A city on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is offering drivers a chance to win prizes as part of World Car Free Day next month – but the program is not as car-free as it seems.
Residents of Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast are being incentivised to take public transport, ride their bikes, walk, or carpool instead of driving as part of ‘World Car Free Day’ on September 22.
In what is believed to be its first running in Australia, World Car Free Day is a global initiative, in which participants are encouraged to leave their cars at home.
It is not exactly a “car-free day”, as residents are only incentivised to remove at least one car trip during the week of September 15 to 22, and among the options remaining is carpooling.
However, Zero Emissions Noosa (ZEN) – the organisation partnering with Noosa Council for this initiative – told Drive it intends to expand the program in future years, which could include blocking off streets.
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Participants are incentivised with the chance to win prizes, including $500, an e-bike hire for two from ecoTekk Noosa valued at $180, or day passes on the Noosa Ferry.
This initiative is intended to make the public rethink its reliance on and relationship with cars, as well as to reduce carbon emissions.
“Transport accounts for one third of Noosa Shire’s total carbon emissions. When residents and tourists can substitute car trips for active or public transport, it not only helps reduce our carbon footprint and relieve congestion but also helps to preserve our Noosa biosphere,” ZEN chairperson Anne Kennedy told Drive.
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“Research clearly shows that getting out and about by foot, bike or scooter is great for our physical and mental health, and here in Noosa we have the added bonus of being able to enjoy great weather and our natural environment.”
Noosa’s program is a small feat compared to Bogotá, Colombia, which for seven hours every Sunday turns over 120 kilometres of roads into bike lanes – an initiative that has inspired other cities to follow suit.
World Car Free Day has been in existence for over 25 years, with many countries around the world and observing the initiative.
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Australia has a high car ownership rate compared to other major nations, including the UK and Japan, at about 1.8 vehicles per household.
Noosa Today reported that more than half of households in its shire own two or more vehicles, while only one per cent of residents currently commute regularly on public transport.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows 91 per cent of households reported having at least one vehicle, while 55 per cent reported having two or more vehicles.
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