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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To despair at our obession with cars

633 replies

SelkieQualia · 09/03/2022 11:11

They are awful. Noisy. Polluting. 4 million people die every year from the effects of air pollution. Housing developments are built around them, which means that the most vulnerable people in our society - young people, the elderly - are made even more dependant on those who drive.
Why do we tolerate such terrible public transport and cycling infrastructure?

OP posts:
maddening · 09/03/2022 17:49

If you live outside of a city the public transport is just not good enough.

Ds' future high school is 4 miles, it is either 9 mins in a car ir an hour on 2 buses or 1.25 hours walking. It is 2 hours to walk in to town (4 hours round trip) or 10 mins in a car. We work full time, we have limited time to spend walking to town.

Copin · 09/03/2022 17:51

£60 a day!! Fucking hell - for the two days a week I’d need a car that would cost me over £6k a year
That assumes you need the car for the full day, rather than using one to make the trip one way, then another for the return trip. Then it’s more like 25p a minute.

Billandben444 · 09/03/2022 17:55

@AntiHop
There will be loads for car drivers responding saying they couldn't possibly do without their cars.
And loads, like me, saying we don't want to do without our cars. You do your bit for the planet while China spews filth into the atmosphere and I'll carry on refusing plastic whenever I can.

BashfulClam · 09/03/2022 17:58

If they want car usage to decline then they need to improve public transport, there are no buses from my village now so train or car it is. The train doesn’t go near the supermarket. The trains in a Sunday don’t start until after 9 am…if you work in a Sunday you need to drive.

Iheartmysmart · 09/03/2022 17:59

@Copin

£60 a day!! Fucking hell - for the two days a week I’d need a car that would cost me over £6k a year That assumes you need the car for the full day, rather than using one to make the trip one way, then another for the return trip. Then it’s more like 25p a minute.
Well I need my car for approximately 3 hours on both of the days I use it so it will still cost me considerably more than I pay at the moment. More money, more inconvenience and nothing tangible to show for it. Not quite sure what the gain is for me there,
Copin · 09/03/2022 18:01

Well I need my car for approximately 3 hours on both of the days I use it so it will still cost me considerably more than I pay at the moment. More money, more inconvenience and nothing tangible to show for it. Not quite sure what the gain is for me there
Maybe it isn’t a gain for your circumstances. You’d be paying about £3k per year, but would not have to buy or maintain a car, or pay for fuel or parking.

I work downtown and parking alone costs £20ish per day.

LondonQueen · 09/03/2022 18:04

Because public transport just isn't convenient unless you're in London. It's also expensive! It would actually cost me more to get the train and a bus to work than driving does, I don't drive a little efficient car either, I drive a huge diesel Range Rover that drinks fuel. Go figure why people want to drive...

wanttomarryamillionaire · 09/03/2022 18:39

For me personally i find public transport a hell on earth. Expensive, dirty, not reliable, full of anti social people and it takes twice as long to get anywhere.

ExchangedCat · 09/03/2022 18:45

We live rurally and there is no public transport on the route from home to DCs school. This is the main journey we make and so we have to do it by car.

oviraptor21 · 09/03/2022 18:48

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

4 million people die every year from the effects of air pollution. Can you post a link to the research for this please? I imagine it's relatively small proportion of that number attributable to cars.
Theres only 65 million ish people in this country.
passionfruitpizza · 09/03/2022 18:54

To take my kids to my mum's house for childcare by 630am to get to work by 730am I would have to take 3-4 buses and leave at 5am.
It takes 25min in the car. I don't even live particularly rurally just not in a city centre.
This is one example of why I need a car.
I think a lot of people would have to change jobs to be able to not have a car.

JudgeJ · 09/03/2022 18:57

@SelkieQualia

They are awful. Noisy. Polluting. 4 million people die every year from the effects of air pollution. Housing developments are built around them, which means that the most vulnerable people in our society - young people, the elderly - are made even more dependant on those who drive. Why do we tolerate such terrible public transport and cycling infrastructure?
Is there any aspect of life in the 21st century that isn't used for contrived despair, anxiety etc etc on MN? I would hate to live inside some people's heads, must be a very confused place.
oviraptor21 · 09/03/2022 19:08

If I didnt want to work, to visit friends and family, and to have hobbies, then yes, I'd be able to manage without a car. But what kind of life is that?

ivykaty44 · 09/03/2022 19:24

@oviraptor21 puts it into perspective how many are dying prematurely world wide each year, when you point out there are only 65 million in U.K.

Twattergy · 09/03/2022 19:29

It's a temporary problem. Within a generation self-driving electric vehicles powered by primarily renewable energy will be the norm. Fleets of self driving vehicles will replace the need for private car ownership. Most cars sit in roads/drives for 90% of their lifetime. A better way awaits but not sure if it'll be in my lifetime. It will happen though.

WeirdlyKind · 09/03/2022 19:50

@Twattergy

It's a temporary problem. Within a generation self-driving electric vehicles powered by primarily renewable energy will be the norm. Fleets of self driving vehicles will replace the need for private car ownership. Most cars sit in roads/drives for 90% of their lifetime. A better way awaits but not sure if it'll be in my lifetime. It will happen though.
Curious how you think that'll work for us rural peeps? I also occasionally tow with my car - not possible with an electric one apparently!
User135644 · 09/03/2022 19:52

@bellamountain

If you live outside the city, cars are a necessity.
And entire towns were literally built around the motor car (the post-war new towns).
Waxonwaxoff0 · 09/03/2022 19:54

@maddening

If you live outside of a city the public transport is just not good enough.

Ds' future high school is 4 miles, it is either 9 mins in a car ir an hour on 2 buses or 1.25 hours walking. It is 2 hours to walk in to town (4 hours round trip) or 10 mins in a car. We work full time, we have limited time to spend walking to town.

I live outside of a city and the public transport is fine. Everywhere is not the same.
Buzzinwithbez · 09/03/2022 19:55

@Copin

Hopefully I’ve successfully attached a screenshot of the Evo car share app.

You open the app, select a nearby car, then use the app to unlock it. You pay 25p per minute or £60 per day. No fuel, insurance, maintenance or parking costs. You can leave the car anywhere in the city when done with it.

There are similar programs that operate slightly differently.

Obviously not sustainable in rural areas, but great in a decent sized city.

We aren't in a rural area. We're in a typical northern town with rubbish transport links. I bought my car second hand and its owned outright. It has cost me nothing other than a set of tyres plus mot and service in the 4 years I've owned it so far. Say for the sake of argument I spend 1000 on repairs plus 600 tax and insurance. 1600/52 = £30 per week. Plus £60 in fuel per week. £90.

Friday I took my daughter to her after school activity and we stayed on half an hour so that she could need about with her friends
120*.25 = £30 that's a third of my car's running costs already. Then we wanted to go for dinner later... Another £30

Sunday, my son needed taking and picking up from a party 40 mins away. Another £60 for the car.

I use my car at least 5 days out of 7 and we're often out of town for the whole day. There's no way it would be cost effective, even if I sold my car and took into account the 5k I might get for it and averaged that our over the next 6-8 years.
(I kept my last car 16 years same it was only in the last year it cost anything close to what I've allowed in my calculations for maintenance)

Buzzinwithbez · 09/03/2022 20:01

Well I need my car for approximately 3 hours on both of the days I use it so it will still cost me considerably more than I pay at the moment. More money, more inconvenience and nothing tangible to show for it. Not quite sure what the gain is for me there,

"You will own nothing and you will be happy"

Sounds familiar.

purdypuma · 09/03/2022 20:05

For me I've not used public transport for at least 4 years. I need to use my car for my job & selfish as it is I like the convenience of having my car outside ready to go. I've not been able to drive for the last month due to injury & it's been a major annoyance as I have to rely on others if I need to go anywhere & I can't just pop out like I'm used to doing.

Iheartmysmart · 09/03/2022 20:13

@Buzzinwithbez

Well I need my car for approximately 3 hours on both of the days I use it so it will still cost me considerably more than I pay at the moment. More money, more inconvenience and nothing tangible to show for it. Not quite sure what the gain is for me there,

"You will own nothing and you will be happy"

Sounds familiar.

Yep, it certainly does! A scary thought.
Copin · 09/03/2022 20:30

@Buzzinwithbez

Well maybe applying the cost of a car share in Vancouver (which is a very expensive city to live in) to a town in the north of England isn’t particularly helpful. I doubt you have the astronomic parking costs that we do (save for if using a car-share car), for example.

If I used a car daily, it probably wouldn’t be the best scheme for me either, but when I only need a car for grocery shopping and ad-hoc trips, it’s the more affordable option.

ivykaty44 · 09/03/2022 20:35

Just looked and found karshare

Was looking for an advocate rental in north of U.K. and found cars for 6 hours for £41

Copin · 09/03/2022 20:43

I picked 2 random months from last year (one summer, one winter) and extrapolated an annual spend of less than £1,000. Given that the average cost of insurance alone for car owners here is the equivalent of £600 p/a, and I don’t have to pay for fuel, maintenance or the car itself, it’s great for me.