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?

The tree-lined photo is from the Netherlands so it'll be more mixed than the US where the stroad is. Do you think it acceptable that we inflict all of this pollution upon the poorest in society? Or should we try to change things so that everyone has the opportunity to live in a low-traffic environment?

So we should all move into cities?! How would that work??

We certainly could do with some better infrastructure. Trouble is that whenever the government or the local council actually sets out to build some (whether it's a new railway line or a bus lane) there are squeals of protest from the motoring lobby, outraged that money is being spent on anything other than twelvth lanes for the M25.

A ‘vertigo incident’ doesn’t mean you can never drive again anymore than dyspraxia necessarily means you can’t drive in the first place. I had vertigo. It was positional. The doc sorted it in 2 days.

I'd counter the squeals over new railway lines are because they're either in London or making it quicker to get to London. I don't know of any other new railway projects and I don't know anyone not in favour of more railways to be honest?

Re bus lanes: why shouldn't buses sit in traffic like everyone else, and and how on earth do Taxis & private coaches get to use them? Cycle lanes make much more sense, I'd turn every bus-lane into a 'walking, wheeling & cycling' lane.

I don't know of any other new railway projects

There are several, although they are really the reopening of lines that should never have been closed in the first place.

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/restoring-your-railway-update

Ok good point, I'd originally written near where I live and not sure why i changed it really. But the fact is they announced it as some great Beeching reverse, it isn't. Progression is slow, investment is minimal and the number of projects is few and far between, as that article demonstrates.

“Choose a hospital”?! 😂😂 your privilege is showing!!!!

I take taxis to my appointments, the specialist hospital is difficult to get to on public transport and I have mobility difficulties. I tried to develop a disease where the specialist centre was on an easy route but sadly I failed. I should have planned better really! I am extremely fortunate I can afford the £120 regular round trip but I have to cut costs. Not everyone is eligible for hospital transport either.

Under 5 miles? That seems long. It’s over an hour walk for a fast Walker, more like 2 hours for many. If there’s no reliable and regular public transport that’s no good at all.

Infrastructure is not the first thing that needs to change, its mindset

Of course buses shouldn't sit in traffic with everyone else. The whole point is that public transport is more efficient and needs to be encouraged, therefore having buses crawl along at 12mph with the traffic creates the very circumstance that previous posters have used as a reason not to use public transport.

Investment in cycling infrastructure is another thing that gets the Clarksonites squealing.

My ex husband never drove ( could never pass a test ) and would NEVER pay towards my car as “ a car is not needed “ but OMG did he enjoy being driven round like Miss Daisy

It takes time to build infrastructure so it needs a head start. Then the mindset would have changed by the time it's built.

How do we change mindsets? It's not easy to persuade people out of their cars, so initially making a new service free in order to attract them is one option.

Carrots alone aren't enough though. A stick is needed too, and this means making it more difficult to drive by closing roads to traffic.

The problem is the time & that children can't always cycle safely on roads until older.

I live a short drive (10 mins) from the swimming pool where my kids have lessons.

I can cycle there in 30 mins but the roads are not safe for a 4 & 6 year old. Also youngest would really struggle on the way back as the swimming would leave her tired. Lots of 4 or 5 year olds haven't even learned to ride a bike well enough for longer distances either.

If we do it by bus, it takes ages!! The bus is so slow and indirect, it would take at least 45 mins. On the way back, because the buses are not even hourly on a sunday, we'd be facing a 1.5 hour wait to even begin the journey home.

Its unproductive and its time i don't have to waste - i can't spend 4 hours all in on a 30 min swimming lesson. If i use a car its an hour all in.

It will take decades to rebase our whole economy and society around not driving. It requires massive investment in public transport, facilities in small towns that have been cut as councils push people to drive to facilities covering a much wider area. There has to be an allowance that people will spend a lot more time travelling if they are expected to walk a 3 or 4 mile journey they might previously have driven in a few mins.

There's also a limit to what people can carry. I can't carry a full weeks shopping, especially not with two children in tow. So its not just that walking or taking a bus to a supermarket is slower, I'd have to do it 2 or even 3 times a week.

I think the mindset is already changing. There are fewer cars on our school run than there were 5 years ago.

I see a lot more children on bikes, scooters etc.

The biggest hurdle is time, and that people's lives have very little of it available to spend hours every day walking or cycling. Buses have to be made faster and more efficient. No meanfering routes taking in 4 villages to cut costs. Bus lanes. It needs to be like trains, with some faster buses that stop at fewer stops during rush hour.

Do you work op?

Did you work full time with young children?

Were you ever on a low income (trains and taxis are extortionately expensive).

No young children can't be getting home at 7pm when you've to bath them and fit in school reading and homework. Lots of asc don't provide a proper dinner either so children need a meal too.

You must recognise that beyond people's choices, our national infrastructure does not enable people in many parts of the country car free. People are making many of the changes you want but it will take time.

It does depend where you live. If you live in a city you can get by without a car. If you live rurally it's not so easy.
I live in a city and have always hated driving so I do rely heavily on public transport. I can go weeks without using the car.
However, even living in a city I find I would limited without a car. Public transport is terrible. Yes I can get to the city centre on a bus but getting from my suburb to another suburb is extremely difficult. For example, DD does netball in another suburb - 16 minute drive or 1 hour 40 minutes by public transport!!
Also we use the car for family days out and would be very limited without it. The trains and buses take us to a few places nearby but the car has enabled us to get to beautiful areas of the countryside, National Trust properties, caves, waterfalls etc.
Another thing - we'd be very reliant on other parents without a car in terms of getting our kids to birthday parties, after school sports, Guides etc. The parents without cars are always asking for lifts (which is fine and we help whenever we can but it's not always convenient).

This.

The lack of awareness is staggering.

Yep, as usual, disabled people are an afterthought.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/jan/02/cambridge-disabled-people-cycling-rolling-walking-stick

Cycling is a lifeline for many disabled people who can’t drive.

I live in a village in the South West . Without a car I couldn’t get to work, get to my mum’s (carer) or do the school run. Much too far to walk, no safe cycle route and zero public transport in the direction needed. It’s the same for most people in this county unless they live in one of the few cities.

And it’s a physical impossibility for many other disabled people. Sadly we are not all the right kind of disabled to fit in with the ideals of the able bodied world.

Also the statistics given for how many can cycle and it’s better than walking are taken from a survey of… disabled cyclists! That doesn’t tell you anything that can be applied to the population as a whole.

You can't compare Cambridge with the rest of the country, though.

Cycling around Cambridge (which is practically flat) is very different from cycling around rural Cumbria or a hilly city like Durham or Edinburgh.

What percentage of UK adults have a driving licence and what percentage own cars?
If it's a reasonable majority, then who not make the presumption of car access - with a proviso for disabled.

Cycling would be impossible for ds for numerous reasons.

he can’t walk more than about half a mile without having significant issues.

he needs to be able to access a car in order to be able to get out the house. When I am going out without him I walk when I can because I am capable of.

believe me I wish I could just kick him out of the front door to walk to school instead of having to drive him but that’s not an option!