car or no car?

[RichC]

Can't drive nor have a licence - the same as most of my friends. I'd say about 80% of people I know don't drive!

Public transport is quicker, more convenient and cheaper than driving where I live. There's loads of trains, buses and taxis here, and they're frequent, reliable and go to most places. Cars, well: traffic jams, nowhere to park (unless you pay a lot) and costly petrol ($5 a gallon). Not to mention congestion charges - where you have to pay $15 to drive into town!

Where? My friends and I live in Brighton and London in the UK. However, if you live in the countryside in the UK, a car is essential. But definitely not if you live in a British town or city...

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I use car, train, subway, bus, bicycle and legs. I choose one of those to have most sufficient commute. If I go to Toronto, I'd rather take bicycle or car to train station to get me to the subway and walk to final destination. If I have to go to Woodstock Ontario at night shift - no choice, but car.

 

[Steve M.]

We got rid of the car 13 years ago when we left Hawaii because the mainland transportation has been pretty good in the cities we've lived in. Never regretted it for a minute. I'm happy we chose to not pollute the earth nearly as much, and it's also healthy and lots of fun riding our bikes and walking when we're not taking a bus, a cab, or Uber.

A lot of people our age are just flabbergasted that we don't own a car, but we see cars as a huge problem, and they are terriblly polluting, not just in driving them but in their manufacture too. They are not necessary at all.... more like objects that are constantly needing money poured into them for gas, maintenance, tolls, insurance, repairs, taxes, and on and on.

Once I left the South and moved to 'frisco in the 80's and got a taste of being car free w/ good public transport (BART, not that horrible MUNI), it changed me forever. I really love riding my bike, and that sort of thing keeps us fit and sharp. You have to pay attention on the roads when dealing w/ drivers in cars that are just out of it, usually talking or texting on their phones. I was sorta hoping they would kill themselves off, like the dinosaurs, but they seem to be focused on running over pedestrians and bicyclists. So I ride on the sidewalk :]

 

[sepiareverb]

After living way out in the sticks for twenty-five years where a car was an absolute necessity we moved into a small town about 5 years ago. While we still have cars, and I now have a work van, I finally can (and do) walk to do most all errands. Recently ended up with a real junker of a bike which makes a trip to the Post Office a breeze, with no need to fuss with locking up the bike. Anybody who steals this bike needs it far more than I do.