Who is car free?

[needmorecoffee]

Wondered if anyone else had gone car free?

Yup - car free for 4 years. Neither DH nor I can park at work (central london) so the car got a weekly run to Sainsbury's and odd trips to visit relatives.

Now I shop twice weekly on foot (load up the buggy handles!) and have an online delivery. We hire a car when we visit relatives. I know we should go on the train , but the service has been a joke recently.

Dont drive, but DH does. We bought a house we dont like in exactly the right place, less than 5 minutes from school, the Thames, Mainline station, Church, fab restaurants pubs, shops etc. We could have bought a lovely house, and driven everywhere, but being in the heart of it all meant more to us.

We are car free, but it has more to do with the fact that neither of us learned to drive for ages (and I still haven't). Like tarantula, it's just a way of life for us. Though it may change when we stop paying for childcare (and have more money...).

"Is it worth putting up with some inconvenience (being car free) in order to be green/ethical? "

Yes if it's actually a viable option to have - DH simply HAS to have a car for work - otherwise he wouldn't be able to do his job. Apart from his changing jobs (when he has no need, and actually enjoys his job) there's no way round it for him.

does anyone do car share schemes / car pooling how do ehty work

been car free for just about 2 years
love to walk
dh cycles 12 miles round trip to work

we hire when we need one though but ds likes the trains so flexible..

I couldn't get to work if I didn't have a car. It takes me over an hour in the car. By public transport it is impossible to arrive on time and would take about 3 times longer. Definitely not an option.

DH needs a car for work. He has to have a car to do home visits. He could go to work on public transport, but it would not be practical as he has to take DD to school (3 miles or so away) on route. This would be more expensive and far more time consuming by buses. Not practical to cycle either - can't turn up at a client's house in a sweaty suit!

Both DH and I do have small economic cars though, through choice.

we're in london, still car-free (only one DS). have NO desire for a car most of the time, but I think it may all start to get a bit trickier/more expensive as DS grows out of his baby car seat - what do the other car-free amongst us do about that?
We keep meaning to join streetcar, but then the train is cheaper and quicker, and I prefer doing little and often shops to huge expeditions (and even if I did that then a cab home would probably be cheaper)

But it comes down to house purchase decisions -if you really want to be car free you'll buy a house where that is practical - we'd never buy a house where we had to drive everywhere, however perfect the house was in any other respect

for grocery shopping we use the internet - it's great

littlefrog - when they grow out of a baby car seat, put them in a buggy.

Littlefrog, if you mean what do you use for safety in taxis etc, there's a toddler lightweight car seat thing which you can order from a US site, my sister had it when they had a toddler and no car. It's far more portable than a normal toddler car seat.

"But it comes down to house purchase decisions -if you really want to be car free you'll buy a house where that is practical -"

ermm we have a very practical house - next door to the school, and church, 5 minutes from nursery, 2 minutes from the Junior school, 10 minutes from town and Morrisons (only £3 for a taxi back with my weeks shopping when I do a big shop) - but that still doesn't mean that DH can work without a car.

thats what we did minum. I'd love to live in the country but would hate to be dependant on a car. Espacilly with petrol going up and up and up. And the darn things break all the time. Plus, where do you put it when you reach a town?
We get a veggie box once a week and Somerset local foods once a week. Otherwise I walk to the shops or go in my wheelchair. Stuff is hung on dd's handles (threatening to flip her out) and carried home.
Doesn't running 2 cars use up all your earnings?

We've always been car free - neither of us drive. It's easy because we live in a big city with plenty of public transport. We get groceries delivered and always have a family railcard on the go. The girls have been walking miles from very early ages - just got used to it, as they had no choice; we did have one friend of dd2 who chose not to come for tea because she didn't want to walk that far!

Are taxi's exempt from car seat rules? We usually have to find one we can wheel dd's wheelchair onto but there have been occasions when I've carrried her in my arms onto a taxi and held her. Only when, say, we'd be taken to hospital by 999 ambulance (they never take her darn wheelchair) and we need to get home. Taxi drivers never seem bothered. Of course, once she's bigger that will be impossible.

taxis are exempt. in fact, one is allowed not to have a car seat for "occasional" journeys in any vehicle. how this can be enforced I don't know, but I 'spose it legislates for emergency trips.

DD is just outgrowing her 0+car seat. we'll be buying another, even though she's only used the first on a handful of occasions. I'd rather be safe, and it costs quite a bit to hire them.

we've never had a car seat for dd, but then we don't have a car. Did think of getting one for lifts but special needs ones cost 600 quid + and I don't have any friends who's car boots are big enough for dd's wheelchair (doesn't fold cos she has 'complex seating needs'. Polite way of saying she can't sit or hold her head up)

Those who have cars - whats the commuting distance you have to do for work/toddlers/whatever else it was that means you can't be car free.

Sounds like I'm being nosy (and I am ) but I'm writing an article about car-free-ness so I'm interested in those who are car free and how they manage and those who aren't and why they feel like they can't. Plus, what price would petrol have to be before you gave up the car? £5 per litre? £10? (might happen what with the Peak Oil thing and oil being at $95 a barrel)