The Swiss professor of sociology Vincent Kaufmann argues in an interview with the Swiss magazine Blick for “a maximum speed limit of 60 kilometers per hour on freeways.
According to Kaufmann, this will cause journeys to take much longer, which will force people to use public transport.
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Moreover, car traffic then slows down so much that people automatically leave their cars, Kaufmann says, which in turn is good for traffic flow.
Kaufmann:
“More asphalt will lead to new traffic flows. While it is common knowledge that if you reduce the capacity of a stretch of road, some traffic will be lost. Moreover, more asphalt goes against the Paris climate agreement, which sets CO2 neutrality by 2050.
“In the last eight years, nothing has happened. I have been dealing with these problems for years. This situation is extremely problematic – and makes me angry. It’s just not being taken seriously. That goes for all Western countries. There is enormous cynicism.”
The advantage for motorists is that, if it were up to Kaufmann, they would get money for using public transport:
“We wondered how much public transportation prices should be reduced so that motorists don’t use their cars. In reality, nothing will change if train travel is free. Drivers should be paid to switch to public transport!”
