Living life without a car

[cyberknight]

We have a 10 year old megane scenic that has no HP /loan etc so i am keeping it as the MRs is not into cycling , when i do need to get to work on the odd occasion that i do not want /cannot cycle their is no public transport to where i work and sprog number 2 is on the way so for me a car is an essential item as by the time the mrs has waited for a bus , dragged 2 kids on /off bus, paid the exorbitant rate that the bus charges she may as well drive to town and pay for parking as it works out cheaper !.
Insurance is low as mrs CK is the main driver and has full no claims so for both of us fully comp it is under £300 a year .

 

[Arch]

I expect one day I'll have to learn to drive.

I may not have a car at the moment, but I think it's a skill worth having. Even if you don't use it from week to week, you have the option, in an emergency, or to open up job chances. Although just passing the test and not dirivng isn't a great way to hone the skill.

However, being a cyclist does give you the roadcraft you need, and hopefully the judgement. It's the mechanics you need to keep practising.

 

[al78]

I have been tempted to get rid of my car, as I seem to be doing less than 1000 miles per year in it now. The only things that stop me are 1) fatigue issues with doing a hilly 19 mile round trip to work day in day out (I don't want to end up with a life that consists purely of work, eat,sleep,repeat); 2) Those very occasional journeys where using a bike is either difficult, uncomfortable or impossible; c) if I'm on the dating scene, would women think less of me if I don't have a car.

 

[ufkacbln]

Is there the equivilant of the AA for bikes?

ETA

I took this out many when I was younger and travelling in the west country. I only once used these guys when someone superglued the lock on the Trice.. filling out the forms was fun as I got a full breakdown van, and the forms were full of questions like "automatic or manual gear change?"

Personally I find that there is little that I cannot deal with by the road (I am going to regret saying that!), so as I became more experienced I gave up on the ETA policy and cover myself

 

[asterix]

Yesterday I drove 40km to Limoges. When I reached the city I suddenly realised that for my entire journey there had been no vehicle behind me nor anyone in front.

There's definitely been a fall off in car use round here. I hadn't driven anywhere for a week, myself.

 

[ColinJ]

I have been tempted to get rid of my car, as I seem to be doing less than 1000 miles per year in it now. The only things that stop me are 1) fatigue issues with doing a hilly 19 mile round trip to work day in day out (I don't want to end up with a life that consists purely of work, eat,sleep,repeat); 2) Those very occasional journeys where using a bike is either difficult, uncomfortable or impossible; c) if I'm on the dating scene, would women think less of me if I don't have a car.

You are not doing much driving now, so you are not avoiding much fatigue by owning a car. You could always use public transport or perhaps get a lift on days that you don't want to drive.

For occasional driving, hire a vehicle. I went to Scotland for a week recently with a friend and we hired a Ford Transit Connect van for only £150 (+ £35 to reduce the insurance excess to £50).

Yes, some women would see the lack of a car as a negative, but there are others who would admire you for it! Would you really want to date a woman who thought less of you because of what you did or didn't own?

 

[400bhp]

I'm getting rid of my car at the end of the week. I am doing less than 2k miles p.a in it. An educated guess is that it costs me £300 p.m.

We have a 2 year old and my wife has a car and live in the suburbs. I believe I should manage without one as;

-cycle to work about 3 days out of 5

- excellent transport links to work (tram 15 min walk away )

- good public transport within walking distance (train station 20 min walk & good bis routes 5 min walk)

-Europcar rental 10 mins walk (looking online i see I can rent a small car for £30 for weekend)

-having a 2 yo means I find myself less in a rush. I look after my daughter 2 nights a week and on sat whilst wife works and I am not fussed about getting from a to b in the quickest time possible as the journey is part of the fun.

-As one of us needs to be with her then its likely that my wifes car is free. Plus the fact that she is at an age when she doesn't need to be ferried to places.

I will miss my car as I am a petrolhead as well as a pedalhead

 

[blockend]

Rural area, v.hilly, two kids who do sport (plenty of home and away games), giving up a car would mean big lifestyle changes, and not just for myself. I dislike cars and driving and would abandon it tomorrow but that would be rather selfish.
There's a difference between not owning a car and having no access to one - wife, parent, friend - for runs to Ikea, the tip, big shopping, emergencies.

 

[Jezston]

Yes, some women would see the lack of a car as a negative, but there are others who would admire you for it! Would you really want to date a woman who thought less of you because of what you did or didn't own?

I can understand in the past not driving may have been as a sign of being unsucessful and a poor prospect, but nowadays - any woman who would be less interested in me due to my lack of automotive transport would not be the type I'd be interested in.

 

[tyred]

The advantage of having a car to take a girl out in is that you can "break down" in the middle of no where late at night and ...

 

[Smokin Joe]

The advantage of having a car to take a girl out in is that you can "break down" in the middle of no where late at night and ...

Only a complete swine would do that...

 

[ColinJ]

The advantage of having a car to take a girl out in is that you can "break down" in the middle of no where late at night and ...

Well, you could always 'arrange' for the chain to fall off your tandem ...

 

[Amanda P]

We still have several cars - but here's the thing: I've thought about this and realised that we only use them for pleasure.

We don't drive to work. We rarely drive to town - we usually cycle, and haul our shopping back the ten (mostly) flat miles on a trailer. Yes, we enjoy that. We live ten miles fromYork. There's a village shop, but it's only open when we're working, so shopping requires planning and thinking ahead.

What this means is that when we drive (mostly evenings and occasional weekends, to rehearsals, gigs and so forth), it's actually enjoyable.

At times when I've driven every day, to work or at work, it becomes a chore. Driving for something recreational in the evening is just another chore too.

But when you haven't driven all week, the odd weekend trip becomes enjoyable again.

I reckon we've got the best of both worlds - and while this comes at a price, it's a rather more affordable price than being absolutely dependent on a car for everything, as so many rural dwellers are.

 

[tyred]

We still have several cars - but here's the thing: I've thought about this and realised that we only use them for pleasure.

We don't drive to work. We rarely drive to town - we usually cycle, and haul our shopping back the ten (mostly) flat miles on a trailer. Yes, we enjoy that. We live ten miles fromYork. There's a village shop, but it's only open when we're working, so shopping requires planning and thinking ahead.

What this means is that when we drive (mostly evenings and occasional weekends, to rehearsals, gigs and so forth), it's actually enjoyable.

At times when I've driven every day, to work or at work, it becomes a chore. Driving for something recreational in the evening is just another chore too.

But when you haven't driven all week, the odd weekend trip becomes enjoyable again.

I reckon we've got the best of both worlds - and while this comes at a price, it's a rather more affordable price than being absolutely dependent on a car for everything, as so many rural dwellers are.

I agree completely and that is what I aim for. I made a new years resolution that I wouldn't drive anything less than 10 miles and once the snow was out of the way, I have stuck to it so far. It's probably better for the car too as any journey is long enough to get the engine warmed up properly and into it's efficiency cycle.

 

[upsidedown]

We have one car that does 4 miles a day to other half's work and back. Once a month we drive to the supermarket to get non-fresh stuff. I got an Xtracycle on the C2W and use that for the rest of the shopping, it's amazing what you can fit in it.