While the Scandinavian and Low Countries have become the ideal type for nations that have shied away from cars, international trends indicate that they may no longer be so anomalous in a few decades.
A car is usually one of the first purchases that a newly established middle-class family makes.
However, cities across the world are realising that they cannot keep up with the adverse effects of universal car ownership.
Parking in the City of Westminster costs a minimum Sh226.76 (£1.70 ) per hour and up to Sh653.5 (£4.90) per hour.
Owners of diesel cars older than two years may find themselves slapped with extra charges.
The crown princess of Denmark sometimes cycles her children to school, even on bitter winter mornings in Copenhagen.
The image of the cycling royal family is a favourite one among tabloids. It is also a reflection of a country that has shunned the automobile.
Copenhagen’s, and indeed Denmark’s, main form personal transport is the bicycle. For those who can’t or won’t cycle, public transport buses are the second alternative. Owning a car is not only very expensive, it is also not as much an indicator of status as it is in East Africa.
While the Scandinavian and Low Countries have become the ideal type for nations that have shied away from cars, international trends indicate that they may no longer be so anomalous in a few decades.
A car is usually one of the first purchases that a newly established middle-class family makes. However, cities across the world are realising that they cannot keep up with the adverse effects of universal car ownership.
Cars pollute cities, creating adverse effects for dwellers. An estimated seven million people die globally every year from air pollution. Cars cause congestion and cost economies billions. Yet for all this bother, statistics show that personal cars spend 96 per cent of their lifetime idling. So cities are increasingly coming up with ways to discourage their residents from using cars and to incentivise them to use public transport.
London levies its residents heavily when they drive into the city centre. Think Nairobi’s Sh300 parking charge is punitive?
Parking in the City of Westminster costs a minimum Sh226.76 (£1.70 ) per hour and up to Sh653.5 (£4.90) per hour.
Owners of diesel cars older than two years may find themselves slapped with extra charges.
Oslo has announced that it will ban all private cars within its city limits by 2019. Madrid plans to ensure that its city centre is exclusively used by pedestrians by 2020. But cities are accompanying these measures with incentives to use alternative means of transport.
Investments are going into ensuring that public transport lines are reliable and efficient.
In Hamburg, a city-sponsored bike sharing scheme allows residents who do not own bicycles to rent one.
Locally, the University of Nairobi had said that it was going to pilot a similar scheme.
Car-sharing, whether through clubs or commercial apps like Uber, is also emerging as alternatives for longer journeys that cannot be covered by bicycle or a city council bus.
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