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Ecosocialism and the fight for free public transit

Kipfer, Stefan
http://climateandcapitalism.com/2012/12/04/ecosocialism-and-the-fight-for-free-public-transit/

Publisher:  Climate & Capitalism
Date Written:  04/12/2012
Year Published:  2012  
Resource Type:  Article

Mass transportation is intimately tied not only to the physical form of cities, but to the deeper social structures of imperial capitalism. A campaign for free public transit can be an important part of a broader fight to restructure society along ecosocialist lines.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

In principle, free transit advocacy can also be an element in a broader vision to reorganize urban life and restructure the social order along red (working class-based, working toward socialism) and green (environmental) lines. This requires working through a host of open questions that go far beyond lowering the cost of fares. These include:

* How can a free and expanded transit system be financed?
* Can free transit be part and parcel of a green jobs strategy against austerity?
* Is free transit a potential weapon against global climate injustice?
* How can transit workers and transit users become allies to push for free transit?
* What additional measures might be necessary for free transit to have a deep and lasting impact on our car-dominated transportation system?
* How do we think of free transit not simply as a more effective, just and sustainable form of mobility, but an element in a way of life where mobility is not imposed but subject to democratic decision-making?
* Can we expand public transit without promoting real estate speculation or making transit-connected neighbourhoods off limits to many?
* And finally, can we organize free transit networks as generous public spaces that do not exclude and discriminate on the basis of race, class, gender or sexuality?

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