living without a car

jud!th

Hi - having had our car stolen we're wondering about managing without. How does anyone else manage, and did it really work out considerably cheaper?

We've got 2 pre-school children, good local shops and public transport, although family live all over the country. We don't NEED a car as such...

any ideas/advice? Already posted on transport forum so some helpful ideas, but would like some more please!

love, Judith
x

mirry

im thinking the same, we have a 2 year old car with a nice loan,
today our newish car broke down !

6 Years ago we gave up having a car for 2 years, it wasnt so bad.
We used taxis in an emergancy and hired a car for a holiday.
We pocketed the difference and bought a nicer house.

We worked out it would save us about £50 a week, which is alot of money.

good luck

Julysea

We've never had a car so I don't know how much you save exactly, but we don't have a lot of problems in not hvaing one. There are 4 of us - me, OH and 2 preschool kids. We walk a lot, so we have a 'seat2go' on the back of the pushchair for my 3 year old to rest on when tired, we also get buses and trams and trains which gets easier as the kids get older. The only problems we have are when members of my family have family events in social halls in the middle of no-where, but otherwise, steps are my only bugbear. We get food delivered from the supermarket or buy it in smaller amounts and carry it. Occasionally we could do with a car but usually on those odd occasions we manage to get a lift with a family member. Have you thought about going halves on a car with someone else or joining a car-club as a halfway house between car ownership and non-car-ownership?

tinselfairy

I had a car accident a week before Christmas and we went without a car by choice until Easter. We have one DS aged 6 and got around by public transport just fine. We are used to public transport going places by train and using the bus to get to school/work each day anyway so this wasn't a extra hassle for us. The activites DS did we could get to easily on the bus too. Life just takes a bit of extra planning as you haven't got the convenience of the car to hop into and go and visit friends/relations and days out just need a bit of extra forward planning.

lightisfading

i've managed until now without a car, living in a town with appalling public transport. It can be a right pain in the !!!, but most of the time it's fine, and maybe worth remembering that the occassional taxi trip is probably still cheaper than all that insurance and whatnot

dolly_day_dream

Despite starting to learn to drive at 17 I still haven't passed my test and I am nearly 51:eek: Do you get the idea my heart isn't in this. To be fair I only take up lessons again every five years or so when 'everyone' assures me that my life will be so much better with a car. But now I refuse to conform. How will it be better? Higher bills - I don't know how much it costs to run a car exactly but I am pretty sure that it is more than the £42 per month that my bus pass costs me plus the odd taxi fare to the more out of the way places. Then there is the worry about finding parking places, stress from other drivers, getting it repaired.:o

Yes I would be able to go wherever I want whenever I want but at a cost to me and the environment I am not sure I want to pay. Now I toddle along to the bus stop (if it is a longer journey, otherwise I walk:eek: ) read my book during the journey and arrive nice and relaxed. Most of my OU degree was studied on public transport. Walking is wonderful, exercise, fresh air and you can nose around your neighbourhood. I used to cycle a lot as well but I'm slightly too well padded for that now.

My children have been brought up without a car and they did all the things that other children did, plus we visited lots of places by train during the holidays when their friends were frying by the beach in Spain. In my opinion train travel is the easiest way to travel with small children. Strangely enough although they are all old enough to drive, the eldest being 27, none of them have a car or have even learnt to drive. Can't have been too bad then.

black-saturn

I don't have a car either. I havn't had one for years. I think if you don't need it for work (and even then some people might be able to organise lifts) you can do without one. I use the trains and buses whenever I need to go anywhere and I have a family railcard and family National Express card. In the school holidays I take them out twice a week on the train or coach and we have explored loads of places. Sometimes I think we go to more places than people with cars. I'm in a long distance relationship and every other week me and the children travel 140 miles to see my boyfriend.

If you plan journeys in advance, get a bike and a comfy pair of shoes you can give up your car. I use a taxi in an emergency but having said that I've only had to use them twice in about 7 years.

When you add up the tax, petrol, insurance, MOT, repairs, parking fees etc etc it really isn't worth it.

cheghead

Can depend where you live and how good the public transport is. Recently went without a car for 3 months and it was a bit of a pain where I live. Lots of steep hills to get to the shops on foot and a rubbish bus service. Also limited to where could work as there were 2 bus companies operating in the city. This meant you had to pay twice just to get to certain areas.

Definately saved money without a car thou!

looby75

I can drive but I have never owned a car, my inlaws paid for me to have lessons but I could never afford one.

We manage really well, mainly because we have a very good bus service where I live. I visit family all over the UK via train which is pretty easy when you get into the swing of things and for the most part they are pretty reliable. I do a lot of shopping online which even after taking into account delivery charges is still often cheaper than going to a shop and buying it in person. (especially if you take into account the cost of petrol and parking)

The only time I really wish I had a car is when my kids are ill and need to go to the docs/chemist. Often my FIL takes us in his car but if he isn't able to then either we have to walk for about 20 mins(not great if you are feeling like pants) or get a taxi which works out pretty expensive as there is no bus route from my house to the doctors surgery.

I'm sure it will take some getting used to but give it a good try of say 3 months and see how it goes, the extra money in your pocket and the warm glow from knowing you are doing your bit for the environment may very well compensate for the small inconveniences that sometimes go with car free living.

Seakay

We didn't own a car for years, and only got one again when my husband's job located eight miles away started to involve shifts that were outside the bus timetable.
As we live in a city we could walk or cycle to almost any shop within half an hour, and had a bus and a train station. We would hire a car or use the train or a taxi for journeys where there was a lot to carry (depending on the length of the journey). Usually, a shopping basket or bike paniers were enough.
It all really depends on where you live and what changes you are prepared to live with. Without a car you do need to be able to remember to do a certain amount of pre-planning - eg to get to a bus stop on time - and possibly have a back up plan - eg for when the bus does not arrive!
You will get wet and cold more often and will have to remember to pack shopping bags in the right order to avoid damaging goods because you won't be able to spread things out in the boot of your car.
On the other hand, you will save money, you may get fitter, you will certainly spend more time out of doors, you will probably get to know your local shopkeepers better, you may end up making friends when sheer frustration forces you to join a campaign for better public transport/safer roads/ more cycle paths in your area!

xzibit

If I didn't own a car, I would need to get a taxi for EVERYTHING I wanted to do. I do only live 2 miles from the nearest shops, but that is up a very steep hill. There is no public transport from my house, nearest bus stop is in the town 2 miles away, train station is 5 miles away in another town. I have to drive to work too. Nearest cinema or anything entertaining to do is, ~20 miles away!! So, I really do need a car, and have had one since was 17.