Tallinn’s new deputy mayor for municipal services and entrepreneurship Kristjan J\u00e4rvan (Isamaa) has proposed to allow cars with at least two passengers to use bus lanes in the capital<\/p>\n
J\u00e4rvan made the proposal to Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis (Reform) and said the traffic arrangement is not his own invention but a solution that has proven effective internationally.<\/p>\n
He said the system is already working successfully in several European countries, such as Norway.<\/p>\n
The change would help make more efficient use of existing infrastructure and support a more family-friendly urban environment, the deputy mayor said. He outlined four reasons why he believes this would be beneficial.<\/p>\n
He wrote that families with children spend a lot of time in city traffic. The ability to use bus lanes would make daily trips easier.<\/p>\n
As a second reason, J\u00e4rvan noted that giving preference to cars carrying more people would reduce the overall number of cars during peak hours.<\/p>\n
Third, he considered the change to be more environmentally friendly, since carpooling means fewer traffic jams and a smaller CO\u2082 footprint.<\/p>\n
Fourth, in his view, it would provide more flexibility to local governments\u2014each city could decide where such a solution would be most useful.<\/p>\n
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