A hard habit to break

As government policy accelerates the shift away from petrol and diesel cars towards electric vehicles, the vociferous debate about charging infrastructure and taxation tends to overlook another vexing issue: What about reducing our dependence on privately owned cars? What about radically rethinking our transport infrastructures in light of current and emerging technologies?

As part of my Masters in International Journalism at Edinburgh Napier University, I produced a short radio package that considered some of the psychological and practical barriers that would need to be addressed.

Thank you to my interviewees Stefan Gössling, Professor at Lund and Lineus University in Sweden and author of a book called “The Psychology of the Car”, German automotive journalist and commentator, Guido Reinking, and CEO of industry body MAAS Scotland, Alastair McInroy.