Want to sell my car in order to cycle

[Nigel]

Hi guys,

..........
Having no car does not faze me, as a matter of fact I actually enjoy my current 10 minute walk as part of my journey to work after getting off the bus. I live in Glasgow so there are quite a lot of cyclists etc as it is.
..........

One of my friends in Edinburgh gave up their car many years ago. She joined the city car-club which gives her access to a car (for an hourly fee) "now and then" for the odd trip when bike, bus, tram, and foot wouldn't work.

That may be all you need if something similar is available in your area. But as others have said, cars are part of a package of where you live and what you do. Some lives are going to be easier to arrange without owning a car than some others.

[S.1234]

Thank you for all your responses!

I live pretty close to Glasgow City Centre so it only takes about 20 minutes on a bus, then about a 10 minute walk to work (depending how fast I walk haha). I never have to wait too long on a bus. Usually only about 5/10 minutes at most. It is really easy. As I said in my post, I think it would take about half an hour to cycle to work if I chose that option. Only downside would be for getting my parents house. They live in another town so it would probably be about an hour or so on 2 buses.

Bus stops are basically at the end of my street and services are really regular. Plus at the other end of my street, there is a train station. As for shops, I have 2 supermarkets round the corner from me (a small Tesco and an Iceland) and then by 5 or 10 minute bus rides there are Lidl, Aldi and also Asda, plus an indoor shopping centre.

I have actually gone without a car before. Had an accident in 2018 (not my fault that time), I got injured and I thought I would give going without a car a go. That was in August 2018 and I done it until November 2019 when I got my current car. So I do believe it can be done.

I saw one of you saying about spammers. I am not one. Sorry! I just never had much time to come back on yesterday due to work etc haha.

[gbnz]

I am just looking for some advice.

If you're going carless, it is essential to ensure some NHS Hero declares you as being disabled, as it entitles you to a FOC bus pass/disabled rail card etc. I had a newly appointed, junior NHS Consultant diagnosis me as being unable to walk, over the phone to an A & E Dprt 26 months ago. Said consultant, had never met me, or spoken to me, it's still not clear why I was diagnosed as being unable to walk (Nb. I normally use a gym 4-5 occ's per week, cycle 150 weekly, routinely walk 40-50 miles weekly). It's great, as being "disabled" enables you to a FOC bus pass and disabled rail card

As a keen cyclist, hill & town walker and occasional runner, rather than having to carefully limit the 5-50-120 mile walk/ride outwards, it's quite possible now to walk/ride outwards, securely lock the bike up 10-100 miles away, grab any passing bus FOC, prior to returning the next day. Have to admit, that even when working in an appropriately renumerated professional role, I'd always baulk at the thought of paying £6-8 for a bus ticket!.

Obviously it's essential to avoid Dr's and the like, as even a medically qualified NHS Hero may notice that someone can walk But as I have no medical qualifications, obviously I couldn't possibly suggest that I can walk (Nb. How have I worn out four pairs of lightweight, summer walkingb boots since mid summer 2018?). As ever, it's essential we continue to support our NHS Heros' never question their competence

[Vorpal]

There are lots of reasons not to get everything delivered. And there are good reasons to go into shops. But there is no actual need to go shopping IMV.

It depends what you are shopping for. Food, and most household goods can be delivered. I cannot buy shoes or clothes on-line. Well, clothes, I maybe could, if I didn't mind looking like I was wearing potato sacks or something all the time.

My feet and body proportions are not very average, so I have to try stuff on. And usually, I have to try a lot of stuff on to find just one item that fits. I have sometimes spent two or three hours trying on shoes in different shops, and gone away without buying anything because I couldn't find anything that fit. This varies somewhat between does not fit:
= I cannot wear it without pain
and
= not comfortable enough to spend £150 on a pair
because usually what happens is that in any given shop, I start at the lower end of cost and work my way up. The longer I have been trying to find something and/or the more urgent my need is, the higher I am willing to go up the cost scale.

I have similar problems with clothing, complicated by the fact that clothing manufacturers seem to design clothes for women who are either unrealistically skinny, or shaped like mannequins. Everyone else get the same stuff, scaled up, and if it doesn't suit your body shape, tough luck.

Spending more money seems to have less effect with clothes.

[alexnharvey]

Whilst I applaud the idea in general and lived without owning a personal car and using a carsharing service instead for a few years, I wonder if another option would be to consider further driver training to improve your skills, e.g. Institute of Advanced Motoring.
It might give side benefits such as improving your evaluation of past accidents and your responsibility for these occurring. You might still decide you don't need to own a car, but your action would be motivated by your values rather than avoidance of your fears.

[Vorpal]

Thank you for all your responses!

I live pretty close to Glasgow City Centre so it only takes about 20 minutes on a bus, then about a 10 minute walk to work (depending how fast I walk haha). I never have to wait too long on a bus. Usually only about 5/10 minutes at most. It is really easy. As I said in my post, I think it would take about half an hour to cycle to work if I chose that option. Only downside would be for getting my parents house. They live in another town so it would probably be about an hour or so on 2 buses.

Bus stops are basically at the end of my street and services are really regular. Plus at the other end of my street, there is a train station. As for shops, I have 2 supermarkets round the corner from me (a small Tesco and an Iceland) and then by 5 or 10 minute bus rides there are Lidl, Aldi and also Asda, plus an indoor shopping centre.

I have actually gone without a car before. Had an accident in 2018 (not my fault that time), I got injured and I thought I would give going without a car a go. That was in August 2018 and I done it until November 2019 when I got my current car. So I do believe it can be done.

I think that it is good to do without a car, if you can. It sounds like your situation suits doing so, and I wouldn't worry about what other people think.

You might be able to do some things hiring a car, or using a car share scheme. But if you also want to give up driving, you will need to know that you have alternatives for everything you want to do.

That said, if you get used to getting around by bike, you will find that there is very little that you cannot do or get to by bike. Some things do take more effort than others, however. A cargo bike is much less expensive than a car, and can haul pretty much everything that a car can, up to and including gardening supplies and white goods. Personally, I wouldn't try to a fridge home with a bike, unless it was to prove a point. It's much easier to get the fridge delivered. I have, however, used my bike & trailer to haul gardening supplies and cat litter on many occasions.

Where I used to work, was about 45 minutes driving and 2.5 - 3 hours from home by public transport (bus + train), but I could do it by bike in under 2 hours. You haven't said how far away your parents are, but you can likely work your way up to that sort of distance by bike, if you want to, and can work out a route a that you are happy with.

[Oldjohnw]

Supermarkets generally don't sell let alone deliver organic meat. Certainly not local meat and vegetables. We are fortunate having a butcher who started deliveries this year and we have a veg box. But this is not universally available. And it costs.

[Carlton green]

Welcome.

There's a relevant recent thread... I'll try and find it.

Jonathan

I think it might be this one: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=142769

Most things have been said to the OP already but maybe these points either haven’t or have escaped my casual scan through of the thread. Perhaps that (such points) is because this is a cycling forum and some details are taken for granted. Details that are not successfully negotiated by everybody who tries, and the voices of those who (despite their best efforts) failed are not heard here.

1) Cycling requires that you have a suitable bike, that it is well maintained and that it is set-up for you to ride. Many people end up not riding because they fail on one or more of those simple points, those points can actually be hard to achieve.

2) Cycling requires a degree of physical fitness, some of it Cycling specific, which can take a while to arrive and is important to retain. If you are injured, sick or exhausted then you might still be able to drive but be unable to manage to cycle - it is important to take good care of yourself. Cycling, when you do not have alternative transport, is also an all weather activity; so if the weather is foul you might still need to go out in it.

3) Cycling is not an unskilled activity, learning how to handling a bike safely and efficiently can take time.

As a young man I had no alternative but to be car-less and didn’t have the luxury of good public transport and on-line shopping - mail order was a help. Like many others I survived, but being without a car really impeded what I was able to do in my particular circumstances at that time. So whilst being car-less was possible for me it was not without adverse consequences; YMMV, etc.

If I were to think about going car-less by choice then my start point would be to draw up a list of the journeys that my car is and has been used for and then to decide how to complete those journeys, or satisfy the reasons for those journeys, without a car of my own. Each of us has our own particular set of circumstances, however such a list might be a useful start point towards deciding what is practical in our own current circumstances; to an extent that list might also enable us to consider what might become practical (or not) at some future point. Looking past the present and near future you might also think about your mid and longer term aspirations and anticipated needs, how likely they are to become realities and how being without a car might effect them. Considering how you might work around issues and what you’re willing to forgo to have the up-sides of not having a car seems a smart move to me.

Good luck to the OP with the decision and the decision making process.

[pwa]

I wonder if the OP should first address any issues with driving by having a few lessons / assessments with a good driving instructor to restore confidence and address any deficiencies, then look at getting rid of the car from the position of someone who has a choice. Going carless is often viable if you live and work in a city, so that could still be a good route to go down. But having the ability and confidence to drive safely could still be handy.

[Psamathe]

From a wider environmental perspective I think that going carless has a greater benefit than one less car and its pollution. It helps send the message that you can manage without a car. when thread like this appear across various forums there will be more responses along the lines of "I've managed for ... years", more hints and advice on how to deal with the rare needs, more experiences with alternatives.

Ian

[Carlton green]

From a wider environmental perspective I think that going carless has a greater benefit than one less car and its pollution. It helps send the message that you can manage without a car. when thread like this appear across various forums there will be more responses along the lines of "I've managed for ... years", more hints and advice on how to deal with the rare needs, more experiences with alternatives.

Ian

Yes, agreed. I had some doubts about whether the OP would return or not but still regarded the thread as helpful to the wider community on this forum. The airing and sharing of problems and solutions can but be helpful. Of course circumstances vary and some people will (genuinely) find some issues insoluble. IMHO helping other people to be greener is time well spent and likewise looking at ways to become greener ourselves is good. Hopefully this thread and others like it are a record that can help future readers looking for assistance.

[CathM]

Mr Cath M (not his real name) and I sold our car late in 2019. We had reduced our mileage to such an extent that it wasn’t worth keeping. We did jot down a list of things we couldn’t do, or could only do with difficulty, without a car, but in the grand scheme of things they simply weren't important. With the proceeds of the sale we bought a Brompton each (I was lucky to find an almost unused second-hand one locally) and a second-hand cargo trailer to use with our other bikes. Our plan was to do lots of jaunts with the Bromptons with bus or train assistance, but that hasn’t been possible this year, for obvious reasons. The trailer’s been great for occasional load-carrying. The relief of not having the responsibility of a car has been tremendous – at first I would look out of the front window and not be able to help smiling at the empty space where it used to be. Perhaps a folding bike would be useful if you could combine that with public transport to visit your parents?

As a student in the 1980s I used to cycle from the suburbs of Glasgow along Maryhill Road to Glasgow University and enjoyed the ride, despite, or perhaps even because of, the feeling (then) that I was regarded as the lowest form of life on the road - I didn't encounter many others on bikes. There is far more provision for bikes generally now in Glasgow than there used to be, as well as many more cyclists, although I haven’t lived there for decades and have only cycled through occasionally as a visitor. There have been big chunks of my adult life when I’ve lived without a car, especially in cities (I’ve been a cycle commuter in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Aberdeen and briefly in London), and I’m always happier without one. I’d say go for it - you might even inspire some of your friends to do likewise!

[iandusud]

We need a car. Maybe a taxi would do it for us, but it's cheaper to own a car.

I don't doubt that for you in your situation that is the case. For us I calculated the cost of running our car at around £1000 P.A. not including fuel, i.e. the cost of owning it before using it.

Not including fuel, for us is half that. That includes Toyota servicing and MOTs.

Out of interest how does that break down: Insurance, VED, tyres and other normal servicing and depreciation?

[irc]

Why own a car if you don't need to or want to. I bike commuted in Glasgow for years - the north side - there are plenty good routes and a few roads I avoided.

Parking the bike safely at work is the big thing for me. I had secure parking. If not I suggest parking in a busy place with a massive chain and padlock and leave the lock at work.

Be visible. I had two front lights and three back lights. I wore a rucsac with a large reflective patch on the back. Scotchlite Spoke reflectors help as well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Salzmann-Refle ... tandard/dp. B07QC1BBHV

If you need any suggestions for good routes ask away. Depending the start and finish points there is usually a good combination of back roads and canal towpaths etc. Main roads with bus/cycle lanes are good as well and often the shortest route.

[iandusud]

I'm actually pleased to not have the car today. Heavy snow and the roads were carnage with cars unable to get up the hills. This was my commute