If you choose not to drive you are a pain in the arse

[Ophir]

Always lifts, always expecting basically chauffeured

So everyone in cities are a pain in the arse? We live rurally so need to drive but I’d ditch the car in a heartbeat. I give lifts to people in work who are on the way but they don’t expect them, I think you’re mixing everyone up with the few people who do expect it

Nope! If I can't get somewhere under my own steam, I don't agree to go. If I get a lift, it's because someone has kindly offered. I never ask.

Always lifts, always expecting basically chauffeured

That may apply to people you know. Many of us who don't drive are perfectly capable of getting ourselves to where we want to go. It's what buses, trains, taxis and our own two feet are for.

Yup, I am a passenger princess.

What a really ignorant misconception OP.
I don't drive and I never ask people for lifts.
I use public transport.
If the people who drive every where got out of their cars a bit more it would benefit the environment and probably their health.

When I lived in a town I could walk everywhere or get a bus ,my husband drives & enjoyed doing so but we don't need the car so much now anyway. if I was offered I would accept lifts but never ask for one. I get distracted & panic behind the wheel, it's safer for everyone if I don't drive.

Same.
I'll take public transport, or get a cab if I can't walk.

I know several people like the people OP has described!

Bit of a generalisation there

This is for kicks isn’t it 😂

I love giving friends lifts, it’s a good time to catch up

I know one non-driver who expects lifts from his elderly father for a journey he could do by public transport plus a walk. I wish he wouldn't because his father is fatigued and has lapses of concentration made worse by the extra fatigue the driving causes.

A non-driving friend walks almost everywhere - 3 miles each way to work, 2 miles to the railway station or town centre. She's doing more good to her own health and less harm to the environment and road congestion than drivers like me!

She rarely asks for a lift - only if she knows I'm already driving in her direction, and it's over 4 miles or late at night, and then very apologetically. Yet she helps us out hugely with babysitting and she's a good friend. Let's not pretend that all (or even most) non-drivers are entitled or that they regularly inconvenience others.

This is not how it works for us at all. We chose not to drive initially because neither of us likes driving and we have - since the 1990s - organised our working lives, holidays etc. accordingly. We don't ask for lifts, we go to places by public transport, foot, cycle, taxi. If anyone offers a lift, the first thing I say is 'only of it's on your way'. However, generally speaking, people don't offer and I don't ask and would 100% never ask. I'm sorry to say that Mumsnet is one of the few places that people get judged for choosing not to drive. I've read many threads on here that allege that there is something selfish about not driving, that it's compulsory and necessary. I'm quite happy to continue saving a fortune and being car free.

I didn’t learn to drive until I was 26. Never had the need or the money to do it. We grew up without a car , my mum could drive but was left a widow at 33 with 2 young children and couldn’t afford To keep a car. So we were so used to getting buses everywhere we needed to go.

I don't drive. I can't think of any occasions where I have asked someone for a lift. People sometimes offer, sometimes I accept, other times I don't. At present I am recovering from gallbladder removal and I'm not supposed to lift anything heavy so I go to the supermarket each day and buy just a few things to carry home. I wouldn't dream of asking anyone to give me a lift - even though a neighbour did offer. If really necessary I use a taxi, otherwise I walk everywhere.

Begone with your judgemental post - and maybe be aware that not everyone is the same.

I haven't accepted a lift from anyone for over a decade. I'd rather rely on myself and use public transport or a taxi. But I'd never live anywhere outside of London zone 2 or another major city with excellent public transport (and decent culture). Most of the UK has pretty poor public transport.

I'm sorry to say that Mumsnet is one of the few places that people get judged for choosing not to drive. I've read many threads on here that allege that there is something selfish about not driving,

And many threads encouraging people to persevere with driving even when we'd all perhaps be safer if they didn't drive.

I'm 66. I'm conscious of the fact that I'm reaching the age when I won't be driving. There's no one that I can ask to give me lifts etc. As others have suggested, I'll be using public transport.

I do too. I find it so frustrating. And if I can’t pick them up/ drop off something they’ve asked me to pick up, somehow I’m the bad guy.

They don’t necessarily ask for lifts but make it difficult not to offer

And there’s no reciprocity for nights out, airport drop off, or things like click and collect or hospital appointments.

The dynamic is different. More parent/child than equal

I absolutely refuse airport drop and pick ups. We hire a car when we need to go to the airport.
I don't understand why people request non emerg lifts anywhere.

I get it. When I lived rurally and had a car, I was endlessly pestered by non-drivers for lifts, sometimes to hospital visits some distance away, sometimes to the supermarket for a big shop, sometimes in the evening because there were no buses and taxis were too expensive. Each person only asked a couple of times a month, but when a dozen people do that, it adds up to a lot of my time and my petrol.

Now I live in a city, no car, with amazing public transport, and have never asked for a lift. I don’t think people who have never driven realise what a pain it is to be expected to run a free taxi service for all and sundry. And I always appreciated the thoughtfulness of those who didn’t drive but didn’t ask.

I drive and have never driven to an airport. Public transport or a taxi is so much easier.

I know a few people who don’t drive and don’t recognise the constantly asking for lifts OP talks about. All the non-drivers I know just sort themselves out.

Idk the people I know who can’t drive have all failed their tests multiple times and I don’t really want people like that on the roads. Also people know not to ask me for a lift because the answer is no unless it’s a few people. Just say no and they’ll get the idea.