to feel car driving is frequently unjustified

[Clairetree1]

Having sat in a traffic jam yesterday, in which I counted 10 buses being held up by around 45 cars, many of which only had one person in.

So say 60 people in cars holding up 600 people in buses....

just as a snapshot, throughout the whole journey, each person in a car seems to hold up 10 people in a bus, and if the cars were not there, those car travelers could easily fit on the buses, and everyone would be moving at least 3x as fast,

and I can't really see how this is allowed, or can be justified.

If you are in a city, or in another area with an adequate bus route, and are physically able to use the bus, how do you justify to yourself the danger, inconvenience and lethal pollution you subject everyone else to? Not to mention the further damage to the environment caused by concreting over parking spaces, car manufacture, etc.

I know some people are going to say they need the time, but if cars were banned from our cities and more people on public transport, everyone would be moving faster.

I know some people are going to say they are disabled, or have too much to carry, but some people who are disabled or have a lot to carry do use buses, they often have no choice! it doesn't automatically preclude you.

I know some people are just going to say they have a right to, but really, do you? Pollution is killing thousands of people a year in the UK, not to mention those killed in car crashes, the environmental damage done including global warming, and the sheer inconvenience to everybody else.

I know a couple of cities are planning on banning private cars, and I know petrol cars are on their way out, so things might well improve, but I just don't understand how we reached this position in the first place, so much death and destruction and time taken away by an entitled privileged few with such a selfish habit I can't understand how they justify to themselves.

I don't expect many people to agree with me, I think this privilege is so deeply ingrained in our culture that people genuinely feel they have a right to drive cars, when perfectly adequate public transport exist.

I don't think there is any moral right at all though, I think it is morally wrong in every way

The bus doesn't go from my house to my work door to door. Sometimes I do a good shop in my lunch break. Often I have to collect my DS from school. Nice idea OP but wouldn't work for me

@MrSpock god no not me! That was a rather enlightened poster on page 1.

@autumnmadness! Exactly! Works great for this that have time and flexibility. Dreadful for those that have actual appointments, fixed start times or timetables to adhere to.

I actually think it should be mandatory for women with children to drive

1- a lot of women with children won't be able to afford to
2- a lot of people are unable to drive for medical reasons
3- if every single mother had a car, where would they all park???? and how would they all fit on the roads?

MrSpock god no not me! That was a rather enlightened poster on page 1.

It’s a stupid comment isn’t it! I don’t drive and I take my DS to museums, parks, clubs...we live in a city so there’s literally no need for me to drive.

ivykaty it's lovely that they have the time to do that. Doesn't really work for commuting though...

FWIW your 3 mile tax would be A-OK for me. All my car journeys are waaaay longer than that.

@Clairetree1 it wasn't me who said that. Of course because it's a totally bloody ridiculous thing to say. I was quoting another poster who appeared to have time travelled from 1951.

MrSpock for trips like that I use Park and Ride. Both Cambridge and Norwich have very decent P&R schemes with no shortage of spaces.

ah, ok, I wasn't sure who said it originally

Park and Ride is a good scheme in my opinion!

This whole thread just shows how much work has to be done on infrastructure for other transportation, more buses, more cycle paths and longer running trains

Then you can work on peoples attachment to their private cars 😬😳 to pull them out of them 😂

As petrol prices rises, more people look at and use alternatives for shorter trips

At present fuel is on hold with price, but it’s sure to rise next year

Agree Mrs Spock

There is definitely a place for park and rides

Car clubs are brilliant too and should be used more for the odd awkward journey. They might seem expensive but ime people rarely look at the full financials of running a car (depreciation, repairs etc etc).

I had to take a bus the other day to collect my vehicle from a specialist. It cost me £5 on the bus. EACH WAY

Fuel costs for the round trip would be less than £3. Similarly, train to London costs minimum £40. Fuel costs £15. Even if I use the government 40p/mile, it costs £28.

It's bonkers that taking public transport is basically a luxury option but with a privatised system in the U.K., that's where we are

Tbh I haven’t got time to commute by car where I live, I literally walk faster than the drivers can drive there cars... I cycle in sometimes but have to use canal otherwise the cars hold me up along the road and I can’t get passed them queuing easily

Because a bus to town for me and my children would cost a small fortune so I would rather drive them in our shiny new car and spend the money on them

Orchidinthesun it’s due to car being subsided and the money is taken out from general taxation, how is that fair?

Cars being subsidised annoys me.

Op are you Jay from inbetweeners?

Completed it mate
Been there
Done that

We have a ' free' one.

I currently use my car for more shorter journeys than anything else. There’s simply no alternative.

So a less than 3 mile tax? Penalises people for various situations

no one brought up car share yet? I don't drive. I have a disabled bus pass. Am lucky now that I live in a town with a great public transport network. before, it was cycle or make do. used to be able to get national express direct from my home to parents. That service has now been scrapped, due to declining passenger numbers.

All this criticism about people's attachment to their private ( why are we now adding the word private??!) cars and plans to get people out of them is making me feel very uneasy.

Do you know what my car represents to me? Freedom.
I was in an emotionally and financially abusive relationship where I wasn't allowed my own car. I had to put up with inadequate public transport for years. The first thing I did when I left was buy a car and I don't regret it one bit. Don't get me wrong ,I love walking and will use public transport if it's easier, cheaper etc but it will take a hell of a lot convincing to get me away from using my car as and when I please.

Sanctimonious guilt tripping certainly won't work.

ivykaty44, you might want to specify that the pictures you are posting are of electric bikes. Most people are not experienced with them and have no way of telling.

And while I agree that an electric bike could be a very good form of transport, for many people it is not a replacement for a car, electric or otherwise. Many such situations have already been discussed on this thread. What we need is a workable public transport system.

Nobody likes sitting in traffic jams and I do believe that most people would use public transport if it was available and affordable.