To say car ownership shouldn't be seen as the default

[Sidslaw]

several posts on here about financial problems, all claiming the car is "needed" and not up for discussion

People tend to set up their lives with the assumption that they will drive - surely with the climate in the stat it is in it should now be the other way around? People to set up their lives with the assumption that they will not drive, as the default.

I don't drive, I am dyspraxic, so can't and always knew I wouldn't, and it has never been an issue, as I have chosen the places I live and the jobs I do on that basis. I use public transport, walking, cycling, taxis. I have raised my family as a single mother like this, and my children ( not dyspraxic) have grown up to set up their lives the same.

There is always going to be people who rightly or wrongly think they are an exception, but surely the default should be, don't own a car, don't drive?

Completely depends on where you live. Middle of a large city you can mostly get by without. A village in the middle of nowhere, not so much.

If we had decent public transport options for the whole country then maybe you would have a point.

What a ridiculous presumption. I live in z3
London, no need for at all. Would be somewhat different if I lived rurally.

I think that in an ideal world car ownership shouldn't be the default, but as there isn't proper investment into alternatives, I can't see this changing. I do hope that car clubs rather than ownership becomes the default car usage (unless due to disabilities or for using at work).

Plus 1 for depends where you live. There is one bus here, every hour and quite irregular. If you don't drive, you don't go anywhere. Admittedly, we live walking distance from the town, so tend to use the car less because of that, but if we want to visit family, go to work, or conduct any hobbies, a car is required. Also, we live very near a train station, however it is cheaper and faster to drive to London than it is to use the train. This is crazy I know, but it is true. I always get a seat in the car, and the air conditioning works too.

But this is what I mean by setting up your life though, you choose to live somewhere where you depend on driving, or you choose to live somewhere where you don't.

Completely disagree! Not having a driver in the household is so limiting, it limits where you can live, where you can go, how long everything takes. Most people realise this when they learn to drive, because you can't learn to drive you don't miss what you can't have. My life would have been so much duller without a car and I wouldn't give up the freedom for anything.

Maybe if you're a stay at home type person who sticks to local places it wouldn't be too bad, but I love seeing friends all over the country, hiking and I have horses. All those things would be such a chore or extremely limited without a car.

Then that is what needs to change, isn't it, and we are a democracy, and we can change it.

For example DS has a lot of appointments at a children’s hospital. It takes about 30 minutes each way to drive there, to get there by public transport would involve at least 3 buses and 2 hours each way.

by driving to the hospital DS can generally be in school for part of the day on his appointment days depending on timings. If we had to use public transport that would be impossible. It would also be a lot more expensive and that’s before factoring in during a minimum 5 hour day we would need to eat and drink at some point!

I don’t think it is, for many people who cannot afford a car or can’t, or don’t need to drive for whatever reason. We sold our car earlier in the year and haven’t got another but we’ve access to good public transport and can walk or cycle most places. For others in isolated areas that’s not always an option. On the whole better infrastructure to reduce car dependency is needed.

You've made lifestyle choices to accommodate non car ownership. Most people don't though and therefore they "need" their cars to maintain the lifestyle they've built. Alternatively they make big changes to facilitate this like changing jobs, moving home etc.

You're right though, it is easy, we've done the same and haven't had a car for 20+ years. It's just a case of planning for it. You're gonna get flack on here for that opinion though!

But if everyone just moved to cities and towns with the infrastructure for public transport/cycling etc, then the cities and towns would just get bigger and bigger so that the infrastructure wouldn't keep pace.

I sell cars. You are massively U.

Well, it isn't a ridiculous presumption at all, as previous generations didn't drive, and future generations won't either.

No one in my grandparents generation drove! They built their lives on the assumption of not driving.

New petrol cars wont be sold after 2030, car ownership will decrease, and needs to decrease, as it is destroying the planet

So everyone who lives outside of a city should abandon the countryside and move into all that empty housing we have available in cities?! 🤣🙄

If they want people to not drive there need to be appropriate social standards for behaviour which are strongly enforced. I would happily use public transport in Japan for example, but I would never get on a bus in the UK, because the behaviour on UK buses is unacceptable.

Yeah I agree we need more investment in public transport nationwide as a matter of urgency. Then this would be a good move to make - towards car ownership as the exception rather than the rule.

Cool. You can’t drive. So you had to set your life up that way.

It’s an extremely privileged position to be able to afford to live somewhere that has great public transport/taxis or access to somewhere by bike.

Its also quite privileged that as a single parent you were able to get your kids to breakfast club, then travel to work, make it on time, work a full day then pick the kids up from after school club and get home To do dinner, night time routine, homework, hobbies and keep up with house work, spend time with your kids.

When DS needed wrap around care it took half an hour, in the car to school. Then 20 mins school to work. We had to start work at 8am. Breakfast club opened at 7am. I wouldn’t have made it on public transport. And it would have been almost 2 hours to get him home. Getting in at 7pm (assuming no delays) isn’t something that would have been good for my autistic son.

Do you usually believe everyone can or should do everything you do?

If you were able to drive though I doubt you've had alturistically made the same decisions, you've made them and limited your options because you've had to. I agree people should be mindful of their driving and not for example drive around for the sake of it and when they could walk, but similarly it does bring a tonne of freedom and in some areas it enhances your lifestyle by a fair amount. I drive 20 minutes to work for example, if I got public transport it'd be 2 busses taking well over an hour (and they don't run before and after some of my shift times). Some areas even with a much improved public transport network could never serve every area regularly, it wouldn't be feasible.

I agrée with this too though (although I do take public transport a lot). We’ve moved horribly towards a “the strongest prevails” culture in the UK.

Yeah, cos housing prices and availability are that simple, yeah?

🙄

I didn't pass my test until I was 35. I was a single parent and took the kids everywhere on the bus or walked. I managed yes, but learning to drive has very much improved my life. I now have a job I couldn't do without driving and my only regret is not doing it sooner. I think my kids would have benefited too if I done it when they were younger.
So no OP I don't agree. I'm sorry you aren't able to but please don't begrudge the rest of us.

Depends where you live. We are rural, there isn’t actually any public transport that would get people to work for 7am!

But the world has expanded since your grandparents generation. Shrinking options for people isn’t a helpful move or a progressive move.

there is very little chance that the target for 2030 is met but even if it is people will still need to drive because there is f all chance of a decent public transport network being in place by then.

Alright. I design and build public infrastructure, including transport.

How do you suppose I get to work when the public transport doesn't exist in any form to get there, because I'm building it? My work sites can be anywhere in the UK.