Helsinki says: you won’t need a car

Helsinki plans to make car ownership unnecessary within the city through a complete reimagining of its public transit system. The future resident of Helsinki will not own a car, says The Helsinki Times.

The Finnish capital has announced plans to transform its existing public transport network into a comprehensive, point-to-point “mobility on demand” system by 2025 – one that, in theory, would be so good nobody would have any reason to own a car.

Excuse me while I run out to the street and cheer.

Helsinki aims to transcend conventional public transport by allowing people to purchase mobility in real time, straight from their smartphones. The hope is to furnish riders with an array of options so cheap, flexible and well-coordinated that it becomes competitive with private car ownership not merely on cost, but on convenience and ease of use.

Part of the trick is to make the array of options simple and straightforward, but believe in the Finns—this is the country that perfected the Molotov cocktail to combat the Soviet tanks. They can do this.

Read more: Helsinki’s ambitious plan to make car ownership pointless in 10 years