(If I were a dictator, or a unipersonal government.)
*Everyone must either
– ride a bicycle
– take public transportation
The intent of this law would not necessarily be to outlaw cars. Instead, it would be intended to cultivate a perspective on the part of citizens that would value road ways as a shared resource, rather than as a personal prerogative.
The public transportation in question would, of course, be top notch and highly functional. As dictator/unipersonal government officer, I would pass additional law to make it so.
(I also confess that I do think about pushing over cyclists who break traffic laws, like running red lights. My bias is for efficiency and consideration, rather than a particular mode of transportation. Although, as a cyclist myself, I guess there’s some implicit bias there.)
UPDATE:
I would allow citizens to purchase permits to drive themselves to places that may be less accessible by public transportation. That system would probably work like a ZipCar system, with cars that would be shared between users.
I would also allow businesses to own and use vehicles, pending review of their needs. (This whole idea would probably have a large staff behind it.)
It would be tres cheap/free to use this public transit system, due to being publicly funded by tax dollars. The money saved on road maintenance and streamlining road design would also be factored into the project’s costs. And then citizens would save on fuel, insurance, and vehicle costs.
_____ I would _____ 