I guess this raises a whole set of issues around car use and ownership, and transport policy. Cars have certainly provided people with lots of freedom in both work and leisure travel - I've had great touring holidays in the UK, Europe and North America but, in many instances, in hire cars rather than my own, and I can remember the days of the 1980s when we had two company cars! On the other hand, the detrimental affect on public transport (closure of rail services, cuts in uneconomic, privatised, bus services) and the expansion of roads for car use to the detriment of cyclists and pedestrians has either left non drivers stranded or forced those who can ill afford it into buying old bangers. Let's face it, car ownership is has always been inequitable: the poor have cheap, older, smaller, probably unreliable and possibly unsafe vehicles while the more affluent have the new, modern ones - in many cases unnecessarily large "gas guzzlers" such as the Chelsea Tractors that are inappropriate for city use. And what's the point of a 200kpm supercar unless one can use it on track days - but, again, you can do that without owning one.I suppose if someone has to replace their old ULEZ incompatible car they're most likely to replace it with another used car that meets the requirements rather than a brand new one, thus extending the "life" of another older car? Some might decide, if they're not regular motorists, that car club membership is more economic over a year? Those that can afford to buy or lease the latest new model every year as a status symbol are possibly going to do that anyway, ULEZ or no ULEZ. So I'm not sure to why extent new car sales are promoted by ULEZ - I seem to remember the company car envy of the 1980s drove a churn in leases to get the latest status symbol with older cars that couldn't be sold being shipped off abroad to poorer nations.There may unfortunately be some serviceable old cars scrapped but does it also help remove poorly maintained and uninsured cars from the roads? I suspect there may be many unpopular changes in lifestyles needed to sort out the environmental mess and climate emergency we've created. We have to remember that as a nation the UK is wealthy compared to some countries which may be devastated by what we've created.Just some points to ponder and discuss ...(Incidentally, I'm not anti car: I did enjoy driving but not in congested cities with limited parking. Trains have the advantage of allowing one to work and study rather than waste time in traffic jams. It's a question of being realistic and pragmatic to reduce environmental damage.)
Michael Ixer ● 2012d