The growth of car use in several advanced economies has slowed down, stopped, or turned
negative. The change can not be attributed to adverse economic conditions alone. Socio-demographic
factors, including population ageing and changing patterns of education, working,
and household composition matter. Rising urbanization and less car-oriented policies
in some cities also reduce the growth of car use, perhaps combined with changing attitudes
towards mobility. Some groups choose to use cars less, others are forced to.
This report summarizes insights into the drivers of change in car use. It shows that
explanations are place-specific, and that projections of future car use are increasingly
uncertain. The task for policy-makers is to identify mobility strategies that are
robust under an increasingly wide range of plausible scenarios.
Published on December 23, 2013Also available in: French