My original question was “How do we disincentivize the purchase of pickup trucks/SUVs” but then I thought it would be better to approach the larger problem of car dependency and car ownership. One option is, of course, to create public transit infrastructure and improve it where it already exist. This, however, doesn’t change the fact that some will still choose to drive. What would be the best ways to discourage people from owning personal cars?
When a drivers license is taken or suspended, especially for speeding in cities, give an easy option to directly… lease(?)1 an e-bike. And then suspend licenses for a lot more of the dangerous behaviors we currently just accept.
A relative got her license suspended for a month for speeding, and then simply did not go anywhere. Having an exciting new mode of transport might have just been what she needed, the supermarket is just 2km away.
1: The state can hammer out the details, obviously we don’t want to gift them it or it becomes a reward for speeding, and selling them it means they could just resell it afterwards when the goal is that they keep and use it. Maybe like a 5 year ban on reselling it, only one per household. Also, probably keep the model generic and discreet so no shame is cast when just trying to buy groceries.
Weird, of the people I know that have had their licence suspended, I don’t think any of them actually stopped driving.