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Push on for residents to use alternative transport on September 22

An environmentalist is asking motorists to walk, ride a pedal bike or car pool for one day next week anything but travel into work on their own.Abbie Caldas is hoping residents heed her plea to use an alternate means of transport into Hamilton on September 22 as part of a worldwide rally that will span 150 countries. Her efforts are part of a global campaign called Moving Planet, aimed at cutting down on the use of fossil fuels.Ms Caldas intends to encourage others to join her she and a group of like-minded individuals will promote the idea of car pooling, cycling and riding the bus to commuters as they travel along East Broadway tomorrow morning.“We’re so small people don’t think we can have a big impact but we can when the community participates,” explained Ms Caldas. “I grew up here but I spent three years in London where there are events like mass cycle rides that are exhilarating to take part in. I don’t expect everyone to get to work on a bike, but less cars makes it easier for cyclists to use the roads.”A survey of traffic along East Broadway between 7am and 9am last Thursday counted 4,200 vehicles, excluding bikes. Eighty-five percent of the vehicles had just one person inside.Greenrock and medical charity Open Airways have thrown their support behind the September 22 initiative. The idea is to raise awareness of how traffic congestion affects the environment, and appeal for people to “cut the carbon out of the commute”.With more than 2,300 vehicles per square mile, Bermuda has one of the world’s densest concentrations of motor traffic.Persons interested in assisting can contact Ms Caldas by e-mail, acaldas[AT]bnt.bm.www.moving-planet.org, www.350.org.