to try the public transportations... which would increase the income of bus, tram and subway passes for the city hall. I believe that, after a few months, the buzz around it would be very significant, in a "have you got it already? My cousin just got it last month!" kind of way. Not to mention the big smile on those people faces, who can't wait to get out of the bus to tell everyone at work or at home.
And of course, I trust my product. I think public transportations is a much quicker, environment friendly and cheaper solution to get to work or school. So, I truly believe that, once people start to try them, they won't go back to their cars. And our environment would appreciate that.
And us, drivers who want the road all for ourselves, would too. Muah...ahah...MUAHAHAHAHA!
Don't worry, I'm just joking, I go for work and school every day by subway :)
Afonso Azevedo, 27
Enrolled at Lisbon aD School, in Lisbon, Portugal.
