Green mobility requires new generation politics

Green mobility requires the EU and citizen activism!

City ring, road pricing, lower speed, fewer cars, Supercycle paths, more electric buses and better train connections. It must be worthwhile to drive a smaller car, public transport must be the clear choice and micromobility must be the norm. And the solutions are piling up!

From civic assemblies removing cars from city centers to companies providing bikes and car-sharing to eager citizens, these solutions are accompanied by reports of increased air pollution, early death and increasing quality of life issues.

But green mobility does not come by itself, nor does it come from national politicians, as the Engineer concluded on 29 March 2023: "And although the Minister of Transport announced his support for road pricing, he also stated that it should not be in the lifetime of the present government. This has been the attitude of many politicians for many years. We have to have it, but not right now.”

Green mobility starts locally

Today, there are numerous examples of how citizens have been involved in local solutions to congestion, parking and mobility, and we at Volt are in favor of citizen-driven change!

The city of Ghent in Belgium is an excellent example of how citizen involvement made the difference in whether the city became car-free - in 2021, our Belgian Volters shared this presentation with us:

One of the most striking examples is when we are given the opportunity to try new ways of getting around - given alternatives to which we can get used to, given the opportunity to move. Because we need help to change habits.

In an experiment in Frederiksberg, people were offered a car-sharing scheme, electric bicycle or a Rejsekort for a given period of time. The cars are removed from the streetscape and replaced with green, recreational areas. The physical area that was once dominated by asphalt and iron was replaced with flowers, benches and children and suddenly new life came into the streetscape.

Citizens' meeting in Copenhagen, The Medieval City

But not everyone has the opportunity or desire to give up their car and there are many reasons for this. What we need to have a conversation about, however, is what it costs society to let cars and trucks crowd the streetscape.

Luftforurening koster Danmark milliarder hvert år

In a report from Aarhus University in 2020, air pollution alone costs Frederiksberg municipality (the country's 5th largest municipality) 1.5 billion kroner annually in sick days and early deaths.

AlliStill, Frederiksberg's mayor hesitates to back Copenhagen's ambitions to be a fossil-free city by 2023.
Frederiksberg fears ending up like Vest Berlin

Nationally, it is 9.5 billion.

Traffic is the biggest cause of the high air pollution in the cities and you can see the air pollution via an app that Aarhus University has produced - Luften På Din Vej, the app is called: http://lpdv.spatialsuite.dk/spatialmap and it is not surprising that Danish cities and traffic hubs are where there is the most pollution.