The age of the 'car is king' is over. The sooner we accept that, the better | John Vidal

Accidents and pollution are making road vehicles untenable. With public transport and ride-sharing, their demise can't come soon enoughIn 1989 a group of Chinese government urban planners came to Europe on a fact-finding mission. They were widely praised for curbing car use - the country of 1 billion people, after all, had just a few million vehicles; the bicycle was king; its city streets were safe and the air mostly clean. How did they manage to have so few cars? asked their hosts, grappling as ever with chaotic British streets, traffic jams and pollution."But you don't understand," replied one of the delegation. "In 20 years, there will be no bicycles in China."John Vidal is a former Guardian environment editor Continue reading...