living without a car

hjb123

I guess it all depends on where you live. Where I live is rural and not on a bus route so I need a car to get anywhere. The nearest shops are at least 3 miles away in any direction and the nearest bus stop is 2 miles and even then the buses dont exactly come very often!

If you live in a town on on a bus route it will probably be reasonably easy to adjust to not having a car. I have lived in a city -at university - and managed fine without a car then - anywhere under a mile I walked - over a mile and it was either train or bus. Supermarket shopping can be delivered so easily now too so that takes one of the strains.

lilac_lady

I'd like to do without my car but feel that if I give it up and regret it, I won't be able to afford another one. Maybe putting it off the road for 6 months as a trial period will help me decide what to do.

nomoneytoday

A few years ago I wrote off my car in a crash and decided to try and live without one.

I lasted 3 months.

Maybe try it for a month as a trial and see?
Its not an irreversible decision, and you can always get a car in a month or 2 if it doesn't work out

Good Luck

Ken68

About to pack up motoring, it will be a financial relief.
At my age, local buses are free and in a year even free every where in the country.
WOW no more trips to the petrol station, no mot, no insurance, no repairs ,no road tax,no evrything.

jdandi

We have a car in the house which my wife needs to get too and from work and because she is a car lover. Me, I can do without using a car, public transport (when mentioned to some you should see the look of horror on their face) although not always joyous when doing a bus-train-bus commute has served me well but possibly not financially as I reckon it would have been evens. Nowadays I use a bike, my first ever and I'm in my mid 30's! and I have to say it is great although it does get scary on the roads and the plus of being able to work from home most of the time.

I don't think my other half would be able to live without a car which means we couldn't. It does come in handy to visit my parents who are both pensioners and for the other half to get to her work & evening classes.

So I suppose I am saying we can live without 2 cars but really need 1...........yes, I believe we do need a car.

mitziwaltz

We have gone without a car for five years. I've bought one of those old-lady shopping trollies, we both have bikes, we walk much more often, and take the train for visits to the next city over and beyond.
The only time I need a taxi is the once a month "big shop" at Morrisons, about £4, and occasionally a medical appointment or school appointment for my son. I would estimate that even on a really busy (or unhealthy) month we never spend more than £30 on travel costs for a family of three.
The big moneysaver for us is that my husband and son both have disability passes for the bus and train. Lots of people think these are only valid for people who use wheelchairs or frames, but not so. My two have a bad back and autism, respectively. Usually you need to submit someething to your local Childrens Services or Social Services dept.
We also have a Family Rail Card, although our son will soon be too old for it and will get a Youth Pass instead. Oh yeah, that's another money saver--the kindly named Youth Pass is good for anyone in full-time higher education even if, like my partner and until recently me, you are anything but "young."
I have been taking driving lessons because some employers want you to be able to drive, and it would be nice to rent or borrow a car for a weeekend sometimes. The only places that is difficult to get by bus or train are small towns and rural areas, so we don;t get to make those weekend visits that we might like. Sometimes there is only one bus or train to and from daily, a bit too rigid for a day out.
But other than that, it's great not having to worry about car costs, petrol prices, accidents and insurance!

carras

The medics told me I had to stop driving last October - it has been a nightmare. Bus service is one per hour up the hill I live on, it stops at 6 pm and does not run on Sundays or Public Holidays.
Prior to October I travelled into the city three nights per month to an Organization I am a member of and I joined monthly trips for another organization. No go by public transport.
YEs I am better off but I have spent an fortune of taxi's. The three mile trip into my local town is £5 each way, my GP surgery is two bus rides away or £9 by taxi.
The consultants face when he said I could not drive and I asked him what I should do about the car I had driven to the hospital in!

loose*moose

I had a car for my work but changed my job at the end of last year and I can now walk to work. I am very fortunate in that I live in the middle of a small town with all the shops quite close by - I live within a 6 minute walk of 4 large supermarkets!

My old banger gave me so much stress and was always breaking down and failing its MOT so I considered getting another old banger or taking out a loan for a half decent one. It is lovely having the option of jumping into your vehicle any time and heading out but I considered both the financial and environmental aspects and decided I would try without. Realistically I was probably only using the car about once a week. I figured I would save around £1000 a year not having a car - that includes MOT, repairs, tax, fuel and insurance and the capital cost of owning a car. If I had a loan I would have less to pay on repairs but more on interest and depreciation.

Most of the time it is great not having it - as others have said I make more frequent trips to the supermarket and because I have to carry it home (there is no home delivery here) I probably buy less thus saving more money. I have two daughters and one walks to school and one gets the bus.

The weird thing is that with a car I think you get into the habit of not thinking that it is your money you are paying out for it - you fill up the car with £30 not thinking how much you could buy with that money, you get a bill for £250 and you groan and write a cheque. When you no longer have a car you start to get a bit more protective about the money and think twice before spending £5 in a taxi!! I mean what is £5 in the scheme of things when you are saving so much?!!

The main problem I have is when you or your children have to get somewhere which is either not on a public transport route or is too early or too late to use it. You can either use a taxi (eeeeekkk SO expensive!) or rely on others for lifts which I HATE. I'm sure people don't mind, but I would make sure I didn't make a habit of it as I couldn't bear to be a burden on anyone!!! Far too self reliant!

Perhaps the best thing to do when you first get rid of the car is to have a little fund to put all the money you would have spent on fuel (there's £30 already!), when the tax would have been up add another £92 or however much it is for 6 months now. MOT time will be at least £40 and probably more, new tyres? brake pads? monthly direct debit for the insurance? The money can then be used for public transport and taxis and any left over (there will be!) can be used for something really nice!! Your money will now be your own and not belonging to that big black car hole!!

QueenB.

It will always depend on where you live and what demands you have on your life.

We could not live without a car. Firstly we have 3 children all of whom go to schools miles away from where we live, it can take us between 20-30 minutes to get them there each day. Although i can use a bus to get into town that is only if i am not rushed for time as our public transport is a nightmare and very unreliable. I am frequently left waiting for an hour or more with 2 small children for one to turn up.

All our doctors are out of walking distance and our nearest hospital (which we need to attend on a regular basis because of one of our sons medical conditions) is almost a forty minute drive away. For us i have no doubt taxis and public transport would cost us just as much as our car and with our demands are just impractical.

Do what fits into your life and make any choice you make as green as you can.

jud!th

Well, we've now been three weeks without the car and we're not wanting one yet. We are taking about one taxi a week but it's true that compared to my resignation to paying out £50 for petrol I'm much more worried about £6 for a taxi... Buses in Leeds don't cost much either.

But then it hasn't rained much yet, and it hasn't been very cold. Our pushchair got nicked with the car, so we've spent £130 on a new one that's better for footpaths and buses, and more waterproof.

I feel much fitter and more chilled out, as now I'm prevented from rushing to places, and from leaving home at the time I'm supposed to arrive. Our 3-year old is loving all the walking too. And it makes me feel healthy, worthy, and like I'm giving our children a great gift. The winter will tell whether that will last...:)

Buggy buses are so much easier than non-buggy buses, but people are great when they see us getting on - 3-year old dd carries my handbag on and pays the driver while I put 9-month old on one hip and fold up the pushchair with the other arm. Even if no-one helps us on someone nearly always helps us off once they watched us get on unaided!!!

I'll keep you updated.

love, Judith
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