[blackwasp]

A drastic measure needs to be undertaken. And starting from my family, I have observed changes in both usage as well as travel times over the years.

My grandparents used to mostly walk / cycle in their times.
My parents got a car pretty late in life and normally used public transport.
I too mostly use public transport, though I must admit that I use the car a lot.

Just a couple of years ago, a distance of 5 km used to take 15 mins max in car. The same now takes over an hour easily. Its frankly faster to walk.

Today, we have 3 cars for 3 people. One car is used everyday while only one of the other two is driven under 10 km a day (commutes only - average). I initially preferred to take car to work, but now a days AC bus is the preferred mode. Not only is the money saved, but I can catch up with a TV series or do some work or even have a nice Nap in the bus. Not to mention the headache of bumper to bumper traffic. Both dad and I are reluctant to take the car to the office - especially if we add the peak traffic hours in the mix.

However, I am seeing an alarming trend in the society these days. More and more people are used to cars and no one really uses public transport / cycles / walking to reach their destination. People take cars to their gyms, have a driver to drop the kids to school, goto Parks in cars etc. I agree that most times, its unavoidable due to many reasons like late timing, lack of good bus / train coverage etc. But unless we teach the next generation to use efficient ways to move around, we will end up with just a giant parking lot in out city.

Yes, we also need to prioritise infrastructure - nothing fancy, just clean footpaths, cycle paths where you can't take a car, but there is a small walkway, etc. Rather than outright ban the cars, the need is to promote public transport. As shown by the picture above - space occupied by cars vs other vehicles - imagine if all folks travelling by bus or train take out their own cars from tomorrow.