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Think-tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), has claimed that transport in London is at a 'tipping point' thanks to new technology and has called on the mayor of London to work with car clubs to reduce pollution.
In its new report, Crossroads, the organisation said private hire company Uber "is just a first glimpse of the size of the revolution that digital technologies will unleash on London's transport system" and said the advent of driverless cars and car clubs could bring further changes to how Londoners get around.
According to IPPR, the capital is at a junction between two futures: one where the transport network is congested, dirty air fills the streets and the cost of getting around increases and one where the new technology is embraced, which will apparently help to reduce journey times and pollution.
IPPR called on the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to include car clubs in his Transport Strategy, due later this year, which will set out his goals for transport in the capital between now and 2031.
It is not the first influential body to put out a report aiming to help shape the future of the city's transport system just as the mayor is penning his whitepaper. Last month, the London Assembly called for a shake-up for the Congestion Charge regime.
In addition, IPPR called on Transport for London to develop what it called an "explicit" framework for 'new travel markets', such as on-demand cab services and car-sharing clubs in association with the operators.
TfL should also be made a central hub for travel data in the capital in order to target areas that need better services, the think-tank argued. Meanwhile, it also called for the mayor to appoint a chief digital officer for the capital in order to anticipate future developments.
In his election manifesto, Khan promised he would support car clubs as a way of reducing congestion in the capital, while Caroline Pidgeon - who ran against Khan in the 2016 mayoral elections, and now chairs the London Assembly's Transport Committee - said she would integrate car clubs into the Oyster card charging platform.
"London is on the cusp of major changes to the way people move around the city. Shared transport and digital technology have the potential to drive positive transport outcomes and overcome London's transport difficulties, thereby improving the city's spaces," said Laurie Laybourn-Langton, IPPR research fellow. "Public intervention is required to realise these ends, and a window of opportunity currently exists in which action can and must be taken by London's Government. When this window closes, it will significantly increase the chances of a negative path dependence upon which technology will worsen existing problems, such as air pollution and congestion, and create new ones."
Alistair Kirkbride, executive director of Carplus - an environmental transport charity - welcomed the report. "We need dramatic and concerted action to increase the numbers of car club members and the areas in which car club vehicles are available. If we could get one million people to give up cars and drive car club vehicles instead we could see a huge improvement in air quality - and a reduction in congestion and the space our crowded capital gives to cars."
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