Ride-sharing service Uber, electric mobility service Lime and eBike subscription service Lug + Carrie have partnered to create more livable cities.
In a first-of-its-kind trial, Australians living in capital cities will be asked to reassess their reliance on private car ownership.
The partnership also includes behavioural scientists – The Behavioural Architects.
The ‘One Less Car’ trial is calling on 50 Australians to give up their second car or go car-free for four weeks and document their experience to test and analyse the advantages and disadvantages of forgoing a car.
Throughout the trial, participants will be incentivised with over $1,300 in transport credits to use on alternative modes of transport, and fitted out with personal health trackers to measure health and wellbeing impacts.
Insights from their experiences will be shared with industry and government, with an aim to help inform the planning of greener and more sustainable cities.
At an industry roundtable hosted by University of Technology’s Institute for Sustainable Futures today, Uber ANZ General Manager Dom Taylor outlined the critical challenge that lies ahead for Australia’s over reliance on the private car:
Australia has one of the highest rates of private car ownership globally, with over 15 million cars on our roads, and more than half of Australian households owning more than one car. What’s more, cars in Australia sit idle 95% of the time, meaning that in most cases, they are an underutilised and not economically worthwhile asset for most Australians,
We believe that the one person, one car approach needs to urgently be addressed to future proof the liveability of our Cities – especially in light of the increased population forecast by 2050. We hope to provide genuine insights with this trial, that not only help individuals work out whether owning cars is best for them, but also supports urban planning efforts across the country.
Australians want improved City liveability, but don’t recognise their individual role
A recent survey* commissioned by Uber found that despite Australia’s already high reliance on car ownership, 2 in 5 (42%) metro Australians surveyed are considering personally purchasing another car in the next 2 years. This comes as more than half of metro Australians surveyed (51%) expressed their concerns for their neighbour’s reliance on their private car*.
Furthermore almost half of city-based Australians surveyed want to see reduced road congestion (49%); live in a greener and more sustainable city (42%), and want more access to parking when needed (42%).
The research revealed no material difference in attitude towards car ownership between young adults and senior Australians, perhaps demonstrating that Australia’s already high levels of car ownership won’t change unless directly addressed.
It’s a conundrum for many Australians living in metro areas; our research finds over half of Aussies enjoy the convenience of owning a car, but the same number want to see others reduce their reliance on their private car.
Dom Taylor.
We believe the solution lies in providing people with more choice when it comes to transport options. Our main objective with this trial is to raise awareness of those options and provide a blueprint for urban planners to bring it to life,
Increasing cost of living pressures already taking its toll
As outlined in a discussion paper published by Uber today, car ownership costs the average Australian household $364 a week, equating to almost $19,000 a year. Rising cost of living pressures could be causing pause for thought when it comes to increasing car ownership.
More than 2 in 3 Australians surveyed* (69%) are concerned about the cost of car ownership, with the perceived cost-benefit of ditching a car the number one factor that metro Australians surveyed said would motivate them to consider reducing car ownership (37%).
Other motivating factors behind why metro Australians surveyed may reduce their reliance on car ownership included:
- if there was better access to public transport options (23%);
- environmental impact considerations (10%);
- and improved health and wellbeing benefits (9%).
Personally, I think if you’re a household that’s found its way to two EVs already, you need not apply, but if you’ve got two ICE-powered vehicles, this trial is certainly something to consider. If successful, it may show you that you don’t miss the car and could save money using alternative methods of transport, while also helping the environment.
2 individually owned ev’s in a household us just the wrong answer and contradicting the intent of the trial. Just because a car has an electric motor rather than an IC engine doesn’t stop iit being highly underutilised (therefore highly wasteful), non polluting (adds to the demand on our grid which mostly has to burn more coal and gas to accomodate) and creates just as must congestion on the roads