I'm helping to save the planet!

[Browser]

Had my car MOT'd today, and I've only done 3800 miles in it since last year. Previous years have seen 5500, 6500 and 8500 miles so I'm doing my bit for carbon emissions!
Lest see, I used to put £15 of fuel in and that did me for four shifts there and back, 8.5 miles x 8 = 68 miles. My mileage has gone down by 1700 in a year due to cycle commuting, 1700/68 = 25, 25 * 15 = £375 personal expenditure saved. Alright, I've shelled out for some cycling kit this year but it won't total that much, and I wasn't biking for all four shift until late in the year when I got the family mealtimes adjusted. So, I reckon I can save twice that this year, which means i no longer feel guilty about my planned £800-ish spend on a new bike for commuting

 

[snakehips]

Excellent. When I started cycling to work I didn't do that sort of calculation , but I realised that instead of buying petrol every week I could go for a month or more without doing so.
That gave me a great sense of satisfaction as well as a nicer feeling in the wallet.

Snake

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[numbnuts]

I can beat that last year 1146 and the year before 800

 

[JiMBR]

which means i no longer feel guilty about my planned £800-ish spend on a new bike

Buying a new bike...guilt...does not compute!

 

[Twenty Inch]

We could live without the car quite easily, but SWMBO likes to have it for weekends. We do about 5000 miles pa in it. It's been a useful learning opportunity as it is a 20 year-old MoT write-off Citroen BX that I brought back from the dead, but it's a luxury, without a doubt.

 

[dudi]

I think we do less than 3000 miles a year in ours. it's really just there for convenience at the weekend or when we occasionally venture the the hell market they call Tesco.

 

[BrumJim]

5,000 miles last year.

Would like it to be less, but I tend to drive around the country, e.g. for visits and holidays as the wife needs a door-to-door service and plenty of luggage space at the moment. Hopefully she will be able to walk longer distances soon.

 

[MacB]

Mine did about 600 miles last year, only 50 of those were work related, but I can work from home. Was a busy year domestically and trips to the tip, B&Q and as a child taxi service, probably accounted for most of the rest. I do worry a bit about the car though, as in, will it work ok, as most of the runs are short and it sits for days/weeks at a time. Plan is to reduce to one car, just sort of letting mine run down until it requires an expensive repair.

 

[The Eighth Man]

I have done more miles in my car in the last month because of the snow than I have for the rest of the year

 

[addictfreak]

Had my present car for 4 years now and have put 15000 miles on in that time (3750 per year) and that includes a trip to the Loire Valley!

Was a bit of an impulse purchase, fancied a convertible (mid life thing). But the thing is, when the weather is good enough to drop the roof, well thats the time I want to be out on the bike!

 

[Davidc]

I have done more miles in my car in the last month because of the snow than I have for the rest of the year

Not quite the same, but a huge increase in local mileage and decrease in bike mileage because of the weather, and we're due for thick snow again tonight.

BTW - The OP is misinformed - The planet can look after itself perfectly well, it's the humans you're helping to save!

 

[fossyant]

My mileage is down from 15-18k per year to about 2k....

 

[yashicamat]

I have to use my car for work unfortunately, plus the trip to university once a week for my day release is a bit far (36 miles on the motorways, so probably at least 40 on the non-motorways) and unpleasant (through Manchester / Wythenshaw / Salford / Eccles etc.). Add into that my weekends away for mountain biking / walking / camping etc. to Yorkshire, Wales, the Lakes, it all starts to build up and I end up doing about 13k per year anyway.

But it's nice to know that if the car goes kaputt, I can still get to work by bike without a worry.

 

[Browser]

BTW - The OP is misinformed - The planet can look after itself perfectly well, it's the humans you're helping to save!

Sod that, I don't want to save the humans, they're the problem! Save the planet and let the humans go to hell!

 

[chris__P]

total miles driven last year: 0

since i ditched the car a year ago i realised that i really have absolutely no need for one. trains and buses cover any long distance journeys. i fit my shopping in my panniers. my friends think i'm mad but i still dream of a world where everyone cycles everywhere. the roads are devoid of any vehicles except for hundreds of fit and happy people on bicycles, smiling and saying hello to one another in the sunshine.