noncar

Noncar is a term used in English to denote anything that is not a car or car-related. It is not a fixed technical term; its meaning is highly contextual and can vary across disciplines. In urban planning and mobility research, noncar refers to modes of movement and infrastructure that do not rely on private automobiles, such as walking, cycling, public transit, and, in some formulations, micro-mobility devices. The noncar emphasis is often paired with strategies to reduce car use, including pedestrian-friendly street design, protected bike lanes, congestion pricing, and transit-oriented development. In environmental policy, increasing noncar mobility is associated with reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, and air pollution.

In data management and cataloging, noncar can appear as a generic label for items not categorized as cars, helping to separate automotive content from other items in inventories, libraries, or datasets. Because the term is informal, its precise scope is not standardized and may be replaced by more specific terms such as nonmotorized transport or non-automotive products in formal contexts.

The term's usage remains uneven, reflecting local policy priorities and disciplinary conventions. See also nonmotorized transport, car dependency, sustainable transport.