We don't use our car very often - mainly for the weekly supermarket shop - but there are many things a car is vital for, especially if you're in a family.
If public transport is poor or non-existent, if you need to move something heavy and bulky, if you're taking your kids to school or to out-of-school activities, if you're visiting your parents or relatives in some out-of-the-way location, if you're visiting someone in hospital, and for all sorts of other awkward journeys, how would you get by without a car?
Taxis are okay for short journeys, but too dear for long journeys. You could cadge lifts but you can't do that too often.
We've used our car to take things to the recycling centre, to get to beauty spots, to bring home large purchases like furniture and plants, to take visitors for an outing or to the airport, to give people lifts in bad weather, to look at property for sale, and numerous other purposes.
It could be of course that the anti-car politicians don't seriously want us all to give up our cars. They're just looking for cheap headlines to keep them in the public eye. But most people will simply snort with disbelief and ask what planet they're living on.
Most politicians are rich and have no clue about the realities of life for the average person. It's easy for them to spout such nonsense.
ReplyDeleteI would be completely unable to function without a car, even if the buses stopped close to where I live. I usually do more than one thing on each trip out -- drop off some containers at recycling, shop for groceries, etc -- each of which would involve riding more than one bus line and some of which involve carrying heavy or bulky things. What I can do in an hour with a car would take all day.
Infidel: Exactly, you would be unable to function without a car. As you say, taking buses would be very long-winded, even if there was a convenient bus service, which usually there isn't.
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ReplyDeleteNick, I have no driver license, some of your points are correct, but sorry children can walk to school and parents too and the pollution of air is essential. Many health problems due to bad air. You have people who take their car to drive a 100m to the bakery. I think in town we need no car, for the countryside
population it's another question. Car pollution is not a cheap headline in my eyes.
Hannah
Hannah: I think you're being rather idealistic. Lots of people simply have to have a car, especially if they live out in the countryside. Yes, air pollution is a serious problem but cutting down car use is more realistic than banning cars altogether.
DeleteNick, yes I'm idealistic. I think you forget all the health problems. Quite a lot going along with money issues. You have no children and can think only for your own needs. I could write a book about all those problems.Stress. lung cancer, blood pressure. heart disease. noise.You can look at Beijing and India only 2 examples where babies are already sick due to pollution.Our egoistic behaviour will make our towns sick, where no one would like to live anymore. And on the countryside it's a question of organisation
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Hannah: I presume electric cars don't cause any of the medical problems you mention. A lot of people here already have electric cars, so car pollution is decreasing rapidly. I may not have children but I'm very concerned for the health of children and I would like to see a big reduction in air pollution in general - from factories, from fossil fuels, from agricultural practices etc.
DeleteWe have school buses round here - they stop and pick up all the kids from a drop off point. And you can hire a man with a van, etc. The cost of a car, plus insurance, would probably cover my taxi bill if I didn't have access to a driver. BUT, I have a dog, that needs to visit the vet, and taxi drivers aren't keen on carrying pets!
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Ms Scarlet: We have loads of school buses here, but people still need cars. And yes, visits to the vet are another use for a car.
DeleteThey’ve obviously never been to the U.S. Unless you live in NYC or LA, you can’t function without a car.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: That's what I've always heard about the US.
DeleteWhen I lived in St. Paul I was in a city neighborhood that did have most of what I needed within walking distance. I still needed a car but not often. I live in a rural community where there is no other choice. I would like to see electric vehicles taking over gas powered, but that isn't happening.
ReplyDeleteSandra: The problem in the UK with electric cars is the inadequate charging network. The nearest charger may be miles away, it might be out of order, and it can take 40 minutes to charge your car.
DeleteI agree with Bijoux.
ReplyDeleteColette: In such a huge country, it's not surprising that public transport isn't adequate and many people have to rely on cars.
DeleteIf public transportation was reliable and accessible everywhere we needed to go, it would be better but it's not.
ReplyDeleteMary: Exactly. Public transport will never be convenient enough to be a car substitute.
DeleteI no longer drive. Dave does but he doesn't take our car out every day. But, we'd still be lost without it. Sometimes he has to go to more than one store to buy what's on our shopping list. For some of his activities, he car pools. He drives me to medical appointments but if he has something for which he can't drive we take a shuttle bus provided by our apartment complex.
ReplyDeleteWe tended to keep our cars for ten years but, with the reduced amount of driving we do now, this one will probably last us twice that--if we live that long, anyway.
Linda
Linda: Handy that the apartment complex provides a shuttle bus. Our car is 11 years old and has a very low mileage, so it will last a good few years yet.
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