Cities around the globe, no matter how well-planned or sustainability-focused, all struggle to manage vehicle traffic. Many of the vehicles clogging up their roads and undermining air quality, especially during commute hours, are personal cars.
Now, what would happen if a city made the bold decision to eliminate personal cars completely from its roads? It would “immediately become a leader on the world stage,” said Protiviti Managing Director Jonathan Wyatt in a recent interview with VISION by Protiviti.
“A decision like that would set off a cascading chain of events that would, ultimately, result in a complete redesign of the city center — and … create a better city,” said Wyatt. Such a move would also relieve the pressure on cities to invest in building charging stations in public spaces to support growing electric vehicle ownership. Ban personal cars in the city, and the problem is solved.
When cities do decide to eliminate personal cars from their streets, don’t expect their next move to be an expansion of mass transit, though. Mass transit doesn’t have a long-term future unless it can be “radically redesigned for a completely new world,” said Wyatt. He said we can expect instead to see the removal of mass transit from city centers — not by 2030, but “eventually.”
So, how will people get around in cities in the future? In autonomous vehicles that can be summoned with an app, travel on “superhighways” and deliver a personalized transport experience, said Wyatt.
For more insight on the role of automated personal transport in future cities’ success, read our full interview with Jonathan Wyatt on VISION by Protiviti.
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