The app where every day is Car-Free Day

People go car-free for lots of reasons. It’s time we listened to them.

September 22, 2026

Collage showing an overturned car with flowers growing from it, a lush city landscape with trees, a man whose head is replaced by a “no cars” sign, and a bus shelter with signs saying “Love Bikes” and “Life Beyond Cars”

En français svp

It’s World Car-Free Day, a chance to celebrate all the ways that our lives, and our cities, are better when we think beyond the automobile.

What better moment to find out what Transit users think about cars?

To understand our users’ transportation profile, we sampled 1.3 million app users around the world with two quick questions:

Two charts showing responses to two questions. First chart: “How often do you ride transit?” All the time: 52% in Canada, 56% in the United States. Once in a while: 31% in Canada, 25% in the United States. Just starting out: 18% in Canada, 19% in the United States. Second chart: “What about cars? Cars are bad: 13% in Canada, 10% in the United States. They’re okay: 51% in Canada, 46% in the United States. Wish I had one: 36% in Canada, 44% in the United States. Results also shown for Mexico, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand.

Much to our delight, almost 1 in 6 people who open the app worldwide are likely to have a “ban cars” sticker on their bike helmet or bus pass. (A special shout out to France, where the share of anti-voitures climbs to 1 in 3.)

But about a third of worldwide app users, and 44% in the United States, wish they had a car of their own.

It’s no surprise why. Sure, gas is expensive, traffic is a headache, and car crashes are dangerous. But for lots of people, buses are too infrequent to be reliable, streets are too dangerous to be bikeable, and sidewalks are too hostile to be walkable.

Chart showing responses to “Do you own a car? No: 61% in Canada, 60% in the United States, 69% in Mexico. Yes: 23% in Canada, 27% in the United States, 20% in Mexico. No but I can access one: 16% in Canada, 13% in the United States, 11% in Mexico.

In North America, 74% of Transit users don’t own a car. Some simply don’t want to be behind the wheel all the time. Others don’t have the physical ability to safely drive. Many don’t have the money to buy and maintain an automobile.

Some live in cities with a metro every few minutes. Yet many live in places where car ownership is the cost of entry to a dignified and fulfilling life, even if it shouldn’t be!

But it’s not all doom and vroom.

Two charts showing responses to two questions. First chart: Since you started using the Transit app, have you changed how often you ride public transit? Less often: 5% in Canada, 5% in the United States. A bit less: 4% in Canada, 3% in the United States. No change: 45% in Canada, 34% in the United States. A bit more: 9% in Canada, 16% in the United States. More often: 35% in Canada, 43% in the United States. Second chart: Since you started using the Transit app, have you changed how often you drive a car? Less often: 26% in Canada, 35% in the United States. A bit less: 8% in Canada, 9% in the United States. No change: 54% in Canada, 45% in the United States. A bit more: 6% in Canada, 4% in the United States. More often: 6% in Canada, 7% in the United States.

If people have good experiences on public transit, they’ll ride more and drive less. Since opening the app for the first time, 56% of riders across the US and Canada combined say they take the bus or train more often than they did before. And 3.5 times as many people say they drive less, instead of driving more.

Step by step, ride by ride, pedal by pedal — whether you already own a car or wish you had one, our app is designed to give you confidence that life without a car is better than you thought it would be.

And when there’s a change in your city to make life even better without a car? We help you speak up for it, and make sure decisionmakers are listening to you, your friends, family, and neighbours.

Because no matter your reason for not driving, no matter where you live, you shouldn’t have to work twice as hard to live your life just because you don’t own a car.