User:Lakrisgubben/Planka.nu



Planka.nu is a network of autonomous groups in Sweden promoting a free, tax-financed, public transport, currently there are local groups in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Ostergotland. Planka.nu was founded in 2001 by the Swedish_Anarcho-syndicalist_Youth_Federation as a response to the ever-rising prices in the public transport system in Stockholm. The campaign got a lot of attention because of the controversial methods used to promote a free public transport; Planka.nu encourage people to fare-dodge in the public transport and organizes an insurance fund, p-kassan, that pays the fines of it's members it they get caught fare-dodging.

As the campaign grew bigger it was detached from the Swedish Anarcho-syndicalist Youth Federation and started up in Gothenburg, Ostergotland and Helsinki, Finland. Since it's conception Planka.nu has broaden it's methods and now functions as an insurance fund, a think-tank with public transport, urban planning and climate change as it's main areas of focus and as a more classic leftist organization that organizes rallies, hands out flyers, put´s pressure on politicians and tries to form the public opinion. Planka.nu also co-operates with the network Ingen människa är illegal (No one is illegal), and pays for tickets for people living in Sweden without asylum. This is because the ticket controllers sometimes work together with the police to deport people without the proper papers if the get caught in the public transport.

The insurance fund p-kassan has a monthly membership fee of 100 Swedish kronor (approximately 10 euros) and if a member get caught p-kassan pays their fines (120 euros). Planka.nu is a non-profit network and uses the excess from p-kassan to finance the production of flyers, stickers, folders, web pages and other information material. All members of Planka.nu work pro-bono.

In november of 2008 Planka.nu released Freepublictransports.com, a global forum for the free public transport movement. Planka.nu has also released three larger policy papers: Highway to Hell? that dissects the argument put forward to build a new city highway around Stockholm, Travel Doesn't Have to Cost the Earth that proposes five concrete measures to make the transport sector in Stockholm climate smart and fair, and At Any Cost? a report about the costs of the ticket-system in the public transport system in Stockholm.