Urban Ecoist

Here is an interesting scheme to get cars out of a congested city. London Mayor Boris Johnson is urging Londoners to sell their cars in order to reduce the number of cars on London streets by more than 100,000.

It’s called the Car Crunch London initiative. You see, London is going to be hosting the Olympics in the summer of 2012, and like most cities hosting said games, London is forced to rethink its transportation infrastructure in terms of traffic congestion. No one visiting a world-class Olympic city wants to be stuck in traffic — nor does anyone else for that matter, but it seems that the spotlight of hosting an Olympic Games really makes city planners and administrators wake up and smell the exhaust fumes.

If you live in London and sell your car, you can get a two-year free membership in car clubs called Streetcar that provides you with a vehicle when you need it. You need not own a car, pay for insurance and upkeep, gas or petrol as they call it on that side of the pond. This kind of car-sharing program is best for people who don’t need a car constantly, obviously, but car clubs can also be useful for anyone who wants to cut down on their driving. Maybe use public transit for that commute to work and only drive a car for shopping trips in which large parcels need to be carried or travels to areas where public transit doesn’t go, like a forest or parkland.

From an article announcing the initiative in The Standard:

Boris Johnson said: “Car clubs are a fantastic way for Londoners to reduce their motoring costs and help cut carbon emissions in the capital.

“Campaigns like this, which spread the word about the benefits of car clubs, are to be welcomed. We are supporting the growth of these services by helping 21 London boroughs to introduce 500 car club vehicles into London this year.” Transport for London said every car club vehicle takes 20 privately owned vehicles off the road.

Brett Akker, Streetcar’s cofounder, said: “We’re creating a win-win opportunity for Londoners. By taking up the Car Crunch challenge, they get to rid themselves of the costs and hassles of owning a car in the city, while dramatically cutting their carbon footprint.

This may be a good idea, to offer a financial incentive to get people to give up their cars. However, any reader living in America may be scoffing at the idea of giving up their cars and joining a car club, even if it were free (for a while). Sadly, in the US, aside from larger metropolitan areas, going without a car is next to impossible. Heck, I am staying at my Aunt’s outside of Detroit, Michigan and you cannot even walk anywhere because there are few sidewalks and walking alongside most of the roads around here may get you killed by automobiles going fifty miles an hour with little to no regard for pedestrians. And if you bring up the idea of giving up the SUVs and minivans to most Americans, you will get a funny look.

But why not give up your car, or at least one of the cars in the typical American household? Do you really need it? Maybe you could carpool with others in your neighborhood to a transit center or with others at your workplace that live in the same suburb. It’s just an idea, unless of course you enjoy paying for new tires, new brakes, tune ups, transmission and engine repairs, and insurance.

Maybe I am just talking crazy…but way to go, London. At least you are taking some form of action to reduce the number of cars on your narrow roads…

London, car crunch initiative, transportation, public transit, car clubs, carpooling, car sharing, cars, automobiles, traffic, congestion, infrastructure, Olympics, 2012, city planning, city driving, gas, insurance, American drivers