- UQ researchers recruited 10 car-owning Brisbane residents to go without their vehicles for 20 days;
- Participants were asked follow their regular schedules using only public transport, cycling, walking, micro-mobility devices such as scooters, and taxis and ride-share services in an emergency;
- Brisbane’s sprawling urban layout and public transport limitations were identified as the main barriers to permanent car-free life in the city.
It probably depends on how you structure your life in the city. If you start without a car then you build your life and contacts more locally. That’s how people did it in the past before cars. Admittedly there were a lot more local shops and employment opportunities. This is where walkable cities comes in.
It would be difficult to just give up the car as a lot of people have too much distance in their lives and public transport doesn’t go where they need to be in a timely fashion.
Some organisation funded a study to learn what urbanists have studied for decades. Good use of the money.
Which organisation?
Well shit. I’ve lived here for 30 years without owning a car. Guess I have to buy one now…
Yeah i have some friends living on NDIS in Brisbane who have never had vehicles or access. Car driving can absolutely be an habitual addiction for some peeps
I also think it influences what their daily schedules were. If someone expects to be able to go to certain places at certain times, that may no longer be possible, but if they were never using cars for primary transport, their obligations may be at different places or different times.
I grew up low income, so no car. Still mostly bike or PT, but I habitually get to places at least half an hour early :)
Is a bike a private vehicle?
