Turning the Corner on Car Use in the USA, Australia, Canada, Europe and Asia

Decoupling Urban Car Use and Metropolitan GDP Growth(30 page pdf, Jeff Kenworthy, pg. 7-21, World Transport Policy & Practice, Oct. 30, 2013)

Also discussed here: World Transport Policy & Practice – Vol. 19, No. 4 (World Streets, Oct. 30, 2013)
Today we review data on car use per $GDP from 42 cities that indicate that car use is declining, mainly due to improvements in public transit in terms of economic value and speed compared to private vehicles, and to the growth of social media, urban intensification and the knowledge economy. Traffic congestion is the main barrier to speed for either cars or bus transit and when steps, such as road pricing, are taken to reduce congestion, the advantage of bus transit is greater. The greatest decline in car use occurred in European cities where a combination of Light Rail Transit and urban congestion charging seem to be progressing the most.

To see Key Quotes and Links to key reports about this post, click HERE