September 22nd: World Car-Free Day

Across the globe on September 22nd, people are persuaded by their governments to travel by public transport, push-bikes or to be a pedestrian. The aim of the day is to not use a car! This annual event is an attempt to lower the number of motorists and encourage car-owners to use other means of travel to save the environment. With an increasing number of risks to our environment, we are running out of reasons why Car-Free Day shouldn't be every day. 
   Starting with the 1973 Oil Crisis, it took a whole 21 years for a project to prevent these environmental disasters, with the first conference addressing these demanding issues taking place in October of 1994. Within 2 years the Car-Free Day event was organised, beginning in France, Britain and Iceland. World Car-Free Day went viral shortly after these initial events, paving the way for the U.S.A, Asia and the rest of Europe to get involved. The Day set out to carefully plan the car-banning, and to observe the changes it made to everyday life, including how the public transport services coped. These observations are then acknowledged and considered towards areas of the system that need improving, in order to maintain a city with fewer cars. 

Save the world: walk the walk

   Obviously cities like New York and London have a long way to go with reducing the number of motorists on their streets, but awareness days such as September 22nd are a fantastic start to a project that will gradually gain positive results. As public transport becomes smoother and more reliable, and cars become too expensive to run with rocketing prices of petrol and congestion charges; it is making more and more sense for us to choose the environmentally friendly mode of transport. So next time you're on your way out, drop those car keys! Public transport is great: you can people-watch, read your book, people-watch some more, catch up on some sleep, the world is your oyster(card). Travel by rail, bus, tram, bicycle wheels, or just a pair of legs. What do you think about going green? Are cars really an essential part of modern life, or can we realistically live without them?