OPINION: To Ban Cars, Socialize Them
Pedestrianization, congestion pricing, dedicated bus and bike lanes, parking maximums, and transit-oriented development dominate the headlines when it comes to reducing the number of cars in cities. Presumptive mayor Eric Adams even tweeted on Saturday in support of congestion pricing. But there is one unsung tactic that reduces the number of cars on the road and their consequences without big public investment, redevelopment, or a toll on central-business-district-bound drivers: expanding car access through car share.
By “car share,” I do not mean ride hails (taxis, Uber/Lyft). Car share is the actual sharing of a vehicle among several people. Arrangements can entail formal corporate rentals from car lots (Hertz, Zipcar), point-to-point sharing in which cars can be picked up and dropped off anywhere in a defined zone (Car2Go), peer-to-peer sharing in which members can rent out their cars (Turo, Getaround), and informal arrangements such as sharing among housemates and carpooling.
To reduce (or even ban) private cars in the city, we should socialize them.
The Department of Transportation quietly expanded and made permanent its program to provide street and municipal-lot parking spaces for car-share services in April