Surrey Citizens Transportation Initiative - Transportopia Project

A very interesting proposal arrived in my inbox the other day about a proposed bike parking and car-pooling project called Transportopia Project. The aim of the project is to provide the following services in the South of Fraser:

A different way of Car-Pooling, mainly locally (regular option, free):
A green flag with a T on members’ car: they wish to transport someone;
A small green banner with T pinned on members’ clothes: they wish to be transported.
Shared cost of rides: 2 to 10 cents/km (how many riders and if agreed detours).

Car-Pooling + phone call service ($10 membership + $15 annual fee):
Through a co-op phone line, you tell where you are and where you go.
So you are always sure to find car-pooling partners at any time anywhere you are.

A bicyclists’ Dream becoming true (Super Option: same as above):
A safe way of bicycling through calm routes, with maps provided;
Guarded bike parking lots in town centres in co-operation with malls and city halls;
Scooters and bikes rentals (with baskets) to move in town centres and in between them;
Paid members take care of bikes facilities, and register new members.

An innovative Workshop to get eco-friendly vehicles (Super Option):
- To improve car efficiency with the help of car mechanics;
- To transform gas engines cars into electric engines cars (mechanics and electricians);
- To build a prototype of a solar car.

This is a pretty bold project that the Surrey Citizens Transportation Initiative (SurreyCiTI) is working on putting together and is very ambitious. While some people might dismiss the idea of the car-pooling plan there are examples in North America of this sort of program. If you want more information I suggest you check out their document on the project.