Kazakhstan and its cities are modernising, but its urban centres still have issues to address before they can achieve their full potential as the engines of economic growth. Kazakhstan inherited a legacy of low car ownership and extensive, but not always cost-efficient, urban public transport from the Soviet era. However, car ownership has risen rapidly since the 2000s, with the highest motorisation rate in Almaty and Astana (428 and 385 cars per 1 000 inhabitants, respectively, in 2015). Car ownership has been increased by the high demand for private automobiles, moderate gasoline prices, road extensions and improvements in and around big cities, and the low quality of public transport services.