Soaring petrol prices and the credit crunch are forcing British drivers off the roads.
Traffic congestion was 12 percent less in the first half of this year than in the same period a year earlier, a survey has found.
Could this mean that the market might be the answer to the problem of overcrowded roads?
It seems a simpler way of doing it than the elaborate technology used in London to keep cars out of the central Congestion Zone, and being contemplated in other British cities. Despite hefty fines on motorists, the scheme seems to spend much of its income on its own upkeep.
But if high petrol prices do keep the roads clear, it will of course be at the expense of the poor. A dose of austerity could mean fewer old bangers getting in the way of the Mercs and Rollers, but of course low-income drivers will find it even harder to get to work than they do already.
