Hey! Our group consists of Sam, Sybren, Teun and Lea, and our topic is Green Trips, and this is our introduction video :)
The interviews
Students
The average student (of which we interviewed) lives 4.73 km from school, and most of them go by bike to school. We think this is because of the densely-populated areas, meaning that most journeys are of short duration, and are easy to cover by bikes. The fact that so many people cycle to school/ work, means that fewer cars are used, and that we live greener. To make cycling safer, the government built a vast network of cycle paths. These are clearly marked, have smooth surfaces, separate signs and lights for those on bikes, and wide enough to allow side-by-side cycling and overtaking. At roundabouts too, it is the people who are cycling who have priority.
I don’t think there’s a better alternative than cycling, since it’s the fastest and greenest way to get somewhere. For the people who live further away, I understand how they would rather take the bus, or the car, but I think it’s still environmentally better to go by bike. The bike is also a lot saver: 237 people in 2019 died in a car accident, while 203 people died in bike accidents. Around 16.7% less people died by a bike accident, than by a car accident.
The average student (of which we interviewed) lives 4.73 km from school, and most of them go by bike to school. We think this is because of the densely-populated areas, meaning that most journeys are of short duration, and are easy to cover by bikes. The fact that so many people cycle to school/ work, means that fewer cars are used, and that we live greener. To make cycling safer, the government built a vast network of cycle paths. These are clearly marked, have smooth surfaces, separate signs and lights for those on bikes, and wide enough to allow side-by-side cycling and overtaking. At roundabouts too, it is the people who are cycling who have priority.
I don’t think there’s a better alternative than cycling, since it’s the fastest and greenest way to get somewhere. For the people who live further away, I understand how they would rather take the bus, or the car, but I think it’s still environmentally better to go by bike. The bike is also a lot saver: 237 people in 2019 died in a car accident, while 203 people died in bike accidents. Around 16.7% less people died by a bike accident, than by a car accident.
Everyday public transport users
Karin de Jong (43, primary school teacher), thought that trains are cheap and fast, but she also thought that the chairs are often dirty.
Michel de Vries (21, student), thought that trains are relatively hygienic and comfortable, but he did think that travelling by train was quite expensive without a subscription.
Nathalie Smit(37, supermarket manager), thought that busses are well affordable, but she did say that she didn’t like how the busses are slower than travelling by car.
Maarten van den Berg(52, janitor), thought that travelling by train is cheap and fast, but he did think that the chairs and especially the toilets are really filthy.
Chantal Bakker(33, nurse), thought that the chairs in the trains are clean enough but said that “the toilets make me want to puke.” She also thought that it is very annoying how often trains get delayed.
Bart Visser(57, primary school teacher), thought that the busses were great overall.
So overall, the people who travel by train think that it is quite affordable and pretty fast. A lot of the people that we interviewed also think that the chairs and toilets in the train are filthy. The people that we interviewed who travelled by bus thought that the hygiene and price in the bus were good, with a minor complaint from one of them being that the busses are a little slower than just travelling by car.
Karin de Jong (43, primary school teacher), thought that trains are cheap and fast, but she also thought that the chairs are often dirty.
Michel de Vries (21, student), thought that trains are relatively hygienic and comfortable, but he did think that travelling by train was quite expensive without a subscription.
Nathalie Smit(37, supermarket manager), thought that busses are well affordable, but she did say that she didn’t like how the busses are slower than travelling by car.
Maarten van den Berg(52, janitor), thought that travelling by train is cheap and fast, but he did think that the chairs and especially the toilets are really filthy.
Chantal Bakker(33, nurse), thought that the chairs in the trains are clean enough but said that “the toilets make me want to puke.” She also thought that it is very annoying how often trains get delayed.
Bart Visser(57, primary school teacher), thought that the busses were great overall.
So overall, the people who travel by train think that it is quite affordable and pretty fast. A lot of the people that we interviewed also think that the chairs and toilets in the train are filthy. The people that we interviewed who travelled by bus thought that the hygiene and price in the bus were good, with a minor complaint from one of them being that the busses are a little slower than just travelling by car.
So if you look at the results you see that a lot of the teachers at nehalennia go to school by using a bike but, that is only the case for shorter distances. For a teacher that lives further away from school they usually use a car because a bike would be rather inefficient. Furthermore, you see from our interviews that no teacher at our school uses public transport. The reason for this is probably that the teachers at our school don’t live in a place that is making the usage of public transport efficient. This can be due to the times public transport arrives at a place near the house of the specific teacher or that it takes a lot of time going to work from their house. So overall public transport is probably the least used transport and bikes and cars are the most used (depends on distance).
Parents
My mother (lea’s mother) works 3 days a week and the distance between the house and work is about 8 km. She usually goes by bus in the winter, since she thinks it’s too cold and dark to cycle. When it starts to warm up in the spring, my mother starts cycling again.
My mother (Sam’s mother) goes to her work by bike every day. The distance she then travels is around 5 km and she travels that distance 2 times a day, 5 times a week. My mother travels by bike because that saves a lot of fuel.
My father (Teun’s father) goes to work by car every day. The distance he travels is around 15 km which he travels 2 times a day, 6 times a week. He travels by car because it’s too far to cycle and there isn’t anywhere to get dropped off with public transport.
Questions for parents:
Q: How can you reduce the use of cars realistically?
A: By using bikes or by making public transport more accessible and cheaper.
My mother (lea’s mother) works 3 days a week and the distance between the house and work is about 8 km. She usually goes by bus in the winter, since she thinks it’s too cold and dark to cycle. When it starts to warm up in the spring, my mother starts cycling again.
My mother (Sam’s mother) goes to her work by bike every day. The distance she then travels is around 5 km and she travels that distance 2 times a day, 5 times a week. My mother travels by bike because that saves a lot of fuel.
My father (Teun’s father) goes to work by car every day. The distance he travels is around 15 km which he travels 2 times a day, 6 times a week. He travels by car because it’s too far to cycle and there isn’t anywhere to get dropped off with public transport.
Questions for parents:
Q: How can you reduce the use of cars realistically?
A: By using bikes or by making public transport more accessible and cheaper.
Overall conclusion
So, overall students use a bike to go to school, while only half of the teachers go to school with a bike most of the time, the other half goes by car. Everyday public transport users think that the trains and busses are cheap and efficient, but they think that the chairs and toilets are often filthy. Our parents mostly go to their work by bike, except Teun’s father, who goes by car.
So most of the people we interviewed went to their work/school by bike. The people that did go by car did so because they couldn’t go by bike because they lived too far away. This is pretty good for the environment, because only the people that need to use a car use one, meaning that there won’t be more pollution than necessary.
So, overall students use a bike to go to school, while only half of the teachers go to school with a bike most of the time, the other half goes by car. Everyday public transport users think that the trains and busses are cheap and efficient, but they think that the chairs and toilets are often filthy. Our parents mostly go to their work by bike, except Teun’s father, who goes by car.
So most of the people we interviewed went to their work/school by bike. The people that did go by car did so because they couldn’t go by bike because they lived too far away. This is pretty good for the environment, because only the people that need to use a car use one, meaning that there won’t be more pollution than necessary.
Report on video collaboration
Lea
I thought it was nice to see the other students and to be able to ask them questions. It was sometimes difficult to understand them because the sound was a bit laggy at times. The other children were very polite and their teacher was also very kind.
Sam
I think we have learned a lot from the children from India about public transport in India and also about making the transport greener and more environmentally friendlier. Their questions were well-thought-out.
Sybren
It was fun, they were very prepared, and they had good questions. They had a lot of information and I found out that in some aspects, our countries are very different but
in other aspects, they are very similar.
Teun
I found it very interesting and useful to compare our public transport with that in India. I’ve learned a lot, and they were all very nice and polite to us. I am looking forward to the next video conference
Lea
I thought it was nice to see the other students and to be able to ask them questions. It was sometimes difficult to understand them because the sound was a bit laggy at times. The other children were very polite and their teacher was also very kind.
Sam
I think we have learned a lot from the children from India about public transport in India and also about making the transport greener and more environmentally friendlier. Their questions were well-thought-out.
Sybren
It was fun, they were very prepared, and they had good questions. They had a lot of information and I found out that in some aspects, our countries are very different but
in other aspects, they are very similar.
Teun
I found it very interesting and useful to compare our public transport with that in India. I’ve learned a lot, and they were all very nice and polite to us. I am looking forward to the next video conference