‘Going car-free is impossible for some, but possible for many’

“People hate the idea of car-free cities – until they live in one”. That was the title of an article published last week on Wired that makes a convincing case for urgently reconfiguring our cities away from cars.

London, for example, in 2016 had more than 2 million people in areas with illegal levels of air pollution. Since then, thanks to emissions reduction measures, the number of people living in polluted areas has dropped 94 per cent. That change isn’t just a Covid blip; it is a concerted effort driven by transport and urban planning policies.

There is a little bit of amateur transport policy maker in all of us in Bristol. If you go to any media article about Bristol’s transport posted on social media in the last ten years you’ll be bound to find at least one or two comments pointing out underneath that they’d give up their car if only the public transport worked better – and some will have ideas on how to achieve that.

But, as Rachel Aldred from Active Travel Academy makes clear, “in crowded urban areas, you can’t just make buses better if those buses are still always stuck in car traffic. The academic evidence suggests that a mixture of positive and negative characteristics is more effective than either on their own”.

This final point is an allusion to the much-cited ‘carrot-and-stick’ approach to change, where carrots provide positive incentives for people to change travel behaviour and sticks remove opportunities to use more polluting forms of transport.

And the good news is a recent study found that there were positive or carrot aspects to all 12 of the methods identified for cutting car use in cities but seven of them did contain stick aspects as well.

Namely:

• Drivers paying to enter the city centre (the much-delayed clean air zone).
• Drivers paying to park at work (a workplace parking levy).
• Removing parking spaces.
• Altering traffic routes.
• Excluding cars from parts of the city (except residents).
• Parking management (residents’ or controlled parking schemes).

The simple fact remains that if Bristol is serious about meeting its net zero targets by 2030, it will need to look at implementing at least some of these solutions because, frankly, compared to the likes of London, we just do not have the resources to implement as many of the carrot-only solutions that they can.

This necessitates a strategic approach to using the funding we do get from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA). But we also need far more opportunities for residents and communities to input and develop ideas, so that when funding arrives, we’re ready to go and make a difference immediately.

The first stage of consultation on the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood pilot has been managed well with hundreds of comments given about street-level improvements that could be incorporated into the pilot scheme.

However, there needs to be a more coherent force behind these policies to give neighbourhoods a clear set of overarching principles that are easy to understand and implement. One area, for example, is our Possible campaign for a process for residents to apply for a parklet on their street.

Amidst attempts to campaign and push for change, we also need to find examples of people doing what they can with what exists now and hold it up as a shining example of change. We know that the efficiency of a city’s transport depends on a holistic approach to get the greatest benefits, but by amplifying what is possible, we can inspire others and seed future individual behaviour change?

In January and February 2022, Possible did exactly that. Three participants from three different parts of our city – St George, Troopers Hill and Brislington – committed to going car-free for 21 days while attempting to not significantly change their everyday routines.

Nathanael, Hannah and Kate were chosen from a list of over 75 interested people in Bristol. The final group was chosen to ensure a range of experiences and backgrounds through criteria of age, gender, childcare and caring responsibilities, ethnicity and disability. You can read more about the Bristol participants’ stories and how they found going car-free here.

So what did we find? Most importantly (particularly in the midst of a cost of living crisis), all of the participants saved money compared to their usual habits, reduced their personal carbon emissions but also, importantly, keenly felt some important added benefits. A greater sense of mental health from walking more, a more relaxing commute by taking the bus, a newfound enjoyment of Voi e-scooters – all this, even during the coldest months of the year.

Participants in the car-free trial reported a greater sense of mental health from walking more, a more relaxing commute by taking the bus, a newfound enjoyment of Voi e-scooters – photo: Martin Booth

There were, admittedly, some downsides. A bus driver shortage and the end of Covid-19 lockdowns meant that active, public and shared transport types were sometimes difficult to use and even inaccessible or exclusionary.

There can be difficulties with going car-free. Our cities have been dominated by cars so long that other transport options have really suffered – but that can change. By piling on the pressure, persistently demanding active travel infrastructure improvement, traffic reduction measures and improvements to public transport then we’ll help almost everyone overcome these difficulties meaning we can live in healthier, greener, more climate-friendly cities.

But not enough people think going car-free is possible at all. And that is where you can come in. The experiences of Kate, Nathanael and Hannah are but a snapshot. We need a panoramic view via a wider, mass participation challenge that, coincidentally, starts today.

We already have hundreds of sign-ups from all over the country, but why not give it a go yourself or, if you’re already car-free, pass this on to your friends and family?

Find out more and sign up via www.wearepossible.org/going-car-free-2022.

Rob Bryher is Car-Free Bristol campaigner for the climate action charity Possible. This article is part of a series on Car Free Cities.

Main photo: Betty Woolerton

Read more: ‘Parklets pave the way for repurposing road space for people over cars’

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