How much of a necessity is having a car where you live?

[OneRealFinch]

Not very maybe at night more so

Absolutely essential. No public transport apart from one bus on a Wednesday that gets into town at 10.30am and returns at 1.30pm. Nearest railway station is 9 miles away. Take aways are also 9 miles away so won't deliver. Drs Surgery is a 20 min drive (not on the Wednesday bus route).

Where I used to live - Oxfordshire village - essential. Now - London - no need whatsoever.

Ditto...

Its not necessary where I live but you'd be very restricted with kids without it. So you can access the doctors, supermarket, park, train station, school etc all by walking. However, if you wanted swimming lessons softplay or other activities for your child you'd need to drive.

Indeed, choice is not tne same as neccessity. London has amazing public transport and you can get pretty much anything delivered. Saying you would rather use a car is a choice not a neccessity.

Many thanks and you too, dont worry as like you, I too am not having not judging your comprehension abilities

And like you, yes, "fuck the rest of us " as its my business and not yours.

Enjoy you day.

The nearest (small) shop is 6 miles away, the nearest supermarket is 12 miles away, my Gp is 8 miles away, my work is 18 miles away, nearest hospital is over 40 miles.

So pretty essential. The beach is on the door step though!

The thing is, I walk everywhere I can by choice.

My son's school is 6 minutes walk away. I have neighbours who drive. It takes longer to drive because you can't use the pedestrian cut throughs and the traffic is so bad.

I walk more than anyone else locally that I know.

Still doesn't stop it being impossible not to have a car here due to poor public transport.

Its tiresome getting lectured about 'don't you care about the climate' by city dwellers.

Many thanks and you too, dont worry as like you, I too am not having not judging your comprehension abilities

Yeah my comprehension failed on that one! I have no idea what you are even trying to say here 🤣

And like you, yes, "fuck the rest of us " as its my business and not yours.

If you want it to stay your business and not have anyone comment on it dont put it on a public forum ffs

Not even a little bit. I live in East London (Zone 3). I didn't learn to drive until I was 47 and that was mostly to visit my elderly mother in Somerset.
Never drive in London. Public transport is fantastic and 24hr.

I live very centrally in a rural town with decent public transport and shops, and manage perfectly well without a car. That said, I've deliberately structured my life to facilitate not driving - so where I live was a choice made with that in mind. I also suspect that things I consider perfectly normal and no big deal would seem absolutely beyond the pale to many posters.

Rural Somerset so not able to manage without a car unless I go back to motorbikes or scooters which I'm not going to at my age.
I can't get anywhere sensibly without a car.
I chose to move to a small town with a post office bank and shop so I'd be covered when I retire but they've all closed down post covid.
I'd have to get everything on line, but I work in the NHS in various clinics that are not possible to reach on public transport.

I could manage without one as public transport where we live is great and if not cyclable however as a single mum of 3 I couldn't time wise be where I needed to be without my car, I couldn't do school run and get to my job in time, help a elderly neighbour do her shopping between jobs or take the kids on certain days out etc so to me it's an essential and without it I would have to cut back on lots of things.

Absolute nesscessity.

Buses do exist but rare and unreliable. Nearest train station to where in work is 10 miles away

Its tiresome getting lectured about 'don't you care about the climate' by city dwellers.

In fairness, though, RedToothBrush, rural living in the UK isn’t always about having a rural job or rural elderly relatives to care for or some other obvious tie. The majority of people I know in the UK who live in villages either commute to the nearest town (or that and a mixture of WFH) or have retired to the countryside. They live in rural locations because they want a bigger garden, “quiet,” space from neighbors and rural hobbies like horses or having an orchard. It’s a perfectly legal choice, but it absolutely is a choice, not something they were forced into. They do drive a hell of a lot. I don’t think they should be stopped from living where they do, but I do think that in a just and fair world, they would have to pay for all the driving they are doing in the form of pay-per-mile road pricing or similar.

(I’m not talking about your situation. I have no idea why you live in a rural area; for all I know you probably are a farmer or land manager or rural care worker or something similar).

Public transport in our city is shit, it is known to be shit and it is even shitter than you can imagine. For a major city it is disgrace and untenable. By car I live 15 minutes from work or 30 in the height of rush hour. By bus, if one even turns up, it can take up to an hour and a half. That does not include the soul destroying, cold, wet and anxious wait at the bus stop which can equally take over an hour because the bus has been cancelled. So, in all two and a half hours of freezing to death and having panic attacks before you even start work.

I don’t think they should be stopped from living where they do, but I do think that in a just and fair world, they would have to pay for all the driving they are doing in the form of pay-per-mile road pricing or similar.

They already do pay per mile. Petrol isn’t free, and most of the cost is tax.

Not at all. It's a hindrance more than a necessity. I haven't driven in 10 years.

Well, no. That's what taxis are for. I'm not a slave! My parents had a car and never picked me up when I was out late, I got myself around!

Not necessary but it does help sometimes. We often go days without using our car.

I live in a North Yorkshire village.

It's necessary.

Necessary.

Not quite, just under 50%. But hybrid/electric vehicles are gradually making this less relevant.

"Rural" doesn't mean a tiny village or hamlet.

Our village is defined as rural, yet there are nearly 8,000 inhabitants!!

And we still don't have a useable bus service to the nearest towns which are only 5 miles away in three different directions.