Tuesday, August 08, 2023

The Town That Banned Gas-Powered Cars



Cities, and even small towns, would be much more user-friendly if we didn't have all this traffic. Cars take up a lot of room, both in the roads we drive on and in the parking lots where we store them. They are dangerous to pedestrians and to each other, and are the main reason we don't walk everywhere and get to know our neighbors. They are also noisy and pollute the air. But we have become so dependent on our cars, how could we ever change this?

Zermatt, in Switzerland, didn't have to change hearts and minds, because the Alpine village never had cars to start with. Now that they have roads, they've decided they don't want gasoline-powered vehicles on their streets. Small, slow, electric vehicles are allowed, but are greatly restricted for use as taxis and for deliveries. And all of Zermatt's vehicles are custom built locally by a ten-man crew! Tom Scott shows us how it's done in a town that knows what it wants.

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