> Cars are very obviously not the future of human transport

I wish this were true. However, I'm seeing the trend pointing in the opposite direction almost everywhere. For example, almost every European country has seen a rise in the motorization rate. [1] China is also firmly on the rise, and America remains 80-90% [2]

Given this, I don't expect that OSM has the ability/authority to make a dent in motor vehicle usage rates. I do, however, believe they can take advantage of the way the world exists today to improve open source mapping.

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/D...

[2] https://www.forbes.com/advisor/car-insurance/car-ownership-s...

[Not cited, but neet]: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27503807