Life without a car

I live on the outskirts of London and still drive locally. There is a fabulous bus service, the problem is the bus stop is about 6 minutes walk from my house and I have to have several stops to get there. I cannot carry much coming home.

I am aware my driving days are numbered and I dread that day.

But old cheap cars are old cheap carscars, whether they are ULEZ comliant or not and all cars need replaccing sooner or later - and this only applies to the very small group of drivers who need to go into the restricted areas of big cities.

For most people, whether, employed, self-employed or non-employed, they are never going to be driving in central London, so the need for a ULEZ compliant car is irrelevant - as it is in my case, however it means my car tax is only £30 a year and that is a saving on all the other higher rates.

but i'm talking about the many people who are just about managing to run an old car at the moment.
in the outer burbs and beyond many people need a car to get to work. i'm talking about low wage jobs, domiciliary careworkers, multi-drop delivery.
and with the enormous rising costs of fuel and energy, and food, they will be stuck. it's so unfair.

welbeck I have just bought a 10 year old car which is ULEZ compliant, there are plenty of them out there and increasing by the year.

Not that I ever drive mine in London or any where else where it matters. I paid reduced tax on my previous car, which was 20 yars old when it was written off, so that too met some emission reduction levels.

i think many more people with older vehicles will just give up if when the ULEZ is extended to the whole of greater London.
it's going to hit small traders too, and the poorest, who don't have the money to buy a compliant car.

since the start of lock down I have used my car much less - down from every day and doing 100 plus miles a week to just once a week and doing local trips. Im doing it because Im scared now of putting the miles on the clock due to money worries. Ive found the change relatively easy and I've found lots of new places within walking distance of my home to go to. I feel less stressed due to city driving too and Im saving money not just on petrol but because I am not going to places and spending silly money on eating out and impulse buying

I never learned to drive or owned a car. Always lived in big cities with good transport links and relied on taxis for necessary quick journeys. I rarely go out now except by taxi and have never had difficulty getting one.

I could easily do without a car most of the time, and I do - we have brilliant public transport here - but frequently going back and forth to dd’s 60 miles away, to help with childcare, would def. be an issue.

At the moment it takes me between 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 hours each way in the car - as long as it’s not in the rush hour.
Public transport would take a good 3 hours each way, even though there’s a relatively convenient way to get there.

It would have been even more of an issue when I used to visit my elderly mother 60 miles away in a different direction - a lot less easy by PT in that case.

Nannarose

I have 2 friends who manage very well without a car. They both live in areas with good public transport and plentiful taxis.
I have neither!
I have 2 pieces of advice:
1. If you are still OK to drive, then do so occasionally. Hire a car, or have yourself put on one of the family's car insurance and take it out for a spin. If you find yourself in need of a car, you've kept up your skills.
2. Get to know a local taxi firm and use them regularly. In many areas taxis get used for school escort work and are difficult to book at certain times. If they know you, they are more likely to be sympathetic.

Where I live it is almost impossible to get to a hospital appointment before about 10am because the buses have been cut (and the connections don't work) and the taxis aren't available. Thank goodness for the kind volunteer drivers.

Great advice re keeping up driving skills. I have many friends who hardly ever drive since their husband retired. And then they say 'oh in an emergency I could still drive if I had to' - which makes me shudder. The last thing you want to do in an emergency, is to have to drive, possibly at night, when you haven't done so for months and years.

Depends very much where you live and how good public transport is.

I don't have my own car anymore, I can walk to work and I didn't use it enough to justify the expense.

I do have access to the family car though and plan things around my husbands working hours

It rather depends where you live. In a town or city with facilities to hand and good public transport, it is probably not a problem, but if you live in a small town or large village or in a rural area and if there are some kinds of transport you cannot use then it is a problem.

I suffer from travel sickness on buses and cannot cycle because I have (and have always had) a poor sense of balance, which restricts my choices

Granny70 referred to taxis being cheap. Well, not in our neck of the woods. A taxi to the local station, 4 miles away costs between £15 and £20, one way, as does a trip to the GP surgery and the local supermarket. £30 - £40 for a round trip. It makes continuing to run a car worthwhile.

I think the decision to run car is going to be personal to every person. where they live, where they need to travel to, the availability and accessibility of local transport - and checkout local taxi prices!

I will drive as long as I safely can - very few buses, 7 miles to a mainline station and a social life in various local villages unlinked by anything but narrow country lanes. If we didn’t have a local habit of offering lifts a lot of people wouldn’t be able to be part of churches, WI, U3A, sports clubs etc. I hope this still operates when I can no longer drive.

I love driving, and wouldn’t give up my car for anything, it would be the last thing to go unless I was physically or mentally unable to drive. I want to choose when, where, and how I live, not be beholden to unreliable public transport systems. I’ve got a dog, and a son who needs lifts, family and friends to visit, stuff to buy, take to the tip and the charity shop, I want to shop in person not online, go to places that aren’t on bus routes, and out to Sunday and evening activities, etc. etc. Living in London and being forced to use the tube and buses crammed with people every day would be my worst nightmare. I’d think really hard before giving up all the benefits of having your own car GagaJo.

I suppose it depends upon how useful you find having a car.
Yes, they are expensive to keep, but I personally like the idea of it being there when I need it, without having to wait for buses, trains or taxis. We are all different, though, and only you know how much you’d miss or not miss having one.

Public transport is pretty poor in rural places like where I live in Somerset. Giving up my car is a no-no.

I have no desire to stop driving I enjoy it and it enables me to live the life I have always lived. I can see no reason to change it.

If I do have to stop then I will simply adapt to the new circumstances. In the mean time, it is drive on as normal.

I hung up my car keys two years ago when I moved house. The public transport where I live now is not great, but I have worked out the bus timetables and only live about 5 minutes from the town centre. I do not miss driving at all despite holding a driving licence for 58 years.

I might ved here to the Fylde coast from Yorkshire in January. I've still not had to fill the tank up yet, in fact, not sure where the nearest/best petrol station is.

I enjoy walking, and public transport here is good - but I can't take the dogs with me: one throws up in my car after 100 yds, I've never dared see if he's the same on a bus; and the other is big and old and three-legged, I don't think he could keep his balance.
When they cross the Bridge, I'll re-evaluate.

It’s one of the main reasons why I will remain in my suburb of London till I shuffle off ! I don’t drive, and my vision is really not good enough now anyway. If public transport was cheap and reliable more people would use it and I get so cross when areas are cut leaving people stranded . Most of my family have moved out to wilds of Norfolk and Suffolk . No public transport. I did try once when travelling to stay for a few days, to get the midday bus from the station to my daughter’s village and discovered that her village isn’t included on that midday bus except market day ! Only early morning and evening for the workers and some schools. I had to be rescued by them ..Taxis have to be booked days in advance .
My son and family are still local and fortunately have no intention of moving out . Difficult decision about getting rid of one’s car if there are no health problems but I think nowadays the cost will also play a large part on decisions if on a limited budget . I don’t ask for lifts although following my hip replacement, my Sis- IL has been amazing taking me to and from appointments. I’m now able to use the tubes and buses and have put money into her account for the astronomical cost of petrol .

rafichagran I am anothe precluded from using buses because I suffer from travel sickness. I live in a heavily populated, just about still, rural area.

I am amazed at the casual way people talk about using taxi's. Where I live a taxi to any of the three local towns, all 3 - 4 miles away will cost £15.00 each way. That is £30 to visit a friend, or shop.

Visiting either of our children by public transport requires either 3 trains and 2 taxis, or 2 trains and 3 taxis if we do not feel up to crossing London by tube. DH has breathing problems and could not cope with walking more than a few yards, if he had to trail a suitcase as well.

As I said, some people live in towns and have compact lives, and presumably no mobility problems and can manage very easily without a car. Other people's lives are more complex and their transport needs cannot be met just by jumping on a bus, or train from a local station.

Yes, GagaJo hasn't told us where they live.

But my own experience is that other than in very large towns & cities, public transport can quickly become sparse - and it seems that when it does that, it also becomes less reliable.
One of my carless friends lives in a large town with 2 universities, and had never given a second thought to using public transport. But last year the specific bus service she used to visit an elderly relative was axed. She now has to take 2 buses, it takes longer, so she has a little taste of how it can be!

Yes I dont think its possible to compare with regards to geography, I have just spent some time in London, the public transport there was honestly like being in a different country compared to the small NE village I live in.

I have a car, I dont need a car, but it is convenient, I use it for work, my big weekly shop, and collecting my Grandson from School one day a week, when not working as he lives about 8 miles away.
I have bus and train links, and a free transport for London pass, but I feel sick on buses, and do not like the smell.
I also have a adult son plus Grandchildren who live hundreds of miles from me, so I drive there.
I think it is personel choice.

It all depends where you live, what public transport is available, and your lifestyle.
I live in a small town with good bus and train services, but if I want to visit my daughter who live four miles away, there are no buses. If I want to visit my son, it would take about two hours, or 20 minutes by car.
Most of all, I use my car to go to my three choirs. Yes, there are others who could give me lifts, but I would not want to scrounge.
So I keep my car. It is 11 years old, but has only 38000 on the clock.