Nobody.
Though that's not quite right either; there are those who feel we must stop using the auto. They mostly don't say it very loudly. But they're wrong about that. We really can have our cake and eat it, too. And we can do it in a way that's more enjoyable than how we've been doing it for the last several decades.
To illustrate how I'll use myself as an example. Because I'm a successful example. But there are other ways.
I have a car. Modest, but respectable. I haven't done without one in twenty-five years or so. The only time I did without was during a time of life living in one of our crowded major cities where merely parking an auto, let alone driving one, was an ordeal.
It's getting old. But it's still in pretty good shape and likely to last for a good long time. The reason is that I don't use it very much. Except in the very heart of winter I don't get in it and go somewhere more than two or three times a month. Maybe four times.
I make up the difference by bicycle. In a society with proper respect for the idea that personal auto use must be reduced, there'll be quite a few other options. Right now there are at least some. For those who live and work in the right places, anyway.
It is not my intent to write up a 'bicycle recruitment' diary here. But as things stand the bicycle is one of the better tools available for reducing congestion and pollution. Plus I know a thing or two about the subject. I'll quickly point out some things that might not be obvious, but are good to know, before moving on.
Yes. It takes effort. But not as much as you think.
And, yes, it can be uncomfortable. But not nearly as much as you think. Most of the time, by far, it feels very good. Even in weather that most people consider unpleasant. It provides huge, multiple returns on your investment very quickly. I probably don't need to mention the health benefits, since everyone knows or can imagine what they might be. I'll mention quickly, though, that I'm in my mid fifties and have a nicer and more useful body than at least nine out of ten of my contemporaries. The bike gets the credit. I'd have a big gut, spindly arms and legs, and no strength without it. There's no doubt. As it is, I'm well built. Good arms and legs. I have rather well-defined abdominal muscles. Almost a six pack. At my annual physicals the doctor still has nothing real to offer in terms of advice. He usually says, "You seem to be pretty healthy".
I have a fairly physical job. My commute is also, no surprise, fairly physical. The commute is always a pleasure even though I'm tired. It's very, very rare for me to take the car because I'm 'tired'. Though it's often tempting. I'm always, always glad I stuck with the bike at the end of the day.
But back to the real, and more general, subject, okay? Please, please join me in my determination to use the auto as little as possible. Fossil fuels are a finite resource. Yes, they keep finding ways to come up with more and more. And that's been a real blessing. But it can't keep going on like that forever. Even if it could, then pollution would catch up with us.
We all know that current use is unsustainable. And we all know that neither the 'free market' nor our leaders will make any effort to curtail it.
We need a good chunk of what fuel is available to sustain modern agriculture. Or we can face a world that is unable to feed seven billion (and counting) people. The choice is ours.
We need another good chunk of the rest to go to transportation of the goods produced by our society. Or, I suppose we could go back to a standard of living comparable to, say, two hundred years ago. We live by the sweat of our brow and we posses only those things which can be produced locally. But keep in mind that in order to do even that well, then perhaps 3/4 of the people on Earth right now will have to, somehow, go away. It might not be easy to do that and leave a world and a society that is halfway pleasant. The choice is ours. Literally ours, since our leaders won't seriously confront the issue.
Do you live too far from work to get there by bicycle or public transport, etc,? Then get a motorcycle. Better yet, something like a Can-Am. That'll extend your riding season a bit into the snow and ice months. Ride it whenever possible. Develop the mind-set that you're letting yourself down if you use the car simply because it's raining. Rain can be dealt with. It's not hard. And start making your plans, make it a goal, to move closer to your job. Or if you just love your home too much to leave it, then make it a goal to get a job closer to home. Even if you must take a pay and/or status cut, you'll be better off. Not even in 'the long run'. You'll be better off almost immediately.
Start developing the mind-set that those who drive an hour to work are not only being poor citizens of a society whose throttle is being held wide-open unwisely, they are not being good to themselves.
Look at the people around you. Notice how many of them not only spend time driving to and from work but also spend most evenings driving around to various social/family commitments. Almost none of which are truly necessary. See it. Understand it. "Grok" it; they are not living a healthy life. It's hard on their bodies and it's hard on their souls.
When you're in traffic, sitting at a red light, watch the people around you. Most of them are not enjoying themselves. Those who are enjoying themselves are doing so because their minds are on something pleasant. And that certainly is not the traffic situation they are in. When the light turns green they take off like AJ Foyt at Indy. Only to get in line at the next red light, where they fairly often start fighting with each other or the occasional non-motorist who has enough guts, or lack of other choices, to be on those roads. (By the way; why is it that there are so many red lights and stop signs on our roads? Because the cars will not cooperate with each other.)
Are there downsides to going 'car light'? Perhaps. I can think of one right off hand; you have to give up meeting your friends for dinner at some chain restaurant in some strip mall. Meh....you'll be surprised how little you miss it. One that's a bit more serious is that unless your family lives right in your neighborhood you have to almost quit visiting them. You run the risk of being considered a poor sport, or something like that.
It's harder to dismiss this. It does feel a bit bad. But at the same time, even these family obligations have become distorted and perverted in this society. A friend at work really does work awfully hard for what compensation she receives. She also has a hard time getting enough rest because three or four nights a week she has stay up a bit later than she otherwise would and then spend another 90 minutes or so picking up her daughter and taking her to work. We're talking about a girl who's about 30 years old here. She apparently doesn't have the moxie to keep a car going. She abuses them, gets speeding tickets, wrecks them, stuff like that. I suspect she only has enough guts to keep a job as long as Mom gets her there. And Mom goes along with this because she does have a car (though she worries about wear and tear. Plus how she's going to manage to buy another when that time comes), it's not all that difficult to get in it and drive some place, and this is her daughter. This is a daughter who should be walking to work. And living closer to work, if that's what it takes. My opinion is that my friend is wasting her strength on family members who should be taking care of these things themselves. But I'm getting side-tracked. I'm sure there are other disadvantages that I'm not thinking of. Maybe I've even forgot them since I've been immersed in the life-style for a long time now. But all that aside, the pros outweigh the cons. Please believe me and join me.
Imagine going to work on a bicycle. Imagine also that the people you work with are doing the same. You're coming across them. It's leisurely enough that you're able to make a bit of small talk. You're seeing others who you don't actually know because they work at other places. You're developing 'friendly acquaintances' with some of them. Some of them are attractive members of the opposite sex. Plus there are fewer cars, so the atmosphere is much more relaxed and far less hectic. This is a nice world than the one we inhabit now.
If we're imagining this taking place on the bus, then consider the fact that the other passengers are now people like you. They're not the usual misfits. I probably sound a bit elitist, don't I? But I give you my word I have a strong sense of human dignity. But there are people out there who don't have any sense of even their own human dignity. And you'll find them on the bus. I wish them no harm. I just don't want to sit with them, talk to them, interact with them and so on. Or the bus is badly crowded with the working poor. Most of whom actually are like you and me. But a crowded bus is no fun. Plus there'll be a misfit or two in there as well.
The big cities do have public transportation systems that are pretty comprehensive. Some I've seen are perhaps not quite as clean as I'd like and are looking a bit moth-eaten. Others are better and, usually, somewhere in the 'pleasant' range. All of them are filled to near-capacity. That's because they exist in places where keeping a car is very difficult. And the users actually have had a great load lifted from their shoulders. They are not perfectly free to go absolutely anywhere they choose at at the drop of a hat. But they can get where they need to when they need to. And there are enough trains, buses, etc., that they don't have to leave home three hours before their deadline. But the big cities are a bit off-topic, since I'm suggesting that we can actually keep our cars. They merely need to be a part of our transport, as opposed to the totality of our transport.
Our mid-sized cities are trying. Most of them have bus systems that cover the map pretty well. Though in this increasingly 24/7 world they should improve on 'covering the clock'. But capital for them is tight. They need more ridership. Imagine more buses covering more routes more often. That would entice folks like us. If we'd use the bus, then they'd have more revenue to work with.
If buses or bicycles just don't work for you, then get a scooter. If we were all doing something like this, then it wouldn't even be regarded as peculiar. And that does, indeed, bring up another disadvantage to going car-light; people tend to assume you're a dork. They assume you're a DUI or a bum who won't do anything right. If you ride smart, then outright hostility is really pretty rare. But you'll run into too much plain old indifference to your safety. (Off-setting this particular danger requires you to relinquish some of your right to the road. It's grating, but it's worth it. It's not too difficult and you can get your 'safety odds' at least down to the same level as those who are behind the wheel. I kinda think I do even better than that.) Some will even seem 'would be' friendly. Then something they say gives the hint that they're laughing at you. There's not much point in trying to fight it openly. It's too childish for us.
But you can fight it in a better way. Consider; most of us have spent some time wondering "will I have the guts to fight for what's right even when my community despises me for it?" Here's your chance. Get out there and defy the automobile. Do it smart and do it proud. We'll be 'the brave pioneers'. And those who follow will be able to do so more safely under the social protection that we've helped to establish.
So keep your car. It's the right tool for some jobs. Just cut way back on the extensive distances and use something else most of the time for the short distances.
Our society, sooner or later, will be ruined if you don't.
But our society might become a whole lot better, and less of a rat race, if you do.