Fed up with petrol prices!!

pitkin2020

no_more_cards_for_me wrote: »

No

Fuel cost led me to cycling to work, 22 mile round trip and now some 2 stone lighter. I only use the car for business purposes when fuel is reimburst.

I spent part of my £150 per month saving on a nice shiny new bike, accessories and third party insurance at £5 per month

Might not suit everybody but there are alternatives to filling up at the pump.

no_more_cards_for_me wrote: »

Read my post, I didn't suggest it was a solution for everybody but for some its a possibility. Look at the number of communters using bikes in London for example, or the number on the continent using either bikes or scooters. If more people considered cycling or scooters as a possible solution rather than just dismissing it out of hand then it would become more accepted.

Why isn't is a feasible idea for some ?

What has how I fund my car got to do with the price of fish ? We are discussing petrol prices. My spend on petrol prior to using the bike was more than £200 per month, now I'm saving more than 50% of that by using an alternative form of transport.

I suggest you read the post you replied to and quoted, asking about doesn't everyone spend money on the car as in purchasing it which was a further question the poster was replying to, to which you replied NO. So it must be nice to be given a car without having to spend a dime.

I then suggest you re read my previous post I never said it wasn't a solution for no one I agreed that its a great solution for some just not all. Whilst cycling to work etc may work for you and save you a fortune in fuel it isn't feasible for everyone that's how it is. I could cycle to work everyday as only live 4 miles from my place of work but what use would that be to me when I have to go out visiting clients and can easily do 200 miles in a day, its just not workable for me personally and I suspect a lot of people have other issues like kids etc that would make it near impossible to do all the time.

grizzly1911

no_more_cards_for_me wrote: »

Read my post, I didn't suggest it was a solution for everybody but for some its a possibility. Look at the number of communters using bikes in London for example, or the number on the continent using either bikes or scooters. If more people considered cycling or scooters as a possible solution rather than just dismissing it out of hand then it would become more accepted.

My spend on petrol prior to using the bike was more than £200 per month, now I'm saving more than 50% of that by using an alternative form of transport.

Interesting that my dad used to cycle to work as did a lot of his mates, they couldn't afford to run cars in the 50's. In those post war years he/we prospered and cars became "necessary" now it appears we are in reverse and more and more will need to consider alternatives.

After all it wasn't a right then and it never has been.

(Not making any judgement at all on your personal circumstances BTW just using your example)

pitkin2020

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Interesting that my dad used to cycle to work as did a lot of his mates, they couldn't afford to run cars in the 50's. In those post war years he/we prospered and cars became "necessary" now it appears we are in reverse and more and more will need to consider alternatives.

After all it wasn't a right then and it never has been.

(Not making any judgement at all on your personal circumstances BTW just using your example)

Your correct its not a given right to drive but over the last decade or so driving has become affordable for nearly all, admittedly its becoming expensive again and people will find alternatives or use their cars less if they need. I would love to use the car less but not for the saving the planet reason just for financial reasons but time is also a big factor. Time is money and fuel is considerably cheaper when compared with time in some circumstances. I could probably also reduce my fuel by atleast 50% but I would also see my income drop by a lot more than 50%.

Lum

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Interesting that my dad used to cycle to work as did a lot of his mates, they couldn't afford to run cars in the 50's. In those post war years he/we prospered and cars became "necessary" now it appears we are in reverse and more and more will need to consider alternatives.

In the 50s married women generally didn't have jobs and the men who did have jobs were likely to get to keep them for a lot longer than today, thus it was feasible to live within walking or cycling distance of where you work.

Currently I commute to Cardiff and my partner commutes to Gloucester. We live in the valleys and are looking to move to a location that is equidistant from each job as currently her commute is a 1+1/4 hour drive outwards and 1+3/4 hours coming back.

Both of us work in fairly specialised industries doing jobs that don't just crop up everywhere. We also need both incomes.

worried_jim

The answer is simple and available to all. Sell the car you have and then spend approx £1000-£1500 on a Skoda sdi classic. eg-

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201122388482072/sort/priceasc/usedcars/fuel-type/diesel/model/octavia/make/skoda/postcode/le29hd/page/1/radius/100?logcode=p

And fill it with sunflower oil @ £1 per litre off any supermarket shelf. Or if you a fortunate and source some used cooking oil for free and have the time to clean it (20minutes a tank) then you could be fuelling for free (like me!). Problem solved. Next.....

grizzly1911

Lum wrote: »

In the 50s married women generally didn't have jobs and the men who did have jobs were likely to get to keep them for a lot longer than today, thus it was feasible to live within walking or cycling distance of where you work.

Currently I commute to Cardiff and my partner commutes to Gloucester. We live in the valleys and are looking to move to a location that is equidistant from each job as currently her commute is a 1+1/4 hour drive outwards and 1+3/4 hours coming back.

Both of us work in fairly specialised industries doing jobs that don't just crop up everywhere. We also need both incomes.

I sympathise with your predicament. I have done the commuting in my time and don't miss it one little bit.

Reality is that a lot of those convenient jobs don't exist in the UK anymore they have been exported.