Quote:
That means a tremendous change in the entire social fabric (in the USA at least [...])

I once saw an office block in a US city that had bicycle racks outside. Then I looked a bit closer. It was the EPA office.

A 15-mile-per-week private car rationing scheme would certainly radically change the pricing structure of the housing market (McMansions in gated communities far from public transport links would be worthless, run-down townhouses near rail stations in inner suburbs would be very valuable). But if the change were gradual enough, I don't see that it would damage the economy too much, at least if commercial transport was affected less.

It would be a "tremendous change" in the lifestyles of those people who do currently have 10-mile, 30-mile, 50-mile car commutes. But the writing has been on the wall for that lifestyle for a long time. Are there really still people who believe it will continue to be sustainable indefinitely?

Peter