LOS ANGELES-Car use will still need to be curbed even when all vehicles are powered by clean electricity, a report has said.
It warns that electrifying cars will not address traffic jams, urban sprawl and wasted space for parking.
The Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS) report calls on the government to devise a strategy allowing people to have a good standard of living without needing a car.
The government said it was spending £2bn to promote walking and cycling.
It also says it plans to spend £50bn on improving roads. However, critics accuse the government of not having a serious plan to deal with the social problems associated with mass car ownership.
CREDS is an academic consortium of more than 80 academics across the UK.
“Car use is a massive blind spot on government policy,” Prof Jillian Anable, one of the authors of the report, said.
She added: “For many years ministers have adopted the principle of trying to meet demand by increasing road space.
“They need to reduce demand instead.”
But what about people who depend on their cars?
The authors say there will always be people who depend on cars, especially in the countryside or suburbs.
But, they point out that many young people in cities are choosing not to buy cars.
Instead they are using public transport, walking, cycling, taking minicabs and hiring cars when they are needed.
This more active lifestyle means less obesity, pollution and road danger – and greater sociability as people meet their neighbours on their way to work.
It also allows parking spaces to be liberated for more housing or gardens. The government, the authors say, should be encouraging other people to follow the lead set by the young.
“It is a happy accident that car ownership is static in every age group except the over-60s,” Prof Anable says. “The government should build on that.”
How could we help people to live without cars?
She maintains car ownership is wasteful because cars are parked for 98% of their lifetime, with a third of cars not going out every day.
“Once you own a car,” she says, “there is a compelling temptation to use it even for simple journeys.