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World Car Free Day 2022: when and how to celebrate it?

On the occasion of World Car Free Day, we will be explaining the advantages of replacing private motor vehicles with other means of transport. But first, do you know what a car free day is?

What is World Car Free Day and why is it celebrated?

World Car-Free Day will be celebrated on 22 September and aims to reduce car use for short journeys. It is a way of raising awareness about environmental responsibility. 

Its origin dates back to 1973, when access to oil reserves was limited in certain European countries and new ideas began to appear to discourage people from using their own car, whilst promoting public transport as a more efficient alternative. The current scenario with rising gas prices and energy becoming more and more expensive, means that this date is now significant. 

Starting in 1994 the main idea began to transform into an organised initiative to raise awareness, proposing that citizens should choose greener alternatives.

How is World Car-Free Day celebrated?

If you have ever wondered what a car free day would be like, here at Endesa we can illustrate it for you by contrasting the routines of Diego, who uses his car, and Barbara, who prefers other means of travel.

7.30 AM Diego

Diego has woken up. He and his partner have prepared breakfast for them and their two children. Today it is Diego's turn to take them to school before going to work. So he should make sure he leaves before 8.15am, since there are usually traffic jams in the area around the children's school

When Diego arrives at the place where he has parked his vehicle, he discovers that there is another car that is double parked so he is unable to leave. He has to blow the horn and wait a few minutes until the owner appears and removes it, so Diego and his children can now leave. That is the first fit of rage    today. 

Diego drives to the school, avoiding the traffic to get there on time to drop the children off at school. He needs to find somewhere to park so he can accompany them to the door.

Once they are in school, Diego runs to his vehicle without taking his eyes off his mobile, where there are a number of messages from work and from his wife asking if the children are now in school.

He drives to work and the car park is already full, so he has to find somewhere in nearby streets, a real gymkhana that takes him a quarter of an hour and then it takes 10 minutes to walk to the office under a downpour that has just started.

Diego arrives late and wet: It is 9.45am and he is overcome by a feeling of being overwhelmed, tired and catching a cold.

 

7.45 AM Barbara

Barbara and her partner also have two children. They wake up and she gets breakfast ready for them. Barbara and her partner can walk with the children to school, they know exactly how long it will take so they usually arrive at the same time. After they left home and walked a few metre, they noticed that the sky was grey and that it might start to rain. They could go back and get their umbrellas because they were not in a hurry.

The walk to the school takes about 20 minutes and it is pleasant, because there are broad pavements, surrounded by trees and green areas, which help purify the air and cool the environment on hot days. There are also a number of other families making the same journey and who they meet on the way to school.

Once the children are in school, Barbara and her partner travel to their respective workplaces. Barbara usually walks about 10 minutes and takes a train to where she works, but since it has started to rain today, she has decided to take a bus which stops her from getting wet and helps her save time.

While Barbara is on the bus or the train she takes the opportunity to answer some e-mails from work. She finally arrives at her workplace at 9.20am, with some of her jobs already done and after enjoying a brisk walk.

 

2.00 PM Diego

Diego has arranged to have lunch with a friend in a restaurant that is half an hour from his place of work. After a 10-minute walk to the place where he parked the car, he has to drive another ten minutes, although traffic is slow.

This is because of the rain. Diego enjoys the lunch with his friend, but must hurry because his lunch break is coming to an end. He has to drive back to the office. On the way back, a warning light appears on the on-board navigator: The injectors need replacing. Diego starts working out how much the garage will charge him. This time he manages to park the car closer to his work and returns to his post to complete his day.

 

2.00 PM Barbara

Barbara has also arranged to have lunch with a friend. So she takes an electric bicycle, which means she takes very little time to reach the restaurant. She feels safe on her bike, because she shares the road with other bikes and scooters and there are no vehicles that can get in the way. This means she can eat with peace of mind and even go to a shopping centre to run a small errand. He also uses the electric bicycle to go back to work, without having to worry about looking for somewhere to park.

7.00 PM Diego

It is time to go home from work and Diego finds he is in another traffic jam before he even leaves the neighbourhood. Many other workers have the same timetable as Diego and have also come in their private vehicles, so he just has to wait a bit.

While he is waiting, he witnesses a collision between two absent-minded drivers, fortunately he is not involved. It takes him about an hour to get home, but her still has to drive around the block several times to find somewhere to park. He finally gets home at 8.20 PM.

 

7.00 PM Barbara

Barbara takes the train, meanwhile, she can read a novel in her e-book. On other days she prefers to read the news. Since it has stopped raining, she chooses to walk home. If she takes a short detour, she can stroll through the park and enjoy the scenery, the clean air and her favourite playlist or the latest episode of her podcast.

She is able to reflect for a while which is good for her and helps her to disconnect. On days when she is in a hurry, she can take a tram or ride a bike or scooter.

She gets home at 8.00 PM, her pulsometer shows she has walked 7,000 steps.

 

9.00 PM Diego

There has been an emergency. Diego's sister has lost the key to her house, so he decides to take his car and go to where his sister is to give her the copy of the key he has. On the way back, he sees that the petrol tank is on reserve, so he stops at a petrol station. It costs him 80 euros to fill the tank. When he gets home he has to drive around the block several times to find somewhere to park. It is 10.30 PM.

9.00 PM Barbara

Barbara has also had an emergency. She needs to take a document to her sister, so she chooses to go by electric scooterShe arrives in no time at all and can park pretty well anywhere.

The return journey is also very fast and before 9.45 PM, Barbara is back home to have dinner with her family and enjoy her time.

At the end of the day, travelling by car takes up so much more of your own time, it costs so much more, it is less versatile, causes greater damage to health (sedentary lifestyle and stress from driving), more fatigue and more polluting emissions.

Barbara's Car-Free Day has meant:

What would a car free day be like for you?

 

Why is it not advisable to use the car on short journeys?

Road traffic is the main cause of pollution in cities. As a general rule, people usually make the vast majority of their journeys by car, whether short or long.

This not only increases traffic, it causes chaos at the entrance to and exit from large cities and increases the carbon footprint, but also contributes to high rates of noise and air pollution, since cars generate a large amount of harmful gas emissions such as carbon monoxide and dioxide and nitrous oxides.

Living in such a polluted environment, the fact of constantly breathing polluted air can lead to premature ageing of the lungs and an increase in respiratory diseases. According to the WHO, 91% of the population lives in places where air quality exceeds the recommended pollution limits.

What is more, the use of one's own car involves a significant expense for the family economy: The variable price of petrol, car insurance, continuous maintenance and taxes are all fixed expenses that cannot be avoided.

It also affects the quality of life of pedestrians, by considerably reducing peoples mobility and where they can walk, especially affecting children and older people: Parks that become car parks, narrow, shabby pavements, a lack of benches where you can sit and rest, endless pedestrian crossings where you have to cross three or even four lanes, etc.

It also has a severe impact on the health of drivers, since, by refusing to give up the car, our movements are restricted and we do not comply with the recommended 6,000 steps a day, which are equivalent to walking for at least half an hour.

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