Living without owning an internal combustion engine

[Cyril Haearn]

Taxis go everywhere
Maybe you should move, what happens when you can no longer drive?

[reohn2]

Taxis go everywhere
Maybe you should move, what happens when you can no longer drive?

Maybe he doesn't want to move,maybe he likes to live his own life and not yours!

[horizon]

Without a car I could not visit my son who lives 100 miles away and there is no public transport.

(Warning: this is absolutely only a philosophical discussion!)

I suppose the point is that we build our lives around the availability of the car (or plane, or Skype, or train). The dependence follows.

It seems to me BTW that all the regular contributors on here are well able to stand proud on their minimal use of cars, whether or not they own one.

[Cyril Haearn]

I live in the country. We do not have a bus service. I sing in concerts around the county. My daughter lives some distance away. My wife struggles to use public transport.

I do use my bike or train+ bike for meetings. But if I were to give up my car (instead of 5k per annum) my life would come to an end in terms of what I can do.

The last statement might be an exaggeration
The money saved by not having a vehicle could fund a lot of taxi trips

To am not retired yet, plan to live on the edge of a small town, no need for a motor at all

Er, taxis use the internal combustion engine. And no, they are not available. I am not seeking to save money, it happens. I won't be telling anyone how to live their lives.

Without a car I could not visit my son who lives 100 miles away and there is no public transport.

Surely you are not suggesting I am (trying to) tell you what to do??!?!
You are 'old', what happens when you can no longer drive?
..
I really really would like an explanation of the phrase 'my life would come to an end in terms of what I can do'

[Cyril Haearn]

Taxis go everywhere
Maybe you should move, what happens when you can no longer drive?

Maybe he doesn't want to move,maybe he likes to live his own life and not yours!

Maybe he can answer for himself

I must admit to being very virtuous, donated my motor to recycling three weeks ago, the plan is never to own a vehicle again

[Oldjohnw]

Good for you. I intend to keep my car for about 20 years after which I will not replace it. Meanwhile, I am not entirely sure how I can live both near my daughter and my son, quite apart from being governor of two schools and director of a national charity. Like the man said, I will live my own life, using less and less natural resources and continuing to reduce my carbon footprint. Enjoying my bike is part of this, as is trying to eliminate plastic.

Incidentally, taxis don't go everywhere.

[reohn2]

Maybe he can answer for himself

Maybe he already did on the previous page

[Cyril Haearn]

Maybe he can answer for himself

Maybe he already did on the previous page

Maybe he takes too much notice of my opinions

[reohn2]

Too many maybe's,maybe.

[reohn2]

........(Warning: this is absolutely only a philosophical discussion!).....

Some philosophy.
Mrs R2's ears get blocked with wax on a regular basis due the medication she's on we are informed by the consultant.
There was a time when if your ears were blocked with wax you made an appointment at the GP's surgery,a five minute walk away and s/he flushed it out with warm water solution.
The GP doesn't do that anymore and you now have to make an appointment at the local NHS clinic 5 miles away,only snag is there's a 3month waiting list,we are told this a constant waiting time due to lack of staff,which is a two bus ride or 15 minutes in the car
So she now has it done privately at a clinic 12 miles away,this is an umpteen buses and who knows how man hours convoluted ride away or 35minutes in the car.
So as she no longer drives and can't walk very far or cycle we use the car.

What's the answer?

[horizon]

For some people, like the OP, the answer is to give up their car. But I've been trying to make two points, neither of which is aimed at anyone personally in this discussion:

1. There's little incentive to give up a car.
2. We build our lives (in a general sense) around the car as opposed to using the car to meet our needs. I'm just pointing out a paradox.

[cc1085]

I asked a question about the CHOICE of going car free which is a choice for most people on here I would imagine. After so many answers I thought today "What if I didn't have a choice"? There are millions of weary and downtrodden people around the World who don't. Instead I should consider myself lucky and get on with my life and stop bothering the great people on here with, on second thought, stupid questions that ultimately are irrelevant.
Thom

[feefee8]

It’s an interesting discussion for me. Horizon has raised quite a few points, mainly that we build our lives around having a car and I believe that’s true, certainly in our case. We decided to move 16 miles out of town and although I planned to cycle commute and found a very easy way to do this, my partner’s first thought would always be to take a car. He takes the car down to the end of the road for the bins - very very car-centric - and I have tried to get him away from this!

A one way taxi from Fort William to the house is £50, so that would be a no straight off. I’d prefer better public transport but I’ve been on the bus once, as I mostly take the bike! For me, more boat runs would be better and that has been put before the HC transport representative by me and several others.

Reducing car use for us is a reasonable short term aim. Longer term, I know what I’d like to be able to do.

[mjr]

........(Warning: this is absolutely only a philosophical discussion!).....

Some philosophy.
Mrs R2's ears get blocked with wax on a regular basis due the medication she's on we are informed by the consultant.
There was a time when if your ears were blocked with wax you made an appointment at the GP's surgery,a five minute walk away and s/he flushed it out with warm water solution.
The GP doesn't do that anymore and you now have to make an appointment at the local NHS clinic 5 miles away,only snag is there's a 3month waiting list,we are told this a constant waiting time due to lack of staff,which is a two bus ride or 15 minutes in the car
So she now has it done privately at a clinic 12 miles away,this is an umpteen buses and who knows how man hours convoluted ride away or 35minutes in the car.
So as she no longer drives and can't walk very far or cycle we use the car.

What's the answer?

Elect fewer cost cutting cocks. Publicise this stupidity to promote that solution to others. Surely one day our compatriots will realise that tax cuts aren't free?

[mjr]

Tell how to travel 30 rural miles in a northern winter without public transport.

In the words of the late great Freddy, get on your bikes and ride!

I realise that has drawbacks and limitations but winter isn't a prohibition and it's basically sound advice in general.