Totally disagree that cars play a role, at least as they are now.
As they are now they:
Take up a lots of space, even when not in use.
Cause health problems for people who live nearby.
Cause congestion, increasing travel times for everyone else.
Are a more expensive (monetarily and environmentally) form of travel (at least in places where there is competetive public transport).
Kill and injur people that aren’t even drivers.
Hydrogen/Electric self driving cars can fix 2. and maybe 5. But they still have lots of problems. So even then I would prefer they are taxed and restricted to areas’s with low population density.
In places with good public transport they already play a much smaller role - people just don’t need them. IMO you don’t push people out of car by taxing and restricting them - you pull people onto public transport by providing it in good quality.
Another thing. There is a use-case where you need to carry two adults and 2-3 children and a lot of luggage/shopping, all together. And because the city is not perfectly designed, they need to do that several times a week. It’s a very common use-case, and cars are designed to be perfect for it. That’s presumably the reason cars are the way they are. Pushing those people onto buses or bicycles would cause them huge difficulty, for not much environmental gain. The problem is that cars are used for a lot of other use-cases where they are not suitable, due to lack of public transport or disposable income or other things.
Totally disagree that cars play a role, at least as they are now.
As they are now they:
Hydrogen/Electric self driving cars can fix 2. and maybe 5. But they still have lots of problems. So even then I would prefer they are taxed and restricted to areas’s with low population density.
They definitely need to play a smaller role.
In places with good public transport they already play a much smaller role - people just don’t need them. IMO you don’t push people out of car by taxing and restricting them - you pull people onto public transport by providing it in good quality.
Another thing. There is a use-case where you need to carry two adults and 2-3 children and a lot of luggage/shopping, all together. And because the city is not perfectly designed, they need to do that several times a week. It’s a very common use-case, and cars are designed to be perfect for it. That’s presumably the reason cars are the way they are. Pushing those people onto buses or bicycles would cause them huge difficulty, for not much environmental gain. The problem is that cars are used for a lot of other use-cases where they are not suitable, due to lack of public transport or disposable income or other things.