Only the very naïve think we will soon end our dependence on autos
Canadian drivers are experiencing a double dose of frustration this summer: record gas prices combined with a return to the pre-COVID traffic congestion that for years now has been making it so hard to get around our major cities. When green governments aren’t cavalierly dismissing the exasperating inconvenience to drivers they’re actually embracing it as a strategy for getting people to switch to mass transit. Trouble is, businesses bear the brunt of congestion costs. Estimates are that up to 40 per cent of traffic consists of commercial vehicles. Businesses count on timely deliveries to keep their factories supplied and shelves stocked and to satisfy burgeoning consumer demand for home delivery. For most firms, mass transit is simply not an option. When traffic chronically snarls their only alternative is to move everything but delivery out of city centres.
