friday 22 september 2023 is WORLD car free day

No, I’m away this weekend. I didn’t know it even was World Car Free day tomorrow until I saw this thread - for me it would be called Carless day instead, as I can’t go anywhere without mine except for a walk in the countryside.

The local bus service is good where I live but doesn’t go anywhere near the allotment where I’ve been all morning.

Even if it did I don’t think my muddy boots and general Worzel Gummidge look would have been appreciated on the return journey. 😂

I think we'd be doing more for the environment by deciding not to buy items made in China.

I couldn’t agree more. If only it were easy to always detect them. I have just bought online a little Beatrix Potter cuddly toy for my granddaughter. Beautifully made but guess where the label says it was made. No mention of that on the website.

Yes, I can go car free.
Couldn’t afford an electric car, so happy to join in tomorrow

Yes, but only owing to circumstances.

Well someone forgot to mention it to King Charles! Apparently he had his private Bentley transported to France for his personal use during his and Camilla’s state visit. Don’t they have a suitable limousine in France? It just beggars belief how the entitled continually want us plebs to bear the brunt of inconveniences. It sure doesn’t affect their lifestyle choices!

And regards Chinese goods ... it is SO difficult to avoid the ‘Made in China’ labels isn’t it? I bought a TED BAKER bag as a present this summer and yep, you’ve guessed it.
😱
I was genuinely shocked.

I won’t need to use my car tomorrow as my various ploys are all village based, but DD and DSiL are arriving from Liverpool tomorrow evening - by car. The expensive alternative would be taxi to station, train and then £40 taxi this end, and return on Sunday. So hardly car free in any case. Until we all live in towns private cars will be essential. Here you need a car to access health care of any kind, so I doubt the car less world will happen soon.

Aveline

I think we'd be doing more for the environment by deciding not to buy items made in China.

Aveline one of my bugbears - even beautifully packaged 'British' goods with well-known names might be designed here, but made in China.

Read the small print!

I have to go on a 35 mile round trip to the hospital tomorrow just to collect medication because they will not post it or send it with other medication to the local hospital "in case it gets lost". And
So, do I take 2 hours of the day going by car or most of the day travelling by bus and risk missing the 30 minute slot when the pharmacist is there?
🤔
ps I didn't make the rules.

I didn't go anywhere on Wednesday, can that be my Friday?

Smileless2012

We only use ours 3 days a week at the most when at home and as Fridays are supermarket shopping days, we'll need ours tomorrow.

We'll try to combine our hospital trip with food shopping and a visit to B&Q for a necessary item.

I think that's allowed Callistemon

If I don’t use my car tomorrow my little grandson will need to stay at his nursery until Saturday morning. I don’t think he’d like that.

I work in a school five minutes’ walk away, so no car required. But 95% of the staff and a lot of children have no option but to get there by car.

I dearly wish that public transport could be improved and subsided in parallel to "improvements" in ecars and ebikes.
Can't some of the money we spend on fuel and taxes be funnelled into paying for an effective working infrastructure for our buses, trains and trams?

No from me.
Making 300 mile journey home tomorrow.
If I went home tonight or Saturday morning, will still have done same journey and used the same amount of fuel.
Emission would be the same.

Grammaretto

I think that's allowed Callistemon

Thanks Grammaretto

It's very annoying, though!!

We need carrots, not sticks.

Over the last 75 years everyday life has changed beyond belief and the landsape we live in, we do not just take a job because it is local, and stay working locally all our lives. We train for diverse careers work where we find a job, live where we can afford and may have 7 or more jobs in a working life. plus in most households all adults work, different jobs diffferent places.

Work places are not almost all in town centres or in huge 'works' offices are scattered everywhere, around the edges of towns, in dedicated industrial/ commercial estates.

Some research my DD had to do at work shows that the emissions from building each electric car are the equivalent of driving a petrol car 100,000 miles. It may well be far more environmentally benevolent to keep running a petrol car and only replace it when it becomes uneconomicand unreliable than to buy an electric vehicle, which because of their excess weight are much more damaging to our roads that petrol cars.

I think that's right M0nica but can't we cut down our car use?

I try to or share wherever possible.
Granted, carrying heavy loads, children and DGP is much easier in a car.

I have friends who have never owned a car or learned to drive yet managed to have high powered jobs, bring up a family and travel the world.
Anything is possible

Good post M0nica

No, I have to drive to meet my friend tommorow.