Wondering how many other people are car-free

[solidgoldbrass]

For most of my adult life, most of my friends have been non drivers or car-free. OK I live in London and I do understand that people who live in rural areas generally need to learn to drive and get cars as soon as possible, but the level of car-dependency seems a bit weird to me.

I don't have a car. I haven't driven since I moved to the UK nearly 9 years ago.

In the US I had to have a car.

The only time I miss it is when I want to buy something large and have to rely on friends or delivery companies to help me.

You absolutely can go to Ikea without a car. Their delivery charge, if you need to use it, is much much less than running a car!!

In emergencies or to go further afield, I take a taxi. I have an account for just that reason, so I don't even have to worry about having cash on hand. Also, our largest taxi company just started taking Maestro and Visa.

I was chatting with a taxi man just the other day who has a regular client who says giving up his car has saved him thousands a year, even with taxi fares.

Something to think about...

Couldn't do without a car. I live close to two railway stations but leave too early to get a train to work.

I was without a car for a long time, but if I want to go to an event in the main town about 25 miles from where I live after 5pm I wouldn't be able to get home most nights. I also wouldn't have been able to take on a job that started at 7am, that I did for 5 years. I wouldn't be able to go anywhere at all on a Sunday. To get to my doctors, I would get there at 9am and wouldn't be able to leave till 5pm.

Much as I would live to be car-free, it's just not realistic.

I made a finantial decision to give up my car, dh has a work car we can use for long journeys, the kids can use the bus by themselves ok and I get the food shopping delivered,so i thought it was sensible idea, it might even bring us together a bit more.
Kind of regret it now, as I have lost a lot of the indipendance having a car gives.
I cant pop to B&Q for paint, because i cant carry it home,i cant take the pets to the vets by myself and have to work around when dh can help. Have discovered having to ask and be dependant puts me off asking and dh less charming than i would have hoped.
If you never have a car thats one thing, but the sudden loss is hard.
If anyone who has had a car,stops having one ,I would suggest they either stay in physical robust shape and/or have a whole gang of people they can call on. Just having one really doesnt work.

Our car died in March and we've been without one since partially to see how it would go and partially to save money. It's been going ok, but it's very frustrating not being able to just run to the car and drive off when it's raining and I have to admit it has made me stay in and do nothing with DS more than once. The bus system in my area is really excellent but I absolutely hate having to deal with some of the horrible nasty grumpy bus drivers, especially when I have a buggy (which is most of the time). They seem to see a parent with a buggy as a huge inconvenience even if there is no other buggy on the bus.

Another thing I miss is taking day trips at the weekend - it's not always possible to get places on public transport and sometimes even if it is possible the prospect of negotiating buses and trains with a buggy just makes it not worth it.

I have to admit, though I'm liking how much money we've saved I would now really like to get another car.

the buses run once. a. week.

surely you can see that one bus a week is the answer to your own question - this is why people learn to drive and then buy a car (I learnt to drive and didn't buy a car for another 13 years as I lived in a town and used a bike, the train and borrowed a car)

I know share a car which means I get to share the cost of running the car - it costs 600 to put the car on the road per year before petrol or repairs are factored in to that price. Each time we use the car we have to fill the petrol tank up to the top after use, so we only use our own petrol.

I don't drive and we're between cars ATM, have been for six months. I don't feel it at all most of the time (Londoner) but some journeys to visit friends and families become a PITA and I end up scrounging lifts to and from the station which I hate.

I'm trying to come around to selling my car. But, and it sounds so silly, I have an emotional attachment to it for some reason I can't view it as just an object and get rid. I also think I would really miss the freedom of "Oh I just feel like popping to so and so after work" which without a car would be a mammoth undertaking that took way longer to do...although I'd save money as so and so is usually a shop!

Our public transport is vair, vair expensive.

We live in Paris and our public transport provision is excellent (three buses on our doorstep, metro/bus/vélib hub 100m away, autolib opposite us) and very cheap. Hence we have one large family car (Q5) and we use a huge variety of public transport to get around, as well as walking.

We have been car free all our lives but dh is going to learn to drive as he is being interviewed for a job in Edinburgh and currently works in Glasgow, so not feasible to go the whole way by bus and train.

I don't like the thought of owning a car but after an awful experience trying to get the x16 back from Prestwick yesterday ( one bus an hour, did not show up for 2hrs, under 5 dc's and I had to stand) I think it will be worth it so I can take the kids on more outings.

But its catch 22 isn't it? Poor public transport, so people must buy cars they can barely afford. Then there is no incentive to improve transport as few people use it, and services get worse.

A local company has gone bust which was the main link between our town and next town where my 91 year old aunt lives. I'm really worried we won't be able to see her as often, and we are the only relatives who see her

We are car-free as we live in central London. DH is a native Londoner and hasn't learned to drive yet. I have my license but we can't afford a car and parking on our street is outrageously expensive since we are close to a train station. For now we are doing without.

We have and use a car in London but we certainly don't need one because transport links are excellent. But we can afford to run our car and it's incredibly useful as it does save time on certain journeys both within London and to get out.

I use the car to take DD to activities that have good parking (car takes 5 mins but bus takes 20 mins - makes a difference when you need to get home in time to do dinner/bath/bed). I use it to buy heavy things in the garden centre eg pots, plants, compost. I use it to go to the seaside with a picnic on the spur of the moment.

I don't use it everyday but it's nice to have. Certainly not a necessity though here in London.

We would not be without our car(s) as it is so much easier to jump in the car to take DS places and visit people. We have good public transport links here but still prefer the car mainly as on the few occassions that I have taken public transport (whilst Pg and with DS) people want to pat bump or touchDS NO NO NO NO, my bump and my baby hands of you werid people. In the car this does not happen and it is nice to have air con in the summer and heated seats in the winter no sweaty strangers yay.

Neither DH nor myself drive here (from the U.S. and don't think it's worth the hassle outrageous cost to get a UK license) so we strategically chose our house rental location (in a smallish eastern city) so we could get by without needing a car. Our house is tiny and has zero garden space, but we're a 10 minute walk to the grocery store, 10 minutes to city centre & loads of shops, schools close by... There's no way I would even think of living in a rural area without being able to drive.

For the rare occasion we need to go somewhere that a bus or train cannot take us, we've paid for taxis. Still works out cheaper than owning a car, petrol, insurance, etc.

We live in london and its just a pain to ave a car their is no were to ark with out paying a fourtune often its quicker to get a bus that usually stops right by the venue rather than driving parking 30 minutes away then walk to the venue

Oh drives but he works out side london its crazy my mate drives but has to get the bus to come and see me no were to park

We even hae a guy who pays us tp park on our driveway because their is no free parking round here and any parking their is its 1 hour max

The only thing imiss about driving is sometimes it would be nice to just go to the beach or somting but that would happen so rare it wouldnt be worth the hassle

It seems weird to you because you live in London. I didn't need a car in London, in fact it would have been a disadvantage to have one as there is no where to park.

Come and live anywhere outside London and you will understand how it is often either difficult or impossible to get around without a car.

I live in not-really-rural north wales, but transport is shite. Besides, I'd never to nursery/work by foot and bus. I think I worked out it would take 3 hours!

ON example of our crap public transport is here:

I take my dcs to toddlers once a week. It's 3 miles away, so potentially walkable, even with toddler and baby.

But the pavements run out after 1 mile, then it's 50mph.

I had to get the bus a few weeks ago as my car was in the garage. This is what a 5-10 minute journey took me:

35 minutes to walk toddler and baby to top of the hill to the bus stop.
20 minute wait.
15 minute bus ride..

And I had to leave toddlers early to get home, as there is only one bus an hour.

I don't drive by choice either.

I used to drive/own a car when I had to do an hours commute then worry about parking (either down a side road, 20 mins from work or £7 per day to park closer) when I moved jobs, to somewhere with rather good transport links I realised I used my car less and less and was actually just wasting my money. So I sold it and couldn't be happier, I can get to most places I want via buses, or if I'm travelling slightly further then a combination of buses and trains).

The other advantage I have is that my DH drives (and owns a car) so he drives to me to all the difficult to reach places, and Im on his insurance so I could drive if I really really wanted to (hasn't happens in the last 2 years)

I reckon not driving saves me about £300 a month!!

Neither DH or i drive. We previously lived in Cardiff so we were close to a big train station, but now we've moved to a small town in Shropshire. We both work in the town and its got all the things we need, its just a pain when it comes to visiting people. Also there are some village play groups that are difficult to get to. I'm lucky I've made some good friends who take me, but I hate being a burden.

I do hate car dependency, actually I generally hate cars, but when we get some money together I'll have to learn to drive as when DS gets a bit older think there are places, living where we do, that he'll have to be driven too, and its not fair on my friends to expect them to ferry me round all the time.

ooooh and worth mentioning that I don't live in London, I'm about a 30 min bus journey away from another city

Not very keen on the implicit smugness in your opening post SGB. You live in London, of course you don't need a car. Life is very different out in the sticks (and we like it that way). We simply could not manage without a car, unless one of us gave up work and we moved next to the other's workplace - great idea
Yes cars cost money, but life in london is much more expensive than up here (including petrol!).
My current drive to work takes 30 mins if not dropping off dcs, 40 mins if I am. By public transport it would run something like 20 min walk, 30 min bus ride, 30 min walk, 30 min bus ride, 10 mins walk. My quality of life would be wrecked by that. It is foolish to suggest people with a car don't walk either. We all walk, run, cycle and ride lots in this house, almost certainly more than lots of people without cars.

Not very keen on the implicit smugness in your opening post
oh people without cars are always smug, boasting about their miniscule carbon footprint etc., I was the same before I finally passed my test and stopped being a 'bus wanker' (DS not me!) which improved our lives no end.
People in London really do not need to drive so the smugness is double annoying.

I did point out that it's different in rural areas with no public transport, but (unless you have mobility issues, several under 5s or regularly need to transport heavy objects) I don't get why anyone in a city has a car.

Had a car at 17, have driven around the world, but after the first year living in London I sold my car and dp have his to his parens. Haven't had one since. The occasional time we need one we hire as even a week hire is driving say down to Devon the price is tiny compared to if we had own.

We live and work zone 1/ edge zone 1/2. For one car park space if the car park where we live it's £650 a month! ( could poss squeeze two cars in if had larger space at £800 and two small cars). Then obv parking elsewhere/ petrol/ tax/ insurance/ mot...

Cheaper And more convinent to fly!