An economist would probably say "just increase car registration fees", and that would be the most efficient way to get people to own fewer cars. I have a car t

An economist would probably say "just increase car registration fees", and that would be the most efficient way to get people to own fewer cars. I have a car that I got as a gift. I put about 150 miles on it per month. But I still have to pay $425 per month to park it, about $110 per month for insurance, $350 per year to register it, and then gas, tolls, maintenance. I knew it wasn't a good economic decision to keep the car. It would certainly save me money just to take Ubers to the few places I go. But there's a psychological element at play here. Right now, I pay about $600 per month to have the car and have unlimited access to go where I want. If I have to pay $80+ to go to a friend's place, I then have to ask myself "is that trip really worth $80"? I may then just decide no. That's what economists want, but that's not really what I want. I don't want to have that excuse to not go out and have fun. If the equation were more like "do I want to draw down on my $1350 in Uber credits that I lose at the end of the year anyway", my whole internal calculus changes.