Taxpayer handouts to electric car buyers rob funds from public transport, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who has studied electric cars for over a decade, says:

“There are only limited government funds available to improve transport and reduce emissions: the money that goes to subsidise electric cars is money that doesn’t go to subsidising electric trains and buses.”

“The real battle isn’t between petrol cars and electric cars; the battle is between cars and public transport. You can fill the country’s motorways with electric cars and you still have gridlock. By comparison, if the government invests in electric trains and buses, both pollution and congestion will be substantially reduced, so everyone gains.”

Matthew-Wilson believes that, even without government support, electric cars will naturally begin to take over in the future.

“In a few years, the costs of electric cars will drop to the point where they can freely compete with petrol and diesel vehicles.”

“In the meantime, electric cars are costly, so many electric cars are bought by corporations or wealthy urbanites who have the money to pay the full costs, with or without subsidies.”

“We can’t consume our way out of climate change. Rather than increasing the number of cars, New Zealand is perfectly suited to a nationwide train and public transport system powered by renewable energy. That would ease congestion, reduce the number of accidents involving trucks and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.”

“It can take two hours to drive across Auckland. This gridlock isn't caused by a lack of electric or self-driving cars. This gridlock is caused by too many cars sharing too little space. It's that simple. Any transport solution that encourages the further use of cars in congested cities effectively encourages further congestion.”

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