Car-free with babies and young children

[londonmum3202]

I'm looking for advice from parents who are living car-free, on how you make this work with the needs of babies and young children.

Currently, I don't own a car and get around easily as I enjoy walking and cycling and have very good bus/rail services in my local area. My first child is due later this year and I would like to avoid buying a car if possible, to keep costs down and also avoid exposing babies to air pollution (I read that exposure is often higher inside vehicles, compared to that for pedestrians and cyclists). By car-free, I don't mean never travelling by car - i.e. using a taxi or car-share option would be ok, as and when needed.

I mean, you just do? You take public transport where available, which is straightforward, or do car sharing. Baby car seats are very easy to strap in to any vehicle. A sling also makes it very, very easy to take any public transport.

You know you're allowed to take babies and kids on buses, trains and bicycles these days.. they changed the law back in 2022.

🤪

But in all honesty, just take them along with you on your normal routines.
Forgo the hive three wheeled baby transporting mammoth £950 vehicle with endless bells and whistles but is so huge you can go in a small shop without dragging along three displays..

Get smaller, cheaper and foldable prams and buggies.

Use a sling for tiny baby.

Get a comfortable back pack, I'd recommend one with a sternum strap, doesn't have to be baby specific one really, Osprey Daylite plus is very comfortable and light and colourful.

It's a bit of a faff at times to get buggy or pram etc on and off a train or bus, but doable woth patience and practice. I actually prefer using public transport than a car tbh. I can keep my.focus on my kid much better than the distractions of driving iyswim.

For walking or jogging you can buy buggies and strollers designed for that purpose now.

Above all, don't stress it. You'll do great.

DS is nearly 5 and we've never had a car. We've hired one a couple of times but mainly walk or get public transport. Walking was a lot easier when he was a baby and I went most places on foot.

Depends where you live. I'm in London and most of the women I met at baby classes don't have cars but this would be unusual where I grew up in the north.

I don't have a car
To be honest, like someone said upthread, you just do.
I walked miles with the pushchair to get to stay and play for example.
Some places yes you might not go to you've got a car.
Most places you can find a way. Just people with cars think 'oh it takes so long' and 'what a faff' because they're used to and like the convenience of a car so they get used to it.
I've never known any different. So I'm not bothered.
I guess we make more of a day of things as well than people who drive

We didn't have a car until DC1 was 2.5. It wasn't an issue tbh. DH got his driving licence when DC1 was about 9 months old. We rented a car a couple of times for trips away, other times we got the train. In our city we mostly walked, sometimes we got the bus and rarely we got taxis. Very rarely a kind relative would give us lifts if it was to a family function or whatever and we could all fit.

I used to walk to drop DC1 off at nursery then walk back and get the bus to work, and get the bus home. DH would get the bus or train whilst a student to placement or uni and then same home and collect DC1 from nursery and walk home. Then when he had a job after he worked in the same place as my DB and by then I was WFH. So I did the nursery runs walking and DH walked to DB's house a few mins away and he drove him to and from work.

When we got our car, which we only did as DH was told he would need one for his new job (which turned out not to really be the case as they changed their minds about what duties he would be doing once he started!) our lifestyle changed a bit, and we adapted around it. We've thought recently about selling it given how good the market is for used cars and how expensive our insurance is.

But ultimately it does make our current lifestyle much easier now, as nowadays the car is used almost every day of the week multiple times, or at least 5 days out of 7.

I think it depends where you live. If you're in a big city with good transport then it'll be easier. I live in the South West and there would be some activities/ days out/ parties etc that would cost £20 each way in a taxi it's so expensive and there's no public transport etc. When I lived in Cirencester the last bus was about 6.30 and there were no busses on a Sunday. A taxi from Cheltenham to Cirencester was about £25

I’m 10 months into second maternity leave and I’ve used our car maybe 3 or 4 times tops. We live in a smallish town that is on the outskirts of a big city. We walk everywhere in our local area (school, supermarket, swimming pool, play groups, play ground) or get bus/train if we are going further afield, eg to city centre or other commuter towns. As long as you aren’t afraid of walking or public transport and you don’t live rurally it’ll be completely fine.

We don't have a car and baby is 15 months and never been an issue
Lots of walking - sling and pram
Buses and trains
Was going to get a toddler bike seat for my bike (I cycle to work) to drop her off at nursery en route but the nursery we chose it's at the end of our street (I viewed 2 others on the way to my work to see which one I got the best feel for)
I don't feel I've ever struggled, she's been to the beach, the zoo, lots of groups, soft play, outdoor play centres, country homes etc all accessible via public transport

If you have a good bus/train network you are fine. I took my little one on the bus so much during mat leave and a few trains as well. There are spaces for prams, but it can be good to get an easy folding one so that you can still get on even if the spaces are all taken. In our town, people are generally really friendly and helpful if you get on with a buggy.

We have a bike seat for DS and now he's nearly 2 and the weather is good it's brilliant. We got it when he was just under a year but didn't use it much at first, although more because of the logistics of getting the bike out with a very young toddler and then winter weather. Bus and buggy was just easier.

If you want to start biking younger, I think a bike trailer like a Thule Chariot with an infant insert is probably the best option, but haven't tried it myself because the trailers are too bulky for our flat.

We're in London and it's not unusual to be car-free. We walk, use the tubes and Overground and sometimes buses. Trains for UK travel and use public transport overseas on holiday. We don't use bikes and only use taxis about twice a year (it's a hassle to deal with car seats, and more expensive). We don't car share.

I don't like using buses as there is only space for 2-3 buggies, I'd rather take the tube or Overground where I know I can get on, and the journey is quicker. I often have to carry the buggy up and down stairs, and I prefer to do this on my own so I have a lightweight buggy I can carry on my own with my toddler in it. It's easy to fold but I almost never fold it, there's always stuff in the basket even though I have a separate backpack changing bag.

We get all our groceries delivered and most of our non-food shopping too. One aspect that is a bit limiting is buying secondhand from places like Ebay - people don't want the hassle of delivering items and things like furniture are too big to collect without a car, and getting a taxi would negate the cost saving. But I've managed to transport some quite bulky items home on public transport, strapped to a little IKEA trolley!

I was car free with my DS when he was born, he is 10 now and we are still car free and have never had any issues. We live in a small town with a regular bus service. When he was little I would walk everywhere but did have a car seat on standby should I need one. When he got too big for the buggy (and yes get a small one you can fold easily if you are planning on using public transport) he would scooter while I walked, we are very lucky there is a rural safe track into the next large town.
When he was older both sets of grandparents bought a car seat for him so if they wanted to take him out for the day they could.
At the start I got loads of comments about “needing” a car but it’s fine and if there was a real emergency there are Ubers or an ambulance.

The sling and the lightweight buggy (like a yo-yo or maxicosi) are your friend. Also black cabs (if you have them where you live) can take buggies easily.