For Europeans, It's No Car, No Problem (BusinessWeek Online)

FRANKFURT - I bought a car recently, which is noteworthy only because it's the first motor vehicle I've owned since moving to Germany in 1994. That I could happily live car-free all these years before finally succumbing to the demands of my daughter's social schedule says a lot about why Europeans use energy more efficiently than Americans. In the U.S., doing without a car is a challenge in all but a few cities. But in Europe, swearing off gasoline is no big deal. Frankfurt, where I live, is a midsize city, with 670,000 people. Yet it has a denser network of subways, buses, and suburban trains than any U.S. city I know. There are bike lanes, a fleet of "Call a Bikes" you can rent using a mobile phone, and several car-sharing companies if you need your own four wheels. Rising Efficiency As oil prices soar, Europe's quaint... [read full story]