to think people who say they cant live without there car are stupid ?

[lins1uk]

havent got a car yet, my dp is taking lessons and will be getting a car when he passes but people who say they cant live without there car are surely stupid ?
havent they heard of the bus or tram etc ?
i have two kids and one on the way and i will still use public transport when we have a car!
plus i walk 25 mins to school and 25 mins back twice a day i just think people who rely on there car for everything are just plain lazy,
i agree it is nice to have a car but its not everything!
sorry if you feel diffrent but thats how i feel!

My dyspraxic child also tires quite easily.

And mine rolls around on the floor when tired. Oh, the joy!

i think it is mostly people who don't drive who say "you don't need a car"
i do need a car and don't feel the need to justify why i do.

I do need a car too
in fact here is the car I need
if that's ok

this one is for OJ

I don't 'need' a fridge, tv, phone, mobile, dvd player, proper bed, brick house either. I could live in a mud hut with a fire to cook my maize. I aint going to though.

riven - i think it's odd that you don't need car seats in taxis......

I know it's would be bloody hard to do logistically, but that's a good reason why I wouldn't use taxis!

A car seat saved my ds2's life!

But, if I didn't have a car, how I would I drive the overflow of rubbish which the council will no lnger pick up to the dump on the weekend?

I think people who post AIBU threads calling other "Stupid" are rude.

Yeah it's totally stupid to need a car to drop DP at the station, then onto school with DD1, onto nursery for DD2 and once I'm back at work onto childminder for DD3 and then onto work myself. Drive to shops for food at lunchtime and then pick up all 3 kids from different places at the end of the day before driving home again.

oh and DD1 is disabled and can't walk very far and actually only started to walk a year ago aged 5.

Yeah I should get the bus to one loc for 8.30am with all 3 kids, then onto next location by bus and somehow not be late, and then onto a CM and then to work, all in the time alloted to me. Yeah, that's possible - NOT.

So you can take your 'stupid' and shove it where the sun don't shine - Stupid!

Message withdrawn

riven - my work commute is about 1h15m in a morning, and an hour in the evening - 40 miles each way on motorway. I collect DD froms chool on my way home, which is en route anyway (I literally drive by the gate) so no added traffic on road to collect her by car (school is 3-4 miles from home anyway).

DH's work commute is not as far - about 5-6 miles into town, but he needs his car for work sometimes to visit his elderly or disabled clients. He also drops DD at school en route (again passses the gate). To do school runa nd work run by car takes about 30 minutes, would be far longer by bus - esp as he'd have to get on/off. Plus more exepnsive by bus too - his car park ticket is paid for by work.

DH says if it goes up to £1.50 a litre he would start thinking about it - as even at £1.50 a litre it would still be significantly cheaper than bus fare.

PS sorry to hear about the seizure

Fuel prices don't affect us in that way so much now. Since becoming equity my deisel bill is paid for by DH's work. I think we pay for it indirectly, but before drawings and get VAT back, etc. His car (as does least mileage, we do pay for.

We would manage fine without a car and I wouldn't mind using buses but there have been so many incidents - one time some youths started a fire on the top deck, the bus driver usually shuts the door on us as we are getting off, or doesn't stop ar our stop or stops with such a lurch that we all fall forward, that if I have the choice I will drive.

In response to OP, I think using the term stupid is a bit over the top but I do understand where you are coming from.

My neighbour does not work and she drives her children to school - 7 minute walk. Sheer laziness (none of them have health problems).

I have a car but I still use the bus, train and walk.

I carry my shopping in a rucksack from the high street plus have two carrier bags which I carry in each hand. My 4yo twin boys walk along side me and enjoy the walk to and from the high street (15 minutes each way). I can do this because I plan and buy what I need. I do a big shop once every two weeks and use the car for this. However, to use the car to go to the shops just to pick up a few items when I am perfectly capable of walking is lazy imo. Obviously, if one lives in the middle of nowhere wih poor public transport, then a car is essential. However, my observation is that even when you have excellent public transport links, too many people still prefer to clog up the roads with their own cars when I am sure that many of them could have left the cars at home.

i'd still drive riven. i do 5 drops in the am abd 3 pickup in the pm so crap public transport not an option.

as a non-driver, I always insist on living somewhere with good public transport links - so within short distance of both train and bus routes.

To the OP:

I live 8 miles from the nearest shop.

We have a bus on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The bus comes at 7.10 in the morning and returns at 5.10 in the evening.

I have three children, two of whom are toddlers.

If you have any thoughts on how I can ditch my car, please feel free to share them with me.

thank you.

I would not get rid of our car if petrol became more expensive because I would only use it for essential journeys and drive even more conservatively than I do now to make sure I extract more mileage for each litre.

Attitudes towards how we use the car need to change and the perception that Frau Thatcher inculcated into a generation that only losers use buses etc needs to be squashed.

Hmm, I love driving, love my car, but not the garage bills at the moment, which is why I am reconsidering ... DH has a company car and works from home a couple of days a week, I am able to walk DS to school and then walk to my work, Mum lives 10 mins walk away and also has a car. Seriously thinking about suggesting that Mum and myself share a single car now, but only because of the spiralling running costs.