anyone else not have a car?

[nailpolish]

just sold mine

feel liberated

most things i go to are within walking distance (paygroup half hr walk, same for shops/friends houses etc) and its fine in this summer weather, but im not sure how bad itll be in the winter - should i just get kitted out for the bad weather and still walk or should i get the bus

but im not sure how easy it is to get on a bus with a toddler, baby and buggy. the buses round here have conductors, and im sure most of them would help to get the buggy folded and onto the bus, but obviously im not going to rely on them, and i dont want other passengers tutting at me for taking ages.

any tips on buses and buggies? and im going to get a new buggy - whats the best one for one-handed folding?

sorry, bit of a ramble

i was really impressed with how smooth the maclaren was to push, mine is a cheapo toys r us, and there was a big difference i felt

Millets had lovely rainwear for kids last year including a Cath Kidston design!!! Great coloured wellies as well. I don't drive (although I am learning) so dd has to walk everywhere, she gets to school dry when its raining and the kids who come by car ending up getting soaked in the walk from the carpark to school.

do maclarens have good raincovers? my present ibe doesnt cover the hood

link{http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=66703&item=7700931821&rd=1\this is the one I brought from the same seller I think}

Somewhere said that mine does have a buggy strap. I would wait and see if mine ever arrives before you buy it, although it is also available in Argos.

my present one

i really must get to bed, i cnat type

Bugger whhhooops !

oohh that looks nice floss

YaYYYY!!! Another non-car person.

On the practical side, I think it all depends on how responsible your toddler is - ie can s/he be relied upon to stand nicely, not run into traffic, get onto the bus with minimal help. If so then you'll be totally fine. if not then do as I do - get cabs for difficult journey's. I live in a really expensive area for taxi's but tbh even if I took a cab most days it would be cheaper than running a car - parking, insurance, petrol etc.

Having said that, ds is now nearly four and dd is two and public transport gets easier by the day. Well done you - glad you feel liberated !

zippy - the taxis round here are £2 anywhere in the town! they are fab! but what do you do about carseats?

and i know what you mean about dd1 - but she is fab at standing at the roadside, very good girl, although its still a worry, and she does get a bit frightened by the traffic sometimes

We are carfree, too...

In my work (social science) I encounter a lot of expectations that not owning a car makes you a deprived person, which sometimes rather peeves me.

We cycle most places more than 1 mile away & hire cars for awkward journeys.
I have 3 under 6yo & sometimes it is a faff, if I'm honest with you. Mostly because the 5yo is quite lazy, but he does do cycling & walking. The 3yo sometimes has quite good days walking everywhere or riding her little car (she pushes it along). She did around 3 miles today.

A nice folding pushchair (McClaren is great) & a baby backpack would get me around on bus, train...

I have moments of weakness thinking we should get a car, but DH then will give me a little pep talk & I forget about it again. Has saved us a fortune not having a car or relying on one.

We too got rid of our car 2 yrs ago, and have never looked back. To move around DD aged nearly 4 and DS aged 18 months, we use buggy board, bikes with child seats when DH and I are out together, and we have a 2-seater child bike trailer which takes loads of shopping etc. Shopping deliveries help the process IMO. I strongly agree with getting a cab for awkward journeys, and now that DD is nearly 4 I use the adult seat belt for her with a clip to stop the belt crossing her face, plus a lightweight polystyrene car seat for DS. If you get the kind that are like a booster seat with a back, some come apart into 2 components which makes them easier to carry.
Would it suit you to use a backpack for the baby on the bus? Easier than holding & folding, surely?

We went for a year and a half without one. TBH, I found it awful. I still use buses to get to work b/c I work in town centre, but we drive everywhere else and I'm so glad of it, especially w/no. 2 on the way.

The bus drivers don't help you fold your buggy or get it on board. Only one unfolded buggy per bus, too, so if you wait ages on a bus and then it shows up and there's already a buggy in it, that's you waiting for another.

We took the bus up the town on Saturday, and it was so awful we'll never do that again.

The best buggy for folding I've found it Maclaren, but it's still a hassle especially if you've got shopping as well.

I don't drive so get around by walking. Luckily I live in a small city so everything is within walking distance. But not sure how I would cope if I had more than one child and also when ds is school age. We couldn't afford 2 cars anyway atm

We have no car either. If ds1(5) is with me I get the bus into town. If not then I walk there and put ds2 into his pushchair. The buses are pretty good because you can usually just push a buggy straight on but bus fares are very expensive here - almost £1.50 for a 10 minute bus ride.

Ihave 3 children and neither me or dh drive. Ikeep saying Iwill learn but am always putting it off - normally because of money. I WILL learn when DS starts nursery in 2 years.

DH's eye sight isn't good enough for him to learn, so it down to me.