Minister says number of cars on Quebec roads should be cut in half
Unfortunately, the prime minister won't endorse his minister.
https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/environmentalists-rejoice-after-minister-says-number-of-cars-on-quebec-roads-should-be-cut-in-half-1.6520773Open linkView original on lemmy.ca
As a car enthusiast, yes, please! I enjoy pleasure cruises on sunny weekends in my summer car, but let's treat it like the luxury it is: expensive, heavily taxed, and not required to get from A-B. These policies and investments would make getting around more pleasant for everyone, and make the road that much more enjoyable to use on recreational occasions. I can assure you that what I love about driving is not from being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and emitting tons of emissions using fuel whose monetary cost doesn't include externalized costs.
I won't disagree with you. I interpret the Minister's remarks as suggesting that we should make it so that at least half of Quebecoise have the option of going carless, and choose to take it. I don't think anyone is seriously advocating for a ban on cars without any investment in alternatives.
Not literally anyone. Poor people don't require cars. Funny, right? How do poor people manage without a car OR money, when everyone else apparently needs both?
If you were poor, you wouldn't have a car. Like tens of thousands of other people in Ontario, I survive on 13k a year. How many km do you think I walk (or rather bike because I'm not a total moron and I'm fortunate enough to still own one) in a year to get groceries? It's more viable than fucking starving.
Here's an easy way to do it. Tax everything to do with cars - licenses, registrations, fuel, fluids (oil, transmission, coolant, etc.), tires, and insurance -- and direct 100% of that money into public transit projects - increasing frequency and reliability of existing service, adding new services and routes, and offsetting fees for users. The best transit is cheap, fast, and good.
One the parties in opposition suggested a tax for power-hungry cars and they got attacked on it during the last campaign. The population must accept the difficult choice, because the status quo is not sustainable.
Unfortunately, there is nothing that ensures that they must.
More renewable energy , less fossil fuels
More density, less sprawl
More transit, less cars