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I am nominating next week as car free week. All cars will be left on at home and everyone will use our wonderful public transport system for the duration. I reckon to spend 2.5 hours driving to work and golf every week but by public transport would be well nigh impossible. Buses and trains just won't get me there without miles of Shanks' pony. Could anyone manage their routine using public transport?
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Yes thanks, in fact it would be impossible to do my commute wholly by car. 55 miles into central London takes under 40 minutes by train, how long would that take by car?
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I am currently on a client site in Swansea 4 days a week, no car required. It is, in just over 30 years in client facing roles in IT, the first and only non central London based client for which this has been possible. It is, in this specific case, a very pleasant option not to have a car here.
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Already bike/train/walk to work (~150 miles round trip 3 days a week), and shopping would be manageable doing frequent small shops on bike instead of one large shop in car. It's taking son to various activities that wouldn't be easy - would probably have to use a taxi.
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If I'm working in the London office (W1) I do a part car / part Tube journey which generally works well. I could do the whole lot by train, bar the first 5 miles (my nearest station) but at £35 return, plus parking charges, it is financially unfeasible. I don't work at this office enough to make a season ticket pay.
In the other office, I could again do the whole journey by train, but I would be relying on buses both ends which would add, when I last worked it out, about 25 minutes to a 30 minute train journey. Total cost would be £21 return, including the bus fares. I have just done the journey by motorcycle today at under 30 mins each way, using maybe a fiver's worth of fuel in total. By car, it's 35-45 mins each way depending on traffic, and say eight quids worth of fuel in total.
Yes, there's maintenance/wear and tear to factor in, but that's nowhere near the discrepancy.
I could do it by public transport in all honesty, but I'd be significantly poorer, and at the other office, would spend four times as long each day commuting.
Edited by DP on 22/09/2009 at 18:20
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Already bike/train/walk to work (~150 miles round trip 3 days a week)
...works out about 15p per mile, with no wear and tear on the car, keeps me fit, and counts as working time because I use my laptop on the train. No-brainer :-)
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I'll be late for work every day, probably 2 or 3 hours as the buses don't run early enough, or to anywhere near my work.
That means i get about 2/3rds or less (traffic density and customer hours) of my work done, and the company loses thousands of pounds of revenue, wonder if i'll still have a job the following week.
If i cycled i'd probably be dead by the second day too, a fast just wide enough single carriageway unlit A road heavily used by (some badly driven surprisingly) trucks is not the ideal cycling route at 4am.
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My car is very handy and not completly essential but a car is essential. In the past that car was either my dads a customers (e.g lifts).
Mostly my car just saves me a lot of time but I often park up metrolink or railway stations if I am going to a town and get public transport in. I now only use buses if I am in London or on a saturday night when I am drinking.
If I had to give up my car for a week I would miss it but it would be possible. If I worked in town (Manchester city centre) then I would hardly use my car at all.
Edited by Rattle on 22/09/2009 at 21:05
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I'm currently commuting into the centre of Milan on a push bike and am car free.
The whole 'avoiding death every 90 seconds' thing is getting a bit tiresome though. Milan drivers are completely and utterly mental. And if the cars/taxis don't get you, the scooters or huge dodgy cobblestones will.
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Managing quite well already...it's a car free week every week as I don't own a car.
Cycle 20 mins into work each day in central London.
Public transport otherwise or use the legs and walk.
I suspect part of the reason car free weeks/days don't make a huge impact is because too many people have chosen work and living locations that just don't work on public transport and never will - partly as we choose to live at lower densities than many continental europeans and are more prepared to commute.
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Am currently working in the Netherlands, renting a hosue an eight minute walk from work. There's a Lidls a two minute walk in the other direction.
Haven't used the car in weeks apart from one unecessary journy to charge the battery. Will have to do another soon.
It's a joy not to have to spend hours driving teh car through necessity/
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When ever I move out public transport will be a major concern. Anything could happen which means I am unable to drive, I would not want to be stuck some where with a bus that runs very hour.
That said given the choice of car or bus I would take the car any day, choice of car or tram? then tram if it goes to where I want, car or train without a doubt a train.
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