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F*ck Musk, Take the Bus.

Electric cars are seen as the future of transport. Turns out, they're making the problem worse.

By Rk.kePublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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Combustion engine cars are slowly phasing out of mainstream usage, and for good reason. Cars have contributed enormously to air pollution, and it’s time to change that. But, what if that doesn’t depend on you forking out for a Tesla Roadster? Turns out, electric cars are only making the problem worse.

The UK government calculated the emissions produced in a 400-mile journey from Glasgow to London, across 8 various methods of transport. The average petrol car produced 70kg of direct CO2 emissions, and another 20kg of indirect emissions (the production and transport of fuel prior to its consumption).

This air pollution is currently the biggest threat to health in the UK, causing 36,000 deaths a year. Globally, air pollution kills 7 million people a year through coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and lung cancer.

No shit, that’s why we’re getting rid of them! I hear you cry. After all, EVs create no direct emissions!

Firstly, the indirect emissions created by EVs are still sizeable. These emissions are harder to measure precisely, too, as it depends on a country’s own electricity supply. An EV in India ‘creates’ far more emissions than an EV in France, simply due to the countries’ mix of fossil and renewable energy sources.

Let’s take the US: on average, per kilowatt hour of electricity produced, the supply chain creates 602 grams of CO2. In 2020, net generation of electricity in the United States was about 4,000 billion kilowatthours. That’s — scientifically speaking — a shit ton of CO2.

Aaron R. Holdway & el. found that the indirect emissions produced by the Tesla Roadster are — in the US & UK — not appreciably lower than those of the emissions of most small diesel cars.

As countries continuously adapt their renewable energy this will shift — but the more nefarious problem will only get worse.

Deadly Car Dependency

The more nefarious danger of cars — no matter their method of propulsion — is a problem of infrastructure. Though most EV enthusiasts hear ‘infrastructure’ and assume I’m about to start talking about charging stations, this problem is far larger than extension cables for expensive cars.

Instead, I’m talking about urban planning. Car dependency contributes greatly to obesity rates, pedestrian accidents, and isolation of the elderly and disabled.

Ever sat in traffic, fed up at the other cars around you? Well, the car you’re sat in is part of the problem. This is a spiralling effect where congestion produces ‘demand’ for more and bigger roads and removal of ‘impediments’ to traffic flow. For instance, pedestrians, signal crossings, cyclists, and various forms of street-based public transit. This births the hideous abomination that is now dubbed a ‘stroad’.

A ‘stroad’ is a mix of ‘street’ and ‘road’.

A road is a high-speed connection between two places. The lanes are wide, forgiving, and well-marked. Roads are generally straighter, with well-marked merging lanes and sometimes a hard shoulder. Streets, on the other hand, are slower-paced areas where life in towns and cities happen. Here, there is side-street parking, ample pedestrian crossings, and plenty of pavement/sidewalk space for cafes, shops and housing.

A stroad is a high-speed street that includes dozens of points of conflict — such as parked cars, junctions and pedestrian crossings. They have become ubiquitous since urban and rural planning has seen the rise of development zones: businesses, placed in one district, now require a set of wheels to get to. As congestion rises, they simply increase the number of lanes.

The high speed of traffic makes walking and cycling uncomfortable. Sometimes, a puny bike lane will be painted onto the tarmac; this only places the cyclist at greater risk of collision. Traffic volumes can be quite high. The wide lane design encourages drivers to speed up: this results in an incredibly unsafe environment, demonstrated in the rising number of pedestrian deaths.

Streets that prioritise public transport, biking and walking can be found in the Netherlands. In the 90s, the Dutch government implemented their ‘safe streets’ strategy. This forced all roads into three distinct classifications: the highway, the road, and the street. Ample — separate — bike lanes are sustained throughout major routes. As such, bustling highstreets remain accessible and friendly; fast-moving roads are kept free of pedestrians and cyclists. In 2020, there were 610 road deaths in the Netherlands.

As buses takes advantage of the technological leaps made by electric cars, moving from point A to B has the potential to become far safer, and far more environmentally sustainable. Bus travel is already at least twice as energy efficient as private cars —and one full bus can take more than 50 cars off the road.

As we question the long-term validity of ICE vehicles, there is a narrowing window of opportunity in which we can assess the importance of all private vehicles. Emissions and urban planning are both negatively impacted by car dependency, and the eagerness of politicians to overlook bike lanes and public transport — the legitimately safer, healthier form of transportation — is altogether too accepted.

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About the Creator

Rk.ke

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