Driving in London

[Imustbemad00]

Why do people that live outside of London seem to think iabu for having a car in London? There seems to be a perception you shouldn’t need a car if you live in London.

I live in zone 1. I haven’t always had a car, but I have one now and wouldn’t want to be without it. Not everywhere is accessible by tube, buses take forever. Even though tubes are quick you have to factor in extra time walking to and from stations. Doing this daily with children just to go anywhere or get shopping is horrendous. It’s also extremely busy.

I don’t need to drive to get to work, but I need the car for other aspects of my life. Okay, maybe I don’t NEED it but life has been a lot less stressful since I’ve had it. Also, we do like to leave London and visit other places often.

you can have a car. It comes with certain costs, that's all.

Takes a long while to drive around though.

We stayed in the caravan club site in Crystal Palace a few times. We went to Kew Gardens, and it took about an hour and half to get there. A No3 bus to Oxford Street (like being on a scenic tour) - used to take about the same.

@thejoysof2boys having a disabled child is different of course, because you have specific transport needs.

However lots of people, including those with children, do manage very well in zones 1 and 2 using buses and tubes. You are never more than 5 minutes walk from a bus stop in zone 1 and no more than 10 minutes in zone 2. Most able-bodied kids are perfectly capable of walking that far.

A car gives some freedom that public transport can’t give regardless of where u live/ nipping here and there as and when is so convenient. As for cycling, no matter what Boris or Khan have done, London is not a cycle friendly city, no way in hell would I cycle on the roads here, I’d die!

I use mine at weekends to do the shopping unless I’ve ordered a delivery - sometimes it’s jist nice to potter around the supermarket . Also use it to transport the dog to Richmond Park or Wimbledon and of course we go out of town sometimes .!

These are all "nice-to-haves"'rather than "needs" though. You can take dogs on public transport and you can still potter in a supermarket while having your main shop delivered. I'm surprised that so many people still think that their convenience outweighs a climate emergency.

If you live in zone 1 within the congestion zone you really don't need a car, in fact it's ridiculous they discount the charge as only the very wealthy can live in zone one and afford a car and parking. Those of us outside of London have cars because there are simply no buses in the evenings, most of Sunday. If I lived with public transport I wouldn't need cars, I'd rent one when I needed it.

Can you not use one of the shared car hire schemes like zip car or drive now? You really do not need to be clogging up the streets with your own car if you're not using it most of the week.

@grimupnorthLondon oh yes, I agree it is perfectly doable but it can be very stressful so given a choice id choose to use my car any day over public transport.

Although my child has a disability, he is only 2 so still fits in a pushchair so it's no different for me than any other parent with two young children at the moment.

Buses are so busy I often have to let 2 or 3 pass me before I can get on, and have also had to get off part way through my journey because a wheelchair user has got on and needed the space and I had a newborn in a carry cot which couldn't fold down. Tubes are an absolute nightmare, I am lucky that I live near to the jubilee line which is the most accessible line but the rest I avoid at all costs.

It's an area that really can be and should be improved in London, children will grow up eventually so parents can cope with it for the few years they need to but for wheelchair users I really don't know how they manage on a daily basis.

I guess it's a price we pay to live in a beautiful city :)

@Thejoysof2boys

why do you have to get of a bus?
That's ridiculous. The driver should just tell the wheelchair user there's no room.

Wheelchair users get priority on the basis that (most) pushchairs can be folded.

It’s often quicker walking in zone 1 than driving or even taking the tube. You are throwing money away especially when you consider that parking is so expensive (at least £30-50/day) but it’s your money to piss down the drain.

@Gth1234 that's the way it works in the eyes of TfL. wheelchair users take priority over pushchairs and there are signs up saying so. So if they get on and there is not enough space for both, or there's two pushchairs for example one of the pushchairs has to get off (or fold your pushchair down if you are able to).

@Gyh1234 I would say it happens pretty rarely though and people are actually pretty good about squashing up to help parents of small kids and wheelchair users as well as giving seats to the elderly and helping lift pushchairs on and off buses. In my experience you see a much nicer side of Londoners on buses (outside peak rush hour) than you do on the tube.

We live in zone 2 and have a car because my parents live in an area with no public transport. We hardly ever use it in London now though and we are looking into moving to a hiring arrangement when ours comes to the end of its life.

I’m also not sure what you want people to say OP. You want to drive in London and feel it improves your life. That’s fine. But you don’t need to. With all the current information about emission-based pollution in central London and the damage it’s doing to resident children I don’t think anyone’s going to be patting you on back.

We’ve managed to raise 2 children in zone 2 without a car (including the “2 under 2” phase). Shopping gets delivered. If we want to leave the city we hire a car or take the train. I do cycle, alone and with the children, but only locally and not on main roads as there are too many arsehole drivers.

The fact that we can live without a car is one of the main reasons we stay in London. We spent a few years living in a very automobile-oriented city in the US and hated the car-dependent lifestyle.

Definitely agree that the inaccessibility of most public transport is shameful.

@grimupnorthLondon I wasn’t even remotely referring to environmental issues. Just the notion that people in London can’t possibly have a use for cars, to me it’s strange that people can’t comprehend why a car might be needed or extremely useful. I can only assume the people who think this either do not live in London or have very different lifestyles.

@stucknoue that’s not true. I’m not wealthy. I work for minimum wage and am a single parent. My car is 14 years old.

Yep I grew up in central London and lived there until I was 30 and life was better without a car than with. For all sorts of reasons.

I only ever walked, bused or drove. Rarely used the tube- maybe at night. It’s too slow and sweaty when you live centrally. Only helpful for the suburbs really.

Teddy driving is good because the tube misses out entire swathes of the city. Frequently somewhere 10 minutes drive is a total fag on the train.

It is 100% not quicker for me to use public transport. If I want to go to my local Asda I’m there in 15 mins by car. If I get the bus (it’s not near a tube station) it’d take me at least half an hour, maybe more, then factor in the stress of a busy bus with nowhere to sit with children and shopping bags. That’s jist one example.
I have lots of errands to run at weekends. Like to do lots of things with the children. Pretty much all of which are outside of zone 1. That’s why before I had my car I felt trapped in this small bubble. I just used to do everything locally and I hated it.
I also regularly leave London now especially in the summer months.

Also, I think I mentioned earlier it costs me less than £15 a month to park in my ‘zone’. Anywhere else I go tends to be a bit further, or has it’s own car park so parking is no problem.

@Mrsfrumble Maybe it’s because I done most of my adult life without one that I now love it so much then. I just love the freedom and how easy it makes things.

I really wasn’t talking about environmental issues or asking for approval. Just wanted to try and understand, and explain my point of view also regarding why one might need/want to drive in London.

@imustbemad00 where are you in zone 1 that you are a 15 minute drive from a decent sized supermarket??! I can't think of anywhere where you couldn't walk to one within 10/15 minutes and they are all close to bus routes. Plus loads of corner shops (many open 24 hours) to top up. Plus why not order bulky shopping online? Am honestly baffled by your argument. Even if you are a "screw the environment" person, the convenience does not seem to more than marginal (this is on the basis that you are able-bodied and willing to hire a car for journeys to remote relatives).

No need to be baffled. If you want a big shop then you need a car, and sometimes you don’t get enough notice of that to get an internet delivery slot. So if you had a car why on earth wouldn’t you use it

You are NOT being unreasonable!

If you can afford a car then you enjoy it like everyone else!