I miss the car!

[Leedsbusdriver]

True, but why would I drive to Temple Green to get a bus into Leeds when I can get a bus into Leeds from just down the street?

Plus Bus, now there's a thing - I've tried twice to buy a train ticket with Plus Bus from the station and been told it isn't allowed for journeys within West Yorkshire - although I can find nothing on the web to confirm that...

I suppose it's all about the time it takes you drive to the park and ride plus the journey once on the park and ride bus (about 12-15 mins to Boar Lane)versus the bus journey from your street to town which may or may not compare favourably.As for Plus Bus,looking at the website it say valid in all West Yorkshire.

 

[welsh dragon]

Broomsticks are brilliant for cutting through traffic jams aren't they?

It would probably cheaper to run than my car.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

[QUOTE 4891886, member: 9609"]sadly society has been built around the car, the result being living without one would be very restrictive. And I can't see it changing any time soon as the vast majority are totally obsessed with the dam things, in fact society may be on the verge of going into some sort of financial meltdown as many spend money they don't have to purchase cars that are more compatible with their i-phones. bizarre but true.

We couldn't cope where we live in our idyllic country surroundings without a car, i don't think we need two cars and a van though, esp since we're both retired [/QUOTE]
I now work 120 miles away from where I live although I stay just a few miles from my work during the week - if I have a meeting in Edinburgh it is easier and less costly for me (and the public purse) to drive home to the Borders the night before, then get the train from Tweedbank to Edinburgh than it would be to drive on the day, pay parking, etc.

If I was to try to get to Edinburgh for a morning meeting from where I stay during the week it would mean I had to leave the night before, an hour on the bus, 2 hours on the train, an overnight hotel...

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

[QUOTE 4891898, member: 76"]Would they see that as a bad thing though? [/QUOTE]
Probably not. They keep hiding my car keys.

 

[ColinJ]

I like to think I cycle "everywhere". Well, I don't drive, so it's that walk or the bus. Or so I tell myself
I hadn't really considered just how many lifts I get with Mr6. Until now.
He's hurt his hand, minor fall off the bike, and has been in a cast for a couple of weeks now and we've a few more to go. And I am sick of walking or biking or getting the bus!!!
Weekly shop now has to be done online for delivery. If we forget anything, run out, or just fancy a treat I have to go for it. Not to mention it's costing much more to be shopping in tesco rather than good old Lidl.
Sundays we usually go out for breakfast, so that's out.
I need to go to the garden centre. And fair enough I can get there - 30 mins on the bike or 50 on the bus!! But I can't bring two large planters and a couple of bags of stones home. And, yes, I can get a lift from a friend, but I don't really want to have to ask, unless it's absolutely essential. And I can't go round all three and then decide what I really want to buy.
The summer's going to be a right off. Normally we'd chuck together a picnic and bomb out to the lakes or the beach, but £20 of petrol is affordable, and an hour or two drive reasonable, going by public transport triples the cost and the journey time. Not to mention a lot of places we go to aren't on a bus route.
I used to think we could be car free, but I've realised we can't.
How do those who genuinely are without a car actually manage?

I never learned to drive and even if I had, I wouldn't be able to afford to drive now.

Access to other places? I choose to live in a town with direct rail access to Manchester, Rochdale, Halifax, Bradford, Leeds, Blackburn, Burnley, Preston etc. I don't bother going to those places more than a few times a year except on the way to somewhere else but when I do go to them I go by train. (There are also buses but they cost more than the train and are slower)

Weekly shop? I live alone so I only shop for one plus occasional guests. I don't do a weekly shop, I do a smaller shop most days. My house is about 1 km from the local Lidl, Morrisons and One Stop. We will probably be getting an Aldi soon too. I either walk or cycle to the shops and have no problem carrying up to about 10 kgs of shopping on my back in a big rucksack. Most of the time I am carrying less than 5 kgs. (I don't buy 50+ kgs of general shopping a week!)

Shopping for larger items? I buy most of them online. If I absolutely had to go shopping for big items, I would either ask someone for a lift, or go to the store to choose the item and get it delivered.

Need to go to garden centre? Strictly speaking, you don't need to go - you want to go! Most places will deliver anyway. A friend of mine isn't really more than an occasional cyclist but she has cycled to our local garden centre to buy things weighing up to about 5 or 6 kgs and carried them home on the rack on her bike. She also has one of those shopping trolley bags so she can go to the garden centre by train or bus and carry (say) 10 kgs in that and another 5 kgs or so in her rucksack. And friends/family offer lifts when they are going to these places.

Spontaneous holidays or day trips? Local trips are possible using the local trains and buses. There are lots of them. Spontaneous trips to more distant places [CORRECTION] are difficult because they often require significant advance planning. I am going on 5 day cycling holiday in August with my aforementioned friend. We booked the accommodation weeks in advance and have worked out what trains we need to catch with our bikes. We save money by buying tickets in advance, and I have a Senior Railcard which gives me an extra 1/3 off.

Trips to lakes and beach are off? EASY trips to lakes and beach are off - you could actually cycle to anywhere in Cumbria from anywhere else in Cumbria (and back) in a day, though it might well be pretty strenuous! You could just choose to go to more local beauty spots instead. I have done day trips to the South Lakes from West Yorkshire. I have also done day trips to the Yorkshire Dales, the Forest of Bowland, the Vale of York, the East Yorkshire coast. the Peak District, and the North Wales coast either by bike or by a combination of bike and train.

To put it more simply - the secret of being car-free: be flexible in where you choose to live and adapt your expectations to what is practical from there. You could do that, but you just don't want to do it; fair enough!

 

[screenman]

I think it easier for a single person who does not work to be car free than the average family person out of the house 9 or 10 hours a day working, regardless of where they live. None of the car less people I know and there are a few have a job.

 

[Drago]

I don't think its as hard as many car users make out. The average car journey is very short indeed, the average commute not much longer. Not in all cases, but in very many the objections are far from insurmountable.

Its the convenience that most people like, not the imperative.

 

[screenman]

I don't think its as hard as many car users make out. The average car journey is very short indeed, the average commute not much longer. Not in all cases, but in very many the objections are far from insurmountable.

Its the convenience that most people like, not the imperative.

Says somebody who does not go to work

 

[Drago]

My last 9 years at work I commuted the 16 miles round trip by bike from the village, 20 miles when I was living in the next village along.

Retired, but still living in a village.

Aside from when my eldest daughter had an operation on her foot, I have never driven a car to school. As a consequence I've ingrained it into my sprogs, and 2 of my 3 adult children drive very sparingly, and the third not at all, preferring to get about on her cruiser bike with kiddie trailer.

The last decade I've done under 1500 miles between MOTs, and most of that was SAR callouts. Indeed the SAR callouts are the only reason I hang on to the car at all, as it doesn't get used for anything else.

Mrs D qualifies for a free bus pass, although isn't always well enough to use public transport. Currently investigating whether I might qualify for a freebie myself as her carer.

 

[Sandra6]

Thank you @ColinJ for a well thought out counter argument. And I agree it's all about where you choose to live, given the choice I'd be quite happy in hebden bridge .
As for cycling to the lakes, I could probably make it to keswick but it'd be beyond me to ride home again, and there's no way my youngest two could do it.
And our camping trips are definitely off because the tent is too damn heavy to carry!!
@User46386 the car is very much mr6's, he pays for it. Funnily enough he also pays for the house but I consider that mine.
I think I'm just feeling inconvenienced and put out, but I'm sure we'll manage, the garden might just have to wait.

 

[oldwheels]

You cannot always choose where to live. I moved to my present location for work reasons and then we started s business which could not relocate easily. I am now retired and on my own but could not afford to move to anywhere else I would wish to live. Besides there is family ,medical services etc to consider. I still have 2 vehicles as the bus service here is mainly for tourists. Does not make financial sense but one vehicle is a motorhome which I use for fixed centre cycle touring. I would prefer to tour moving on daily but age is getting to me and I doubt this is now possible.

 

[Sandra6]

I think it easier for a single person who does not work to be car free than the average family person out of the house 9 or 10 hours a day working, regardless of where they live. None of the car less people I know and there are a few have a job.

Although we both cycle to work - or did - it was definitely easier to pick up shopping and run errands without the car when I was part time

 

[Drago]

Of course, the shops now deliver. Can't remember the last time we went to a supermarket.

 

[fossyant]

I changed jobs 10 years ago as I'd spent a good 10 years driving 60 mile round trips to work and business miles. Got back into cycle commuting and hardly used the car. It wasn't happy as it was doing short shop trips and just weekly runs into Wales and started to run rough at times.

Unfortunately due to a nasty accident commuting on the bike I'm back in the car. Its running fine. So glad I kept it.

I have a spare commuting bike and two road bikes I'm not using now.

 

[Julia9054]

Often thought about getting rid of my car (my partner has one too) as i only drive it a couple of times a week. I do like the security blanket of it being there in case i don't feel like cycling due to illness/weather/tired etc
I like the freedom and independence of not having to forward plan and negotiate with partner about who needs the car most etc.