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Further implications
It is beginning to seem that conventional automobiles are a terminal technology, at least in urban settings.
Cars are expensive for the individual to purchase and maintain, a fact brought home painfully by the recent rapid rise in petrol prices. It has been estimated that the average weekly cost of owning and running a car in Australia in August 2019 was $378.65.
It will be significantly higher now.Though the costs for the individual are burdensome, the costs environmentally and in terms of social amenity are even greater. From a global perspective, transport accounts for around one-fifth of global CO2 emissions, with road travel accounting for three-quarters of transport emissions. Most of this comes from passenger vehicles - cars and buses - which contribute 45.1 percent. The other 29.4 percent comes from trucks carrying freight.
Relative to much of the rest of the developed world, Australia's transport-related greenhouse gas emissions are particularly high. An international scorecard comparing 23 of the largest energy-using countries, ranked Australia second worst for transport energy efficiency. This was due to several factors. Relative to the rest of the world, Australia has high emitting cars, and a lack of greenhouse gas emissions standards in place for cars and heavy vehicles. Australia also has a low use of public transport (currently only some 12 percent of trips are made in this way) and a low ratio of public spending on developing public transport relative to roads.
The total amount of funding for road-related expenditure by the Australian, state, territory, and local Governments in 2008-09 was $15.8 billion This cost has been estimated to rise by over 2 percent a year. In terms of effect, it cannot be considered money well spent. Within Australia's fastest-growing cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, congestion is a major barrier to the quality of life and economic prosperity of communities.
Road performance across Australia is deteriorating. Average traffic speed and reliability of reaching a destination within a reasonable time (based on maximum road speeds along a particular route) have declined. Electric cars are proposed as a way of reducing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions; however, they will do nothing to reduce the growing congestion and consequent inefficiency of Australia's urban road networks. Greater use of public transport and other expedients such as ride share arrangements have been proposed as partial solutions.
Critics of Australia's urban transport planning argue that it remains too car centric. They point to solutions which involve integrated networks of share cars, public transport and micromobility vehicles such as bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters. They call for a readiness to reimagine Australia's urban streetscapes and infrastructure with protected micromobility vehicle lanes, reduced speeds and less reliance on the use of individually owned cars.
The rapid uptake of e-scooters around the world suggests that many commuters are ready for such a mix. That said, devices such as e-scooters are likely to be the beginning of a solution, not the end.