German City a Model for 'Sane Transportation'

"Could answers to the Toronto region's congestion crisis reside among the cobbled, storybook streets of the ancient German city of Bremen?"

"With a population of about 600,000, Bremen is increasingly being recognized as the last word in sane, sustainable transportation."

"Last year, the city even managed to buck the European trend to rising car ownership – a sign, say some, that the city is already making the cultural shift away from auto dependence that's needed here."

"It has figured out how to make taking the car feel less convenient than the alternatives. Bremen's 37 mobility stations, called mobil punkt, offer secure bike storage, car sharing, transit and taxi ranks nearby. Whatever form of transportation residents use, they're never stranded on the next leg of the trip."