A survey for transit data specialists Ito World has found that just under half of British drivers said “nothing” could induce them to part with their cars.
The survey into UK dependence on cars, commissioned as part of Ito World’s new Kicking the UK’s Car Habit white paper, asked respondents what would persuade them to exchange their privately owned vehicle for alternative transport options such as ridesharing services or public transport. Only five per cent said they would consider getting rid of their car to protect the environment; 8.1 per cent said could be swayed by improved cycling facilities; and 17.6 and 18.3 per cent favoured cheaper and more accessible public transport, respectively. 43.6 per cent said nothing could part them from their own car.
In the paper’s introduction, Ito World CEO Johan Herrlin says: “In Kicking the UK’s Car Habit we narrow the focus to Britain, asking how key stakeholders can drive a mobility revolution that will allow the country to move on from its toxic relationship with the car. The UK’s dependency on the car is imposing major costs on society, in terms of lost productivity, pollution and poor health. It doesn’t have to be this way. We look at some of the things that need to happen if we are going to shift to a Mobility as a Service (MaaS) model where shared, multi-modal and autonomous vehicles – working as part of an integrated data-driven system – will transform transport in our cities.”
The white paper examines UK dependence on cars in order to determine how private vehicle use in the UK could be reduced in line with environmental and emissions targets. Ito World, which launched a MaaS Manifesto in September 2018 advocating UK-wide adoption of alternative methods of transport in order to reduce pollution and congestion, notes that where MaaS solutions are made widely available they see a significant increase in uptake.
