Today is World Carfree Day!

World Carfree Day - Press Release 2009



List of Worldwide Events Here

MEDIA CONTACTS AROUND THE WORLD:

World Carfree Network invites organisations and individuals everywhere to join in on the world wide celebrations! Any questions or for more information about World Carfree Day in your area, please contact:

Europe
Ms. Bonnie Fenton
Tel: (+49) 178/9 62 66 92
E-mail: bonnieinbremen [at] yahoo.de

North America
Ms. Eleanor Blue
Tel: (+1) 503 810 9443
E-mail: eleanor.blue [at] gmail.com

South America
Mr. Étienne von Bertrab
Tel: (+5233) 1281-1307
E-mail: etiennevon [at] hotmail.com

South Africa
Ms. Gail Jennings
Tel: (+27) 83 658 5386
Email: gail [at] mobilitymagazine.co.za

General inquiries
World Carfree Network, International Coordination Centre
Tel: +(420) 274-810-849
E-mail: info [at] worldcarfree.net

Chuck the Clunkers on Sept. 22!
The word clunker refers to an old, worn-out vehicle, a car. By another definition a clunker is a failure; a flop.

– I consider all cars as clunkers, flopped vehicles failing to meet any criteria of sensible means of transport, states Tanja Eskola from World Carfree Network. Let’s have a look at the true costs of car ownership for instance: Comparative studies show that in Europe, the average annual cost of a car is estimated to be around 6,000 - 9,000 Euros. That is to say a budget of around 500 to 750 Euros per month whereas in the majority of large European towns, a metro, tram or bus ticket costs around 1.5 Euro per unit. Car also is the greediest form of transport in terms of space: the same journey by bicycle takes up four times less room, by bus up to thirty times less. And needless to add, a car emits three times its own weight in pollutants every year, whereas a bicycle does not pollute.

– World Carfree Day, a showcase for just how our cities might look like, feel like, and sound like without cars, is an en excellent opportunity to rethink and rediscover our personal mobility and the urban environment we live in, encourages Eskola. With the economy in freefall it is well worth contemplating chucking the clunkers and exploring the alternatives!

World Carfree Day, an annual celebration of cities and public life, free from the noise, stress and pollution of cars, is intended to advance the economic, social and environmental benefits of self-propelled or mass transportation. It is meant to promote more sustainable ways of transportation and new ways of building and thinking the urbanism of our cities, allowing streets to be a living space, rather than only a transit space.

Notes for editors
1. World Carfree Day was established in 2000 as a grassroots movement by the World Carfree Network to coincide with the European Mobility Week. It has grown to involve official and unofficial participants in over 1,000 cities in 40 countries.

2. The World Carfree Network brings together organizations and individuals dedicated to promoting alternatives to car dependence and automobile-based planning at the international level and working to reduce the human impact on the natural environment while improving the quality of life for all. Activities of the Network include the publication of the quarterly Carbusters Magazine and other carfree-related publications, and conducting the annual Towards Carfree Cities Conference.

3. For more information, please visit www.worldcarfree.net. For a listing of WCD events in cities around the world, visit the World Carfree Day WIKI.