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.

We've got one car and I don't drive, just dh. We use it a couple of times a week.

When we lived in London, we didn't have one.

We use it mainly for collecting/dropping off dc from activities - the distance to walk is too far and there isn't public transport. And getting diy stuff - like planks of wood and things. Also trips to the dump. Also for trips to see family two hours away - there isn't an obvious train route - even though it's 2 hours by car, it would be 5 hours by train which isn't very feasible if you're just going for the weekend. Also for camping trips and days out - quite a lot of things are inaccessible by public transport.

We could manage without it, as we don't drive to work. But we'd be relying a lot on other people I think.

We live on Dartmoor, we have one bus a week(!!) which leaves at 9.30 for a town I have no wish to visit, and returns from there at about half one ( and it takes forever to get there!). Plus it is a minibus type vehicle so not ideal with baby and buggy! Everyone here learns to drive at 17 funnily enough!

I do not have a car and have not had one for over 10 years now.Partly for environmental reasons (I think that there are far too many cars on the road in the city I live in) and for financial reasons (I worked out how much it would cost and how much we would use it and do not think it is worthwhile)

We live in a city and I walk, cycle or bus everywhere. When DS was little (ok up to age four ) I just walked EVERYWHERE with him in the buggy.

I love walking and use my travel as exercise...

DS finally outgrew the child bike seat this year (he is now seven) and is not yet ready to cycle on the road. I walk him to school and then cycle to work.

I have been to ikea several times on the bus - I just use those big blue ikea bags and stuggle a bit but manage.

Have taken DS on various holidays in the UK by train - is a bit of a stuggle with the luggage and DS but I manage. We have been camping travelling by train and again I managed to carry everything (only just).

Only occassionally do I miss having a car. I am a member of the city car club but do not use it very often.

I was car-free for years while living in Tokyo - excellent, efficient, affordable public transport, very cycle-friendly, and all shops offer an extremely efficient delivery service so you don't have to lug heavy stuff back on the train.

But the first thing I did when I moved back to Bristol was buy a car. I walk a lot - I live centrally - but a lot of things just wouldn't be possible without a car. Buses here are unreliable and ridiculously expensive, and the routes just don't work for me. My parents live 5 miles away on the edge of the city and getting there by bus would take over an hour (and nearly half of that would actually be walking).