This post is a bit different to my normal travel related ones, but as it’s on the theme of transport and getting around I think it’s still related in some ways. Recently we decided to get rid of our car, which we’d owned for nineteen years and had given us good, reliable service throughout that time. I decided to write about why we made this choice as I know how many people find the concept of going car free inconceivable, and I wanted to show how this is a valid option for our particular lifestyle. I’d like to emphasise that I’m not anti car (although not personally a fan of cars myself) and we are lucky to be able to do this, I fully appreciate that to many people a car is a necessity due to health conditions, lack of alternatives where they live or simply because they love driving. I can certainly understand driving being a pleasure in a place with wide open roads, but the reality in built up areas of the UK isn’t so much fun given the congestion and parking difficulties.
When our children were small we used the car a bit more, although still not very frequently, but found in recent years that there are very few journeys where it was necessary. We live within a mile of a large town centre and have always walked to everything we need here – shops, restaurants, railway station, sports facilities etc. The public transport in our town is fantastic as we have plenty of bus services, one of which is 24 hours and runs every few minutes during the day, the very recent arrival of hydrogen buses has made it an even more environmentally friendly option. These buses are always busy even in the middle of the night which shows that if you provide a good service people will use it.
When going further afield we have two stations within walking distance for a variety of train services to London and further north, or down to the south coast, and for international trips our quickest options are either the aforementioned bus to Gatwick or a train directly to St Pancras International for Eurostar. We have a busy lifestyle and our family need to get to a job in the business district near Gatwick and an early morning job at the airport itself, as well as two different schools, regular gym sessions, shopping trips, café visits, meals out etc. Also frequent trips both around the UK and abroad. All of this is easy achieved without a car. But what about the weekly supermarket shopping trip that is often used as an example of why a car is necessary? Well I’ve been ordering groceries to be delivered at home since my eldest daughter was a baby (she is now an adult) as it’s a much easier option, I personally don’t see the attraction of battling with a trolley, loading up the car etc when it can be ordered from the comfort of home. I get a few top up items when I’m out and about which are easy to carry, and that’s enough of a shopping experience for me.
Cycling is also an option but not one we feel is necessary for us at the moment, as we can walk where we need to. It was wonderful on our recent trip to Copenhagen and Malmö to see how popular bicycles of all types are there, with extensive infrastructure built for them and a culture that doesn’t just revolve around the car.
What about those occasions where a car is the only option? For us I can narrow these down to journeys to places where there are no other transport options, for example the middle of the countryside, and when needing to transport something large eg taking old furniture to the tip. For the first of these occasions it would be quite rare to find ourselves in that position – we tend to go to towns and cities rather than rural areas, and there are plenty of beautiful outdoor attractions within walking distance of railway stations or bus routes should we want to do so. When it comes to disposing of big items, there are various ways of doing that. I’ve found a very good local service that collects anything made of metal or electrical items (old TV’s etc) for free. If we needed to dispose of for example a sofa, I would just pay the local council to come and take it away for around £30 (and very large items would never have fit in the car anyway). And of course there are always taxis for times where you really do want to go by car, although this would be very rare for us.
Financially we are going to make a big saving without the annual cost of car tax, MOT and service, insurance, breakdown cover etc, and that’s before you’ve even paid for any petrol. It’s just another thing to worry about. If we needed to get the occasional taxi or even hire a car, that would be a tiny fraction of this cost. It’s not that we can’t afford to have a car, but would rather put that money towards more fun things like travel or some nice meals out!
I also think that walking and using public transport helps children learn to become independent, as they get used to finding their way to places on their own rather than becoming reliant on being ferried around by car, again this is only valid in areas where it’s a possibility and I know that some families have no choice.
Would we consider getting a car again in the future? If necessary, yes, but I think we prefer a lifestyle where it isn’t. At one point we thought we might keep the car before eventually replacing it with an electric one, but that isn’t a good idea for various reasons. Firstly we still wouldn’t have much need for it, regardless of what type of car it is, and secondly we would have problems with charging an electric vehicle. Our house is set back from the road by a small green, and so parking by the property and therefore charging from home isn’t possible. I was very pleased to read recently that West Sussex is having a big push to install charging points on public roads, but unfortunately there seems to be a lot of pushback against this by local residents – all three points that were due to be installed in our neighbourhood have been cancelled due to opposition by people living near them which is quite disappointing, but hopefully this will change in the future.
I hope I’ve given a good explanation of why we decided to get rid of our car, and shown that other options are more than sufficient to give us an enjoyable, active lifestyle with an emphasis on getting out and exploring the world.
rhtravels 