To despair at our obession with cars

[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?

New housing estates are just glorified car parks, we don't even look at houses on those new builds because I refuse to live somewhere that I have to be 100% car reliant.

We didn't 'choose' to live in an urban area, it was because we did t drive so didn't have the luxury of owning a car. A lot of our friends are similar and can't afford to drive/own a car (most walk/cycle). It's odd saying this is a lifestyle luxury to live in urban areas, it's a necessity when finances are continually tough (driving lessons are expensive).

I can't see improving public transport and infrastructure being high on most peoples importance when voting.

Obira Money and profit at the expense of living standards - councillors can’t afford to keep fighting against property developers as it costs thousands to do so. It shouldn’t be allowed and planning should be granted only on strict criteria - but the argument is their is a housing crisis

It's time.

Ownership of a car saves you masses of time. It's there on your doorstep and gets you to exactly where you need to go.

can't see improving public transport and infrastructure being high on most peoples importance when voting.

Depends whether they can afford to drive a private car

There's a reason people like cars. They're convenient, pleasant to be in, often cheaper per journey than public transport. If i want to go to my nearest city on the train, it's £45 per person return off peak. In a car it'll be about £50. So 2 or more people could travel to the city return for considerably less in a car than they could in a train. And my car is a much, much nicer place than a public train. Last time i took the train,
the carriage was full of men on their way to a stag do, drinking and swearing very loudly.

My local bus costs £4.50 return into my local town. The same (but more convenient, direct) journey in my car costs about £1. Nobody will ever convince me to give up my car.

Sst1234, you could say the same about the bicycle. As a woman, I certainly do not feel liberated by the car

A lot of supermarket deliveries are done in electric vehicles

OfstedOffred

Really?

Then explain why the car came last?

My own town is congested and other transport methods are quicker than a car, in fact any other transport is quicker probably including a boat

I do 'despair' at the attitude towards buses. I've been on buses when people deliberately drive at a bus (dangerously) to edge in front. Or when there were temporary traffic lights, a driver drove towards the bus expecting the bus driver to reverse out of the way.

A lot of supermarket deliveries are done in electric vehicles

Sainsbury chop chop app is bike or moped for under 25 items

It’s cheaper and more efficient

Public transport and active travel infrastructures are appalling in the UK. Until a couple of years ago I worked 6.5 miles from home, about 2 miles outside the city centre. I had three options to get to work:

• drive - took about an hour in the rush hour
• public transport - took 2.5 hrs due to lack of PT and connectivity - would have needed 1mile walk, then a train, then a tram, then a walk.
• cycle - took me 27 mins if I had a tail wind.

I did walk to work a couple of times - took me 2hrs 45 mins. When public transport takes only 15 mins less to get to a destination than a human being walking 6.5 miles, something is very wrong.

And this isn't in the arse-end of nowhere - it's north Manchester. We need to make active travel and public transport infra so much better so that at least people have the option, but local councils and the DfT do not have the courage to nail their colours to the mast. I'm a car owner but I'd rather only use it for journeys where I had no option - e.g I can't see myself lugging a week's worth of camping gear on the bus to the Lakes, or bussing it home from B&Q with an 8ft length of 2by4. Something has to change so that we have equal options to drive, cycle, walk, tram or train.

@ivykaty44

OfstedOffred

Really?

Then explain why the car came last?

My own town is congested and other transport methods are quicker than a car, in fact any other transport is quicker probably including a boat

Not every one lives in london

And it’s absolutely the most liberating facility that women have to give them personal independence and a sense of safety
Absolutely. I couldn’t safely stand at the bus stop in the dark and it massively restricted my life before I learned to drive. Now I can go wherever I want and I can come home after the buses stop running too.

Captainthe95thrifles, I was suggesting a move to a city to the one poster who 'wished' for amenities on their doorstep. I don't think everyone should live in cities

Obira, I feel the sane way about my bicycle, not that I'm particularly afraid of waiting at bus stops in the dark

Nobody will ever convince me to give up my car.

They used to say that about smoking, as long as you’re aware of the health implications & pollution inside a car is worse than outside

Shaving, b and q deliver though

It equalises people’s opportunity to get out there for work, education and leisure. And it’s absolutely the most liberating facility that women have to give them personal independence and a sense of safety.

I do all the above on a bike. I'm lucky I guess.

Some folk genuinely are time poor and don't have the pleasure of being able to walk or cycle into work or unfortunately too far away. It very much grates me though to see of my neighbours driving their kids to school twice a day, what would be a 10 min walk. They leave the house and are back within 30mins. Funnily it would've taken less time to walk it and back. I can't say for future if they have mobility issues of course but I've seen the kids playing out and the parents walking around in their garden. Sometimes its a cultural thing - some cultures don't want to be seen walking, it's a sign of poverty.

Ivykaty44
I live in a rural area. The train station is 15 min walk train once per hour. Bus once per hour. Or less often.

To travel the 3 miles to the nearest town would take either:

• min 40 mins including walk to bus stop and waiting for a bus (much longer if there isn't one due). Similar for train
• 1h to walk as the only safe route isn't very direct
• around 5 mins in a car

To cycle it involves attempting to get across a 60mph dual carriageway. There are no cycle lanes anywhere on the route.

I wouldn't ride it with kids in a million years.

They used to say that about smoking, as long as you’re aware of the health implications & pollution inside a car is worse than outside

I'll take my chances.

Politicians are very good at deciding what other people should be doing.

I don't have enough time in my life to mess about with non existent public transport. Realistically without a car we would all live like hermits.

Yes you would find a way to get to work.

Seeing friends at their houses, wouldn't ever happen

Can’t say I’d feel safe on a bike. Someone could push you off and attack you. But I feel completely safe locked in my steel box of a car, I’m not even scared when dodgy looking men walk past when I’m waiting at the traffic lights, because I know they can’t get me.

@Momicrone

Captainthe95thrifles, I was suggesting a move to a city to the one poster who 'wished' for amenities on their doorstep. I don't think everyone should live in cities

It's still a bit of a problematic suggestion - housing in cities is often more expensive than in rural areas (location dependent, naturally) and if that poster is employed, or someone in the household is employed in a rural job, it may not be practical or even possible to just move to a city.

Topcat2014, not everyone, there are plenty of people who don't own a car and yet manage to lead a normal work and social life

@Momicrone

Topcat2014, not everyone, there are plenty of people who don't own a car and yet manage to lead a normal work and social life

Usually relying on those that do drive