Going Car-less

Just filled my car up with petrol.... :shock: :shock:
I am refusing to pay that much from now on, the car will gone by next week. It's not that I can't afford it or against cars politically, I just hate wasting money.
Being car-less has been on my mind for a good while now, after a few hours working out figures I wonder why I have been so blind for so long.
Anyone else carless?, any tips?
I am refusing to pay that much from now on, the car will gone by next week. It's not that I can't afford it or against cars politically, I just hate wasting money.
Being car-less has been on my mind for a good while now, after a few hours working out figures I wonder why I have been so blind for so long.
Anyone else carless?, any tips?
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Posts
(it is now the size of a washing machine at the scrap yard)
I have only one piece of advice:
Use Tesco or Asda delivery service!
Trying to bring home the weekly shop of fully laden carrier bags on your bike is liable to end in disaster!
I work 47 miles from home and have discovered the beauty of train and bus travel (when they are on time), cycling there and back is not really an option as I would be on the road longer than my 2 year old daughter would like!
The best thing about using the train and bus is that there is no driving related stress, I can just sit back and read a book or listen to the iPod. The journey now takes just 15 more minutes than it did in the car using the motorway - plus there is a real looker that gets on the bus every morning too as an added bonus!
My car packed up a couple of months ago, and I didn't miss it for getting to work at all, but the weekends were a bit censored for shopping etc.
My parents gave me their Focus last week, and it was ten minutes before all the stress and aggro of driving came back to me, so I still use the bus for work. I'd go on my bike, but I'm on a building site full of chavs who would cut bits off for a laugh.
If I told my boss I've got another car, I'd be driving 100 miles a day for peanut wages and very little (if any) petrol allowance.
Fuel prices are a typical example of the way we get bled dry in this country. Petrol will go up and up because the government knows that most people will just moan and then buy some more.
I read that international businesses call Britain "Treasure Island" because we'll pay top whack for anything.
Garry
Siechotic have you considered a bike - train - bike commute? Why not get a cheap hack (£50 second hand will pay for itself in a fortnight on a relatively modest commute distance!!!) and ride as far as you feel like, lock that one up, train the rest and (if you need to) keep another cheap hack at the train station near your work to complete the journey.
As for me, I got a single speeder for my 15 mile commute through the cycle to work scheme, it's excellent training especially on the hills and means I don't have to wear out my decent bikes in all weathers. You'll know you're hooked when you buy lights for it and keep going over the winter!
I ride up to 4 days a week and drive once to take in fresh clothes, still saves me up to 80% of my fuel bill!
"Thanks...
...I can taste blood"
I was driving a 16 mile round trip, daily, at peak time, on average I saved 30 miles off that journey time.
By cycling not only am I healthier and better off, but I now find myself shopping locally, supporting local buisnesses.
Now obviously, I'm in my ideal job, with even less need for a car.
We've got road bikes, a tandem and a trailer or two and we spend more time as a family and even the weekly shopping is often a fantastic adventure.
Trains and buses are our friends, and the local train company (Northern) is very amenable to unscheduled bike/trailer journeys.
So we have a rare old time, and are fit as ponies. Not for everyone, perhaps, but then it is a different way of living.
I'm aware that I'm a better place than many as I live and work in London so my public transport options are good. But oddly I don't use public transport that much. I think local and use 2 wheels or 2 feet.
Manchester Wheelers
See, they return, and bring us with them.
http://www.whizzgo.co.uk/index.cfm
Which seems like a decent deal if you really must use a car occasionally.
check this out for some info on the carless experience!
carless for 6 months as an experiment - started a year ago - now carlessness seems the norm
Snake
I choose to cycle to work to get around etc, but sometimes having a car and a license is invaluable. Especially in the winter...
if you can afford to do it, get on and get your license done, just because you have a a license, doesnt mean that you have to buy a car...
I can catch trains, taxi's and buses.
Tifosi CK3 Winter Bike
Planet X London Road Disc
Planet X RT80 Elite
time to hunt out a bargain 4.2 range rover again!
It's going in the classifieds next week...
Thats all very well.
But.... ( theres always one )
Theres one thing that having a car makes sooo much easier and its shopping. Theres only so many times I can walk to the local morrisons in one week without getting arrested for stalking the checkout staff. I just get fedup with it only being able to carry a certain amount on my pusher, its much easier just to do a massive shop and then carry it back in the car. Same goes for christmas shopping, its not the doing the shopping its the carrying it back afferwards.
I still reckon it would be a worthwhile exercise in getting your car license. When I'm looking at CV's or doing job interviews its always something I ask about. I've worked places before where my colleagues dont drive and it can be a pain in the butt if you want to send them to a customer at the last minute etc etc and they cant get there themselves, and dont tell me you'd be able to carry a spare server on your pushbike because thats what sometimes a field trip to a customer can involve.
Just think your limiting yourself job wise by not getting it done thats all. A car can open up the world to you in a way that a pushbike never will, but a car can also limit what you do and if you're not careful you'll end up relying on it.
I’m so glad to be riding to work on my bike!