Author Description

The automobile once promised a dazzling world of speed, freedom, and convenience, magically conveying people wherever the road would take them. Given these alluring qualities, it is not surprising the people around the world enthusiastically embraced the dream of car ownership. But societies that have built their transport systems around the automobile are now waking up to a much harsherreality. The problems created by overreliance on the car are outweighing the benefits. These problems are numerous and widespread. Traffic congestion and air polution plague all major cities, and oil dependence makes economies vulnerable. Metropolises with streets designed for cars instead of people are increasingly unlivable. In developing countries, automobiles serve only a small elite and leave the vast majority with inadequate transport. In Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, recent reforms could add the problems of automobile dependence to already overwhelming economic and environmental crises. Improving automobile technology can never completely solve these troubles. Enhanced fuel efficiency and polution control are at least partly offset by the sheer amount of additional driving, as some 35 million new cars roll off assembly lines each year. Even in the United States, where emissions controls are most effective, air polution is worsening. And no matter how clean or fuel-efficient automobiles become, they still cause traffic jams. Automobile dominance creates a set of problems so relentless that societies in coming decades will have no choice but to seek transport alternatives. A new, more rational approach to transportation is need, one that puts the automobile in its rightful place asone among many options for travel.