The White House is moving forward on the ban on combustion vehicles to bring it even closer to the short term and, of course, shield it against a possible change of government. However, one country has just taken a drastic decision that could spread to America sooner than you think: they have banned 100% of cars, including EVs. Why did they do it? That’s the most shocking thing of all, and it’s not just related to the environment.
No More Cars on the Roads: This Country Has Taken a Historic (and Optimistic) Step
Oslo, ‘the capital and the largest city of Norway’ has left no stone unturned to bring about a revolution for making the city a liveable place by eliminating cars from the city center completely. This rather patriotic-sounding strategy is called the Car-Free Livability Program and envisions a radical redesign of city spaces adrouterriers to create the conditions for walking, cycling, and using public transport.
The plan was initially proposed a couple of years ago when the city was worried about its carbon impact, as the population of the city is predicted to increase by 30% in the year 2040. Original intentions included a full exclusion of vehicle access inside the innermost ring of Oslo motorways, which enclosed approximately 1.7 km2.
However, the proposal was highly likely to encounter numerous objections from businessmen and women who perceived it as likely to affect their business operations. Due to this kind of resentment, the city then adopted a slow measure to bring the idea to fruition: a policy to ban cars from the city center instead of fully banning cars in the city center.
Car-Free Livability Program: a Good Idea or a Failed Attempt at Utopia?
The Car-Free Livability Program was therefore conducted in three phases, and in the first phase, the on-street parking spaces that existed along Ring 1 and other areas considered to be in direct infringement of bike infrastructure were eliminated. In the subsequent phases, the city continued the measures for minimizing automobile usage and strengthening other modes of transport.
A large proportion of the population of the Norwegian capital drives less, and specific areas such as near schools and parks are increasingly becoming car-free zones. Fast Company states that there have been 707 car parking spaces in Oslo central business district transformed into bike lanes, greenery, mini-parks, and seats—together, a considerable development on the way to a car-free town.
Some Figures to Understand What Oslo Cars Ban Has Achieved: 0 % Occupancy Rate on the Roads? Not at All
We have reviewed several of the statistics that the City of Oslo has published on its media portal and have some doubts, although the figures are inescapable:
- Within the city center, car traffic decreased by 11 % between the years 2016 and 2018 and by 19 % from 2018 to 2019.
- Despite a decrease in the overall car use by drivers within the city center, the OD relations display no significant changes due to the measures in place in the form of at least ¼ full occupancy rates from 1.41 to 1.85 passengers per vehicle.
The car-free initiatives aimed to put an end to the problem of traffic jams, but also to reduce emissions in a city that, in itself, is not one of the most polluting in the world. This raises the question on your mind: why also ban EVs and FCEVs? Although it was a partial ban (you have seen it before), it was also due to security and “repeatonalization” reasons.
The measure Oslo has taken could soon spread to the rest of Europe, which is looking on in disbelief at what its northern neighbor has done. This is the reason why we still believe it will take some time to reach America, and if it does, it will only be applied in some counties (in fact, there are some that have taken similar measures but allowed EVs to circulate). Do you understand why it is such an unprecedented, drastic and even risky measure?
