Car-free mobility

The burden on the climate could be reduced if the use of private vehicles were to become less attractive – through well-developed bike lanes, inexpensive local transport or short distances to the workplace or supermarket. Not only in cities, but also in rural areas.

Projects and examples

Strengthening bicycle traffic

Non-existent or poorly developed bike lanes, long waiting times at every traffic light and hardly any bike stands when you get to where you want: many cities could take more action to promote climate-friendly bicycle traffic. Some “bicycle cities” are already setting an example of how to get things done: in Copenhagen, broad bike lanes run through the city centre, and busy routes have special fast-tracks for cyclists. Even a megacity like London has integrated so-called cycle superhighways into its urban transport network. In order to be able to use bikes spontaneously on the road, more and more rental bikes are to be found on the streets and in the public places of larger cities. To make cycling safer in traffic, some cities are investing in protected bike lanes. But there’s still a lot of work ahead.

Reducing parking spaces

Anyone driving a car in the centre of a large city knows the misery of having to find a parking space. Each and every driver in Germany spends 40 to 70 hours per year looking for a parking space. What better reason to leave the car behind and hop on a bike or bus? For this reason, the Estonian capital Tallinn is deliberately reducing the available car parking spaces. In Stuttgart, spaces for parked cars are being transformed into places of urban life: small urban islands called “parklets” provide space for seating, greenery and bike parking.

Good and cheap: public transport

Many more people could use the bus and train for their regular trips. But only a few regularly take advantage of public transport. Some cities have therefore decided to offer public transport free of charge – you can see an overview of where this is available at freepublictransport.info. The concept of free public transport hasn’t always been a success. According to a study by TU Dortmund University, it’s not the price alone that decides whether people switch to public transport. To attract more people, many routes need to be serviced more frequently, trains need to be less crowded and there must be enough stops.

Short ways

Travelling 50 kilometres on a country road to get to work and shopping at the supermarket in the nearest town: in rural areas, especially, it’s often impossible to get along without a car. But even here there are ways to keep the car in the garage more often. Instead of commuting every day, some of us could work a few days per week in the home office. Instead of coming into the office for every single meeting, we could hold more video conferences. If the supermarket is far from home, why not start a “food-co-op”? That’s an association of several households that jointly purchase larger quantities of food directly from the manufacturer or wholesaler.

Butter or eggs missing for the Sunday cake? In rural areas, small stores could once again offer basic foods; or vending machines – for example for fruit and vegetables from regional farms – could be set up. In some regions this is already reality.