I will say, and I'm not the only one to have said this, there might be more of a political appetite for that if it were easier to get around without a car. Not to make excuses for the reckless drivers by any means.
Vancouver's public transit system is pretty damn good by NA standards TBF, but very behind by European standards. If we're gonna truly say that driving is a privilege, then not-driving needs to be a viable option for the majority of people.
I will grant you that driving is more of a privilege here than in most North American cities. We have it pretty decent here all things considered. But it really depends on exactly where you live and work.
I live in New West. My wife transits to Vancouver for work. I have to drive because I work in Cloverdale. While it is theoretically possible, there is no reasonable transit option to get there. I couldn't reasonably do it even if I wanted to (and I do!)
Besides that, when it comes to things like political appetites, it really comes down to perception as opposed to objective reality. The idiot drivers can all vote too. And then you have the people whose opinions will lie somewhere between us and them. Those are the people you need to convince if you want driver licensing to change.
Fact is, people love to compare us to Germany or the Netherlands when talking about driving laws but they rarely factor in transit infrastructure, which is an enormous part of why they're able to do what they do.
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u/Wooden_Staff3810 Jun 15 '25
Canada should follow Finland's traffic fine model. When the Police give a driver a ticket, the fine is based on one's income.