Car dependency

Car dependency refers to a condition where a built environment (urban, suburban, rural) incentivizes car usage over alternative forms of transportation such as bicycles, public transit, and walking.

Political economy

Car dependency is a highly profitable configuration for a society which benefits car manufacturing companies as well as the financial lenders which provide financing for cars, which tend to be too expensive for commoners to buy outright.

The most obvious example of this boardroom calcualation is the General Motors (GM) streetcar conspiracy, where GM bought streetcar companies for the sole purpose of shutting them down, to incentivize commuters to purchase a private vehicle for themselves.

Costs of car dependency

Costs on individuals

• maintenance costs
• insurance costs
• financing costs

Costs on society

• congestion and scarcity costs
• collision costs
• air pollution costs
• noise pollution costs
• climate change costs
• costs for nature and landscape
• costs for water pollution
• costs for soil pollution
• costs of energy dependency
• costs on individuals reduces aggregate demand for other parts of the economy
• land use allocated for parking instead of productive uses