We have five years to choose between transport heaven or hell

(EurActiv, 20 Sep 2018) The expected benefits of electrified and shared vehicles are real and quantified. Yet, they are not guaranteed. There is another, darker, pathway that we could inadvertently slip into, called the “Hell Scenario” of autonomous mobility.

Robin Chase is  co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar, an American car-sharing company and a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group.

Transport is now Europe’s second biggest source of greenhouse gases, churning out around a quarter of our total emissions each year.

It is also the biggest cause of air pollution in many cities, emitting NOx and PM fumes that contribute to the premature deaths of more than four million people each year.

Children and the elderly are particularly at risk. But air pollution is not the only problem that transport brings to our urban areas. Noise is a persistent nuisance, and car parks and traffic jams continue to dominate the urban space.

Now stop a minute. Picture how your city would look if it were no longer dominated by the automobile. Fewer roads would be needed, creating more space for cycle lanes, wider pavements for pedestrians, more parks, green spaces and playgrounds for children.

Friends could meet on wide terraces to drink, eat or just breathe clean air and enjoy the quiet calm of a city where the car is no longer king. Just think, we might even be able to hear the birds singing again!

I call this the “Heaven Scenario” of shared autonomous mobility, and it lies within reach.

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EurActiv, 20 Sep 2018: We have five years to choose between transport heaven or hell