Today, with over one billion motor vehicles on the roads around the globe, it sometimes seems as if we cannot escape the pollution, noise and danger that they produce. One day a year is set aside to try and avoiding using cars and cycling, walking or using public transport instead. Car Free Day aims to take the heat off the planet for just one day by encouraging people to be less dependent on their cars and try alternatives. Informal car free days took place throughout the 1990s and the first official, global Car Free Day was launched in 2000. Many big cities, like Bogota and Jakarta, close their central roads on this day and fill them with walking and cycling events, and smaller car-free events take place around the world.