The Benefits of Kicking Our Car Addiction
By Leo Craig
For many of us living in L.A., cars are our fastest – or only – option for getting around the city. In many areas, alternative and more environmentally-friendly options, such as walking, biking, or taking the bus or train, are either nonexistent or slow. In L.A., our car-centric transportation system incentivizes driving at the expense of other modes of more sustainable transportation, as driving is often the only option to get from point A to point B. Not only is car dependency damaging to the environment and the vibrancy of our city, it also has a real financial impact and is a hidden cost barrier preventing upward mobility for working-class families.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American household spends 13.7% of their income on transportation, with the vast majority of transportation spending being on buying, insuring, and fueling gas-powered cars. However, car dependency is a cost barrier built into our car-centric cities and transportation networks, meaning that car transport is a major financial burden on low-income city residents. The lowest 20% income households in the US spend an average of 31.2% of their income on transportation, and the second lowest 20% income households spend an average of 18% of their income on transportation. Due to the baseline cost of obtaining, insuring, and fueling a car, car-centric city design burdens low-income residents to an even greater extent, and is an obstacle to building greater wealth and financial stability.
For the lowest-income residents, buying or leasing a car is financially costly and can lead to debt, having a disastrous effect on upward mobility and financial stability. For many low-income residents, taking out a loan to pay for a used car may be the only option to get reliable, fast transportation. For many who don’t have good credit scores, dealers will force buyers into high-interest, long-term auto loans that are dubbed “financial sinkholes” by Consumer Reports, and can damage aspirations of financial stability. In addition, many low-income residents who can only afford a used car are more vulnerable to breakdowns, high maintenance costs, and even severe injury, as safety technology present in new cars is often absent from older used cars.
A shift away from cars would benefit the health of city residents, as well. Becoming less dependent on cars for transportation would lower the risk of fatal car crashes, which cause more annual deaths than guns (est. 42,915 deaths in 2021). However, the pollution caused by car exhaust leads to even greater death, with 60,200 deaths attributed to pollution in 2019, more than the flu. In contrast, a biking commute leads to 52% lower risk of death from heart disease, and a 40% lower risk of death from cancer. Abandoning car dependency and moving to a denser, more walkable and safely bikeable cityscape will make our lives healthier.
A switch to more sustainable transportation, such as denser urban areas organized around walking, biking, or taking public transit, will eliminate all of these harsh burdens, especially on those who can least afford them. Being able to walk, bike, or ride to work, school, the grocery store, or other destinations eliminates the financial burden of car ownership, insurance, fuel, and maintenance, and removing this financial barrier can help build financial stability and greater wealth. Taking public transit to work instead of driving benefits free time as well, since not being at the wheel results in more time to work, read, or scroll on your phone. The Livable Communities Initiative is working to achieve this reality, creating a brighter and more sustainable future for our city.
– Leo Craig is a rising junior at Harvard-Westlake high school in Los Angeles