Just 5–10 years ago, owning a personal car was considered a status symbol and often positioned as a necessity. Today, however, the number of vehicles has grown so much that it is often faster to reach your destination by public transport or bicycle than to spend hours stuck in traffic.

But time is not the only factor people are becoming increasingly conscious about reducing carbon emissions. Motor vehicles account for around 20–35% of annual greenhouse gas emissions, which has a direct negative impact on the climate.

Another important factor is health. In the context of a sedentary lifestyle, it is sometimes essential to find time for simple walking or light physical activity.

We explored which cities have the best infrastructure for living without a personal car and what modes of transport are most convenient in them.

Contents:

  1. Methodology: How We Selected the Best Car-Free Cities
  2. Top 10 Cities for Living Without a Car
    1. Copenhagen, Denmark
    2. Amsterdam, Netherlands
    3. Paris, France
    4. Vienna, Austria
    5. Berlin, Germany
    6. Tokyo, Japan
    7. Seoul, South Korea
    8. New York, USA
    9. Vancouver, Canada
    10. Curitiba, Brazil
  3. Conclusion: Why the Future Belongs to Car-Free Cities

Methodology: How We Selected the Best Car-Free Cities

While preparing this ranking, we encountered a key challenge: there is no universal metric for evaluating all cities worldwide. Different countries apply different systems and indicators, which are not always comparable even between neighboring states. For instance, the popular U.S. and Canadian indices Walk Score, Transit Score, and Bike Score take into account access to shops, schools, parks, and transit frequency within walking distance. However, for European countries, these indices are not officially calculated, and if they appear, they are usually amateur adaptations.

Therefore, we had to rely on several types of statistics:

  • Public transport: passenger flow, overall coverage of the urban transit network, and the cost of travel passes.
  • Pedestrian infrastructure: the size and share of pedestrian zones, accessibility of parks.
  • Cycling culture: the share of daily trips made by bicycle, the total length of bike lanes.

Priority was given not to the «most beautiful» cities, but to those where it is realistically possible to live without a car on a daily basis.

Top 10 Cities for Living Without a Car

Although Western European countries will dominate our list, cities suitable for a comfortable life without private transport can be found across the globe. Particularly noteworthy is the growing trend of bicycle transport development in Asian countries. For example, the Chinese government is actively investing in pedestrian infrastructure. However, its cities have not yet entered our top ranking, but this is only a matter of time.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen is often called the world’s cycling capital, as 62% of residents commute by bike, covering more than 1.2 million kilometers daily. The city has built over 400 km of dedicated cycling highways, not just painted lines on the asphalt, but real roads designed specifically for bicycles, many of which are wider than car lanes.

Copenhagen also operates a so-called «Green Wave» system, where traffic lights are synchronized so that cyclists traveling at 20 km/h can pass through several intersections without stopping.

Cycling infrastructure extends well beyond the city center, reaching into the suburbs outside major traffic flows, allowing commuters to get to work faster than by car.

Car ownership is about 0.24 vehicles per resident, compared to the EU average of ~0.55. In other words, only about one in four people owns a car. Authorities have made car ownership more of a luxury by keeping parking prices high.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

In Amsterdam, bicycles account for 38% of all trips. In the historic city center, cars are nearly absent due to narrow streets and expensive parking. With more than 500 km of bike lanes and the compact urban layout, most destinations are reachable by bike within 15–20 minutes. The most striking sight for visitors is the world’s largest indoor bicycle parking facility at Centraal Station, with capacity for 7,000 bikes.

Public transport is equally well-developed: a dense network of metro and tram lines covers almost the entire city. Suburban NS trains run frequently and quickly, providing fast access to the city center.

Paris, France

Over the past 30 years, Paris has become a model of conscious urban policy aimed at reducing car dependency. Converting parts of central streets into pedestrian- and bike-only zones has cut car traffic by 45%.

The city is actively developing the «15-minute city» concept, in which essential services like schools, shops, parks, clinics are located within a 15-minute walk or bike ride.

Public transport is integral to this vision. The Paris Metro is one of the busiest in the world, second only to Tokyo, thanks to its vast network of over 300 stations, fully integrated with suburban and regional rail services.

Vienna, Austria

Vienna’s public transport system is among the most affordable in Europe: an annual pass costs just €365, exactly €1 per day. It covers travel on the U-Bahn metro, trams, and buses. By comparison, an annual pass costs around €1600 in London, €827 in Paris, and €1028 in Berlin.

As a result, more than 38% of trips in Vienna are made using public transport. The city operates 5 metro lines, 29 tram routes, and over 130 bus lines, carrying an average of 2.6 million passengers daily. For cyclists, there are about 1,500 km of bike lanes available.

Berlin, Germany

Berlin’s public transport system includes 10 U-Bahn metro lines, 15 S-Bahn commuter rail lines, 22 tram routes, and over 150 bus routes. Coverage is so extensive that around 90% of residents regularly use public transport, and 30% of all residents live entirely without a car. Cycling infrastructure is less developed compared to other European capitals, but the city is making progress: by the end of 2024, authorities plan to add 50 km of new bike lanes.

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo is unmatched in transport intensity. The JR Lines, metro, and monorail carry about 40 million passengers daily, more than the entire U.S. rail system combined. Trains and metro stations cover over 90% of the city’s population within walking distance.

Punctuality is extraordinary: schedules are accurate to 99.9%, and a 30-second delay is considered unusual. Car ownership is impractical, traffic is extremely dense, and parking spaces cost $700–1000 per month.

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul demonstrates a highly technological approach to transport. Its metro network comprises 18 lines, 803 stations, and a total length of 353 km. The entire public transport system is integrated with the T-Money card, which can also be used for taxis and even purchases in some stores.

Cycling infrastructure is less advanced, but the city is actively improving conditions for pedestrians and cyclists. A notable example is the restoration of the Cheonggyecheon stream, which has been transformed into a linear park and pedestrian zone in the city center.

New York, USA

New York stands out among American cities as one where not only is it possible to live without a car, but the majority of residents actually do so. While on average only 1 in 8 Americans lives without personal transport, in New York, 1 in 2 residents get by without a car.

The city has one of the most extensive subway systems in the country, with 472 stations. It operates 24/7, carrying about 3.5 million passengers daily. Cycling is popular, though primarily through rentals rather than private ownership. The CitiBike system offers more than 25,000 bicycles across 1,500 docking stations.

This helps solve the so-called «last mile» problem, when the final stretch from a major transit hub to the destination is not covered by public transport. For instance, a commuter may take the subway to Manhattan but still be 1.5 km from the office. Instead of walking 20 minutes, they can rent a bike via the CitiBike app and cover the distance in 5 minutes. Short rides of 25–45 minutes are virtually free, making the system highly accessible.

Vancouver, Canada

About 40% of all trips in Vancouver are made on foot, by bicycle, or on public transport. The backbone of the system is SkyTrain, a fully automated driverless metro with trains running every 2–3 minutes, linking downtown with residential districts and distant suburbs. Using the unified Compass Card, passengers can seamlessly transfer from SkyTrain to buses, trolleybuses, or ferries at no extra cost.

The real secret of Vancouver’s accessibility is its unique urban planning concept known as «Vancouverism.» Under this model, dense residential development is concentrated around transit hubs. In most neighborhoods, a SkyTrain station or bus stop is just a short walk away, ensuring that residents rarely need a car.

Curitiba, Brazil

Curitiba rarely appears in tourist rankings, but in the world of urban planning it is considered legendary. As early as the 1970s, the city pioneered the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, essentially a «surface metro.» Buses run on dedicated lanes, stop only at special stations with turnstiles, and boarding is as fast as entering a subway train. Today the BRT network carries over 2 million passengers daily, making car ownership largely unnecessary.

The city’s growth was planned around this system: residential areas were designed to expand along the transport corridors. The closer to a BRT line, the higher the density of development, with shops and offices located directly by the stations and housing slightly further out. As a result, about 70% of the population relies on public transport, a phenomenal figure for Latin America.

Conclusion: Why the Future Belongs to Car-Free Cities

Today, living without a car is possible not only in Europe but also in Asia, North America, and Latin America. In some cities, the foundation is a strong cycling culture; in others, it is high-capacity, ultra-reliable public transport. Elsewhere, the decisive factors are restrictions on car use and high parking costs.

What unites all these cities is simple: giving up personal cars makes the city cleaner, more compact, and more livable. Especially against the backdrop of congestion and overloaded traffic, the car is no longer a symbol of freedom; it is increasingly becoming a burden.