Big cities reduce the use of cars ... and these are the results

Cities around the world, in their efforts to reduce the use of cars, have faced many objections centered on these measures, personal freedom can be limited, very expensive, or the commercial activity weakens or has no influence on air quality. But the initial data that began to appear from experiments conducted in New York, London and Paris offers initial indicators on reducing velocity boundaries, the costs of car entry to the city centers, and fines on the most polluted drivers can reduce congestion and improve air quality without causing major disorders. These experiments are particularly important because cities, especially those suffering from traffic pollution problems and bad air quality more than rural areas, are progressing faster than national governments to impose restrictions on vehicle emissions. According to transport and environment, European cities surpass national laws in combating pollution as a result of traffic. 35 cities generally promise to establish ‘free areas’ in which vehicles working with diesel or gasoline are prohibited. Despite these efforts, the results of some cities show that the lowering of traffic is not enough. In Oslo, which is a pioneer in setting low speed restrictions and car -free areas, developing public transport, hiking and cycling, the widespread deployment of electric cars has reduced the faded pollution. But the city still suffers from high levels of molecular pollution caused by tires -erosion, firewood fireplace, dust caused by gravel and salt used on roads during the winter. Although lowering the action of the fossil fuel vehicles does not solve all these problems, there is evidence that this policy is improving the air quality and also achieving other benefits. Below are lessons for policy and population manufacturers from cities who used this approach early: New York On January 5, the city has begun to implement a policy that imposes cars a fee of up to $ 9 per day to enter specific areas of Manhattan. The flight time data during the first three months indicate a decrease in periods of movement in some of the most crowded tracks, especially the bridges and tunnels connecting Manhattan with New Jersey, Brocklin and Koins. The two students, Taliban Joshua and Benjamin Moshe, manage a website that follows the transportation by relying on the “Google Maps” application data affected by traffic prices since the application of the policy. It became clear to them that the transportation child had also decreased during the weekends, while they did not change much within the Manhattan himself, which indicates that people prefer public transport or avoid unnecessary flights. In Boston and Chicago, the two brothers used as two reference cities, not noticed. There is a separate overview of the “INRIX” business, which specializes in traffic data that supports these results. Bloomberg also found in a parallel analysis that the number of private cars has decreased, compared to an increase in the number of taxis. Paris imposed the mayor of Paris, Ann Hidalgo, a new speed of 50 km/ h (30 mph) on the outer ring of the city, despite the opposition of the French Minister of Transport and his opponents of the conservative stream. A report issued by the Department of Urban Planning in Paris showed that the new velocity, which was applied on October 1 last year, led to the next five months of improved air quality and traffic accidents also fell 17% compared to the same period in the previous year, with the accumulation of the accumulation. Although she will not run for a new term next year, Hidalgo has not stopped implementing her plans to reduce the movement of cars and encourage hiking and cycling. In addition to introducing higher fees on the attitudes of SUVs, the local government has assigned a road on the highway around the city for public transport and ordinary vehicles. The traffic vehicle has also been banned in Central Paris since November, while they maintained that residents of the region and its workers and taxis could enter. A fine of 135 euros ($ 153) is imposed on those who violate it as soon as the regulatory procedures are applied. London has been a high -rejected emission area in London for more than five years. This area includes the imposition of daily fees on the old vehicles working in gasoline or diesel as it starts to cover a limited area of ​​the city center, and then gradually expanded to include an area of ​​about 600 square miles, making it the largest in the world. In addition, a separate congestion fee is in Central London, which means that the vast majority of drivers are paid in exchange for the entry of the city center (except for electric cars until the end of this year). When London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the expansion of the area in 2022, he faced warnings that the decision would lead to a decrease in small stores and economic problems. The region became a controversial case in the local election, and its competitor of the Conservative Party made it the focus of his campaign, but it lost the election against Khan. In March, the London Municipality published data showing that the area contributed to improving air quality without damaging the stores on the outskirts of the city, which was only included in the area in August 2023. The data indicated that the emissions of nitric oxides, related to breathing problems, asthma and infections, between 33% and 39%. MasterCard data also showed that the number of visitors and sales in stores was not rejected. According to the report, about 97% of the vehicles in the region are identical to environmental standards. Although transport trucks were the slowest to adapt to the new rules, more than 90% of them are currently identical, compared to only 12% in 2017, that is, before applying the policy. “Everyone in the capital is now a cleaner thanks to the area with a very low emission,” says Christina Calderto, director of the strategy at the London Transport Authority.