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Cycling a sign of a successful city says OECD report

But cost of car use needs to reflect the true impact of driving a car

According to a major new report from the OECD, cycling is one of the signs of a successful city. However, it also warns that in most cities the true costs of running a car are not reflected in the cost, and that even worse, with continuing urban sprawl, people are actually being given an incentive to drive.

Bikeboom.info – the website for Carlton Reid’s new book – reports how the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released The Metropolitan Century last week, a look at urbanisation and its consequences. As you might imagine, a lot of its focus is on cities’ impact on the environment.

Strikingly, it points out that cycling is one field in which city dwellers are more environmentally friendly. "Proximity between businesses and people's homes is likely to promote sustainable transport means like walking or cycling." However, it also stresses that this benefit is negated by urban sprawl, concluding that, "in a large majority of cities, negative externalities of [car use] are not (correctly) priced. This implies that transport-related policies actually incentivise sprawl."

So what is the solution? The report advocates 'setting a realistic carbon price'.

"In the context of transport, it is particularly important that the incentives for car use reflect the true costs of driving a car. In most cases, this implies imposing higher taxes on driving into a city in order to account for so-called externalities such as air pollution and congestion."

While a mix of policies from different sectors is the overall recommendation, a congestion charge is one measure that is given a lot of emphasis. The report emphasises that charges need to be sufficiently high to be effective, pointing out that despite its charge, London remains the ninth most congested city in Europe with an average delay of 36 minutes per peak hour of driving.

Driverless cars are suggested as a future means of reducing congestion, but the report also adds that ‘low-tech solutions still offer great potential in many cities to reduce congestion’. As well as car pooling, it suggests bike share schemes as being a worthwhile measure.

"Bicycle sharing schemes offer a fast and flexible transport option that can substitute cars for short trips. Perhaps more importantly, they also offer an uncomplicated way to start cycling for people who have not done so before. Thereby, they can contribute to an increased acceptance of cycling and help to initiate a broader shift towards it."

The OECD seeks to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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Username | 9 years ago
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Quote:

Driverless cars are suggested as a future means of reducing congestion,

Not a hope.

Terrible congestion is one of the few barriers that actually constrains motor use. High petrol prices, high VED, Congestion Charging have all been shown to be ineffective.

At the moment someone might choose to walk to the shops rather than sit in their car in a traffic jam, once they have a driverless car which can be sent to the shops, at no inconvenience to its owner, the volume of traffic is going to multiply exponentially.

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Dnnnnnn replied to Username | 9 years ago
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Username wrote:
Quote:

Driverless cars are suggested as a future means of reducing congestion,

Not a hope.

Terrible congestion is one of the few barriers that actually constrains motor use. High petrol prices, high VED, Congestion Charging have all been shown to be ineffective.

At the moment someone might choose to walk to the shops rather than sit in their car in a traffic jam, once they have a driverless car which can be sent to the shops, at no inconvenience to its owner, the volume of traffic is going to multiply exponentially.

I'm not sure your pessimism is entirely justified. Urban traffic hasn't grown in a decade now - no-one knows the exact reasons why but the cost of motoring, more people living and working in cities, some public transport favouring-policies - and possible peak-time congestion are all relevant. It's particularly true in inner London where car ownership is low and falling and where almost no-one car commutes to work.

Driverless cars are a big unknown at the moment but probably won't solve congestion, even if quite a lot of city centre traffic is people looking for a parking space.

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mrmo | 9 years ago
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how many politicians would be brave enough to tell the electorate we are going to charge you more to drive?

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