Accidentally car-free

[Smokin Joe]

I still enjoy driving. When I get my MX5 I'll enjoy it even more

 

[ColinJ]

I think if I did not work I would have the time to go care free. Certainly doubt I would enjoy it though.

Who doesn't enjoy being care free!

When I used to work 15 miles from home I travelled in with a colleague and give him a fuel contribution. When he wasn't available I used to go by bike, train or bus. I admit that was a bit of a pain in bad weather though!

I also admit that having mobility problems or young children to move around would make a car more desirable, but I know people who have children and are not fit, but who still do not drive. About half the people I know have not passed their driving test, and about 25% of the rest do not own a car - they just borrow or hire one when they really need one.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Indeed, but now we have bicycles. Look at Dave R, who goes for leisure rides 5 times longer than my total daily commute used to be (which I usually cycled).

In the majority of cases the barriers are nothing more than people's own objections and entrenched unwillingness to do anything other than sit in a car.

Before I retired I would be commuting every day then most Sundays I'd be out with the local cycle club doing events or leisure rides.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I was car-less for a few years but I had an e-bike or motorbike as back-up. I do miss being car-less but I only got a car recently to take my son places, as public transport doesn't always go where and when I need it. When I with with my wife though, we certainly didn't need 2 cars.

 

[Profpointy]

Can't help thinking that hiring a car is a lot more faff than it really needs to be. It's cheap enough, but what with all the form filling, being unable to take it back on (say) Sunday night, and all the rest makes it all slighlty too much hassle compared to owning one. And certainly too much hassle to hire one for an hour or two for a dump run, or to fetch andy carry heavy stuff.

Even with my (admittedly splendid) bangernomics old Saab, hiring as needed could well be as cheap or cheaper, but still...

A minor bit of unintended consequences is being unable to park a hire car in my residents' parking street yet being able to leave my own car in everyone's way 'cause it has a permit.

All excuses of course, but I have thought about it, but the hassle, rather than cost, of hiring is what puts me off

 

[CopperBrompton]

Can't help thinking that hiring a car is a lot more faff than it really needs to be. It's cheap enough, but what with all the form filling, being unable to take it back on (say) Sunday night, and all the rest makes it all slighlty too much hassle compared to owning one.

That's the beauty of Zipcar. Reserve one with the app, turn up, unlock it with the app (or membership card), drive, return it to the same spot (or a different one, with one-way hire), done. I haven't used it yet, but it's a good option to have in reserve.

 

[CopperBrompton]

I still enjoy driving. When I get my MX5 I'll enjoy it even more

The MX-5 is a fun car – had one for quite a few years. That was followed by a couple of Porsches which were more fun but rather more expensive to run ...

Even regularly used on the track, nothing ever broke on the MX-5.

 

[Profpointy]

That's the beauty of Zipcar. Reserve one with the app, turn up, unlock it with the app (or membership card), drive, return it to the same spot (or a different one, with one-way hire), done. I haven't used it yet, but it's a good option to have in reserve.

I might have another look at that. I recall it seeming expensive, but my memory may be hazy or wrong on that

 

[slowwww]

I had a similar debate with Mrs Slowwww. I need mine for work and do 15,000 miles a year, but she averages about 2,000 p.a., the majority of which is in 3 visits a year to her parents which is about a 400 mile round trip.

While hers is not an expensive car, with the running costs, tax, insurance, MOT etc, I pointed out that she'd be far better off hiring a car for the trips to her parents and for the rest of the time getting taxis, but no, apparently it's all about her independence.

 

[CopperBrompton]

I might have another look at that. I recall it seeming expensive, but my memory may be hazy or wrong on that

It's expensive if you need a car for a day, but cheaper if you need one for a few hours. It's also way less hassle than a short rental.

 

[Globalti]

Car free household?

No, my employer buys them and lets me drive them around.

 

[vickster]

No, my employer buys them and lets me drive them around.

Not the same as the OP then. Company car vs no car

 

[mjr]

Do you do all your shopping on your bicycle Drago? Probably not.

I live in a small village and do almost all my shopping by bicycle. There's a picture somewhere around here of one year's Christmas shopping when we had family coming over - two bikes with triple panniers full - I think it was before we had a trailer. Some heavier goods do get brought home by car when a car is driving past for other reasons (work trips are a frequent one) or delivered but we've not done that for a while.

I often don't even go to the two nearest supermarkets because I prefer the small shops further away and use the supermarkets near them to top up on cans and such. It's a great disappointment that our car-crazed borough council has pretty successfully driven the twice-weekly market off the historic market square so that they can use it as a car park every day - they've basically gone in the opposite direction to many northern Europe towns which have been removing the fugly car parks from their scenic market squares

It can be done. Another world is possible. However, it's not going to be as simple as just using a bike like/when you would have used a car (obviously - they don't go as fast, for starters). And some places will need a change of local government approach to enable/encourage it.

I didn't call it a necessity I merely said it was easier and more convenient, which it is, [...]

Indeed - and I'd agree with that, what with how our farked-up society currently operates - but someone else used the N word.

CanAll excuses of course, but I have thought about it, but the hassle, rather than cost, of hiring is what puts me off

Surely the hassle of hiring is much less than all the hassle of owning a car? Owning brings much insurance form-filling, including having to search and churn unless you want to be overcharged, then there's arranging its VED, MOTs and servicing and dealing with all the faults that crop up instead of just letting them know of its sounds of impending death when you hand it back. I'd be sorely tempted to switch to hiring if there was a car club near here to make half-day-or-less hires more practical (which I guess would also mean you only fill all the hire forms once or at worst once a year).

 

[Profpointy]

Surely the hassle of hiring is much less than all the hassle of owning a car? Owning brings much insurance form-filling, including having to search and churn unless you want to be overcharged, then there's arranging its VED, MOTs and servicing and dealing with all the faults that crop up instead of just letting them know of its sounds of impending death when you hand it back. I'd be sorely tempted to switch to hiring if there was a car club near here to make half-day-or-less hires more practical (which I guess would also mean you only fill all the hire forms once or at worst once a year).

Maybe, but then again, I guess my car goes to the garage once a year for MOT / Service, plus maybe a repair too if it's a bad year, plus an hour for a tyre change say. Each visit isn't really any more hassle than each and every time I need to hire one. Insurance / Tax etc are all online and auto-renew pretty much. Cost-wise, hiring might just about have the edge though.

 

[gavroche]

I concur. People survived and lived just fine before the car came along. Society has adapt3d in embrace the car, not the other way around.

In most cases the car is a convenience for lazy people, not essential.

Agreed but in the old days, they used a horse and cart. A car is just replacing that but faster, more comfortable and can cover greater distances.