As a co-host of car-centric TV programs like Top Gear and The Grand Tour, James May has entertained the interests of auto enthusiasts of all ages throughout his decades-long career on the small screen.
His colorful personality, wide base of engineering knowledge, eager fascination, and eclectic point of view on a wide variety of cars have gained him respect throughout the years as a bonafide auto authority.
But even after years of burning gas and getting into all kinds of car-centric shenanigans and adventures with fellow hosts and car pundits Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond on TV, May has a soft spot for gas-free modes of transportation — even electric cars.
However, his latest opinion regarding cars takes a side in a long and complicated debate that has implications on this side of the pond.
James May attends an event for “The Grand Tour” in London, England. The former Top Gear and The Grand Tour host voiced contrarian opinions regarding bicycles in cities in a recent interview.
Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images
Driving in cities is a “pointless” activity, May said.
In a new interview with the London Cycling Campaign’s magazine, James May stated that as a longtime London resident, he found driving a “totally pointless activity” and that cars don’t belong in populated towns and cities.
“Obviously I’ve spent a lot of time over the years writing about cars and making TV about them, and I love cars, but I do think in my bones they don’t really belong in towns,” he said.
He added that cars are better for longer distances, such as the roughly 92 miles between his neighborhood in Hammersmith, London, and the village of Wiltshire, where his pub is located.
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Despite his many years of entertaining people on car programs on TV, he noted that he doesn’t feel responsible for promoting the overuse of cars, stating that driving generally requires “a great deal of care and discretion.”
He pointed out that it’s easy for most people to “get very complacent driving cars,” adding that it is easy to feel safe and protected in their metal cocoons despite that it is “easy to forget that there’s a huge amount of energy inside a car, even when it’s only going 20 or 30mph.”
“I saw a bloke the other day driving a Ferrari around town very aggressively, and I wanted to say, ‘You’re going to ruin cars (and especially Ferraris) for the rest of us,’” he said.
“It’s a massive privilege having a car and you have to take it seriously. That’s why my only remaining ambition, apart from not falling off my bike again, is to get to the end of my life without running anybody over.”
A Congestion Relief Zone sign on Park Avenue in New York. May’s hometown of London has used
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The car nut brings light onto a divisive transport topic
May’s opinions come as municipal and state-level investment in alternative, non-car-centric transportation, such as walkable cities, public transport, and cycling infrastructure, has come under fire on both sides of the pond.
The latest domestic move saw Trump Administration DOT secretary Sean Duffy order New York state governor Kathy Hochul to cease the congestion pricing scheme in New York City, a measure added to promote car-free transportation in the region.
According to Duffy’s February 2025 letter, the scheme, which adds a $9 toll on drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street, is “a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners.”
“Commuters using the highway system to enter New York City have already financed the construction and improvement of these highways through the payment of gas taxes and other taxes,” he said.
“But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways. It’s backwards and unfair.”
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May’s hometown, London, has had congestion pricing since 2003. However, he denotes that the leaders of some districts in London outside of the zone, including Kensington and Chelsea, have not been open to any spending towards improving cycling infrastructure.
The former Top Gear host slammed the “sheer bloody-mindedness” of those who oppose bicycle infrastructure spending, adding that “road sectarianism” is a problem with motorists that he seeks to understand.
“Quite a few people in cars seem to be somehow offended by people riding bicycles because they’ve paid all this money for a car and think therefore they should be rewarded for it, but often they’re just not using the car very intelligently.”
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