| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Grimnir |
...if non car users are second class citizens?I stopped driving 2 years ago due to developing a movement disorder. It was very bad at first and I had one scary episode while driving which led to me quitting entirely. Since then I have found it not only more expensive to live as I can't get to the cheaper shops I used to frequent but impossible to get a decent job due to the lack of employment over minimum wage in my town.To get to the next town takes 50 minutes by bus and it is only once an hour. I have cycled it in less, it's only 5 miles! The buses don't go to most of the areas where there is work, like the new-buid out of town industrial centres. There is no train station (well there is, but it's a transport museum and pub now, no service). I couldn't get a mortgage on a cardboard box on my wages. So, I'm now going to try and get my licence back. The thought of actually running a car on the money I get is frightening but I need a car if I am ever to improve my situation here as I would have to be able to drive to get a decent job. Moving somewhere where there is work just isn't an option when you're on the breadline - our rent is lower than most places we could get as it's a housing association and certainly lower than private rent. People without cars are disregarded in this country. Public transport is good for a buzzword and since they've sold it all off they don't need to put any money into it, which of course leaves the less popular routes frozen out or badly served. Every application form wants to know if you can drive even if your job is to sit on your jacksie in an office all day. New estates are being built all over the place but there are no extra buses, the routes of the existing ones are simply extended, which is why it takes me 50 minutes to go 5 miles. Nothing will change in this counry while not owning a car is seen as a disability. |
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| cab |
Errm... No option for 'no car' there.
Edit: Cool, there is now 
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| Grimnir |
 yeah, the bleddy thing didn't want to show up - I told you it was a conspiracy against us!
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| orangepippin |
In my area at least the local authority goes out of its way to engage with non-car users. They are far from second class citizens. Indeed a recent council survey about transport needs was deliberately conducted in such a way as to exclude car-commuters, who would be out of town when the survey was done. In fairness, I am not sure how effective the resulting measures really are. | ||||||||||
| LynneA |
I'm forced to rely on public transport, but at least round here it's fairly comprehensive. It's one of the few advantages of living in London.
I have a very mild form of epilepsy, which has no bearing of my lifestyle bar a need for natural light and an avoidance of flashing lights. (It was a great relief in my clubbing days to know my habit of falling over was not drinking related). The occasional balance problems mean I'm useless on a bike as well. I've not been able to use my horticulture qualifications yet, as every job I've wanted to apply for needs a driving licence. It's even more frustrating when a passport or driving licence are expected forms of ID. As I am not allowed to drive, and I haven't travelled abroad for years, I have neither. Maybe I'm a third class citizen. (Actually, I'm not a citizen, I'm a subject. But that's a whole other stand up row.) |
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| vegplot |
Between us we have two cars but bemoan the fact that htere are precious few facilities for those who don't. We try and walk or cycle as much as we can and it's highly irritating that out of town shops provide almost no footpaths or cycle ways even between shops. Our small 'out of town' shops straddle the main road but there are no pedestrians crossings from one side to the other, people simply drive their way from shop to shop. | ||||||||||
| vegplot |
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| boisdevie1 |
There are masses of 'personal' transport options NOT JUST cars. Why can't people realise this. 50cc mopeds for instance do well over 100mpg, are cheap to buy, tax and insure. Some modern motorbikes are pretty good too. Mine does 60mpg and running costs are way way cheaper than a car. It's not always a case of car or nothing.
And you can ride a moped on a provisional driving license. |
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| dpack |
carless is best in dense woodland ,mountains ,cities and towns
there are places where no car makes for clever choices some places one needs a motor or a lifestyle change |
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| Brownbear |
Don't want to ride a moped
Riders mangled under charverly-driven cars, big lorries Buses don't go to farms And you can't take your gun Dead deer doesn't fit in luggage rack. |
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| Stacey |
How do you know? |
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| Northern_Lad |
That's why you should always carry a good knife. |
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| Northern_Lad |
It's perhaps best just to trust him on this one. |
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| Brownbear |
spatial perception look see measure with eyes |
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| Stacey |
Rural mums get kids to school in unique vehicle share scheme 
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| Stacey |
You know that debate about Jeremy Kyle and how you shouldn't venture an opinion until you'd watched it?........ |
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| Brownbear |
testing theories is good. i'll lend a dead red deer and bus fare please report back independent assessor vital for unbiased view thanks for volunteering |
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| Stacey |
Oh, I couldn't possibly lift a dead red deer, dear. |
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| Brownbear |
That's OK duck |
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| Stacey |
Why? 
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| Brownbear |
ducks smaller
fit in carrier bag head lower through door of bus to fit in antlers term of endearment take your pick |
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| vegplot |
On a bus? |
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| Brownbear |
If you could carry a rifle and Bambi with his head off, then I would have thought a knife would be pretty small beer by comparison. |
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| LynneA |
And if you did get the deer on the bus, you'd find some old dear using the antlers to hang their coat on. So there's be a whole palaver when you wanted to get off.
All the more reason for us all to get donkey carts. |
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| Brownbear |
Donkey carts? The lazy braying sods can get out and walk. |
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| Grimnir |
Mopeds may solve my transport needs, but what about those of my family? And with no licence I can't even ride a moped, though I would have a full bike licence if and when DVLA give me it back. Just remember though that for some of us a driving licence is not an option.
Also, having a partner with severe anxiety disorder means a moped is out of the question, though less so than a motorbike. She gets a bit freaked out sometimes with my pushbike! It is good to hear there are some places where a non car user is not disregarded but from what I have seen it is the exception rather than the norm. |
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| Grimnir |
Fair enough if you have land to keep them but if you don't the back garden just doesn't cut it
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| dpack |
i have lost too many mates to bike mistakes
i have a bad knee ,tt has interesting orthopedic mending shall i carry on . motorbiker 30 x more likely to die than car person per mile and much more likely to be hurt in a minor spill very dangeroos |
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| dpack |
my life fits to walking train bus taxi or lift in a stock trailer
most folk seem to need a car in rural areas |
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| gnome |
wrong! they are only cheap if you have enough money to buy one - I certainly dont. also, they have 2 wheels - i have a ballance disability. also, they are still totally unsuitable for someone who suffers fom epilepsy or a great number of other medical problems. getting a bus in my area is almost as much as a taxi - nearly £1 per mile, and they are constantly cutting routes out, trains are irregular and restrictive (they only go to three places, and only one every two hours at peak time), therte are very few cycle tracks (only the bravest stuntman drives with other traffic). the requirement that you need a driving license or passport for ID is not a ploy to get us all driving cars or fly abroard - it's a government ploy to get us all begging for those ID cards they wan us to carry at all times. |
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| cab |
Why do I see so few motorctycles with side carts these days? Or motorised trikes? |
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| Fee |
I put more than one, but one is unused in the garage awaiting repair before it's sold to my Father-in-Law...the convertible one, that is, beautiful car but if we want to go down to one car, then it has to go in place of the estate. | ||||||||||
| Grimnir |
Well I have gone for this option - http://www.bikecare.co.uk/cargotrail.html - I've bought an Avenir Mule cargo trailer for my bike. I've got fed up with the whole car thing, it doesn't look like the DVLA want to re-issue me with my licence even though I've been discharged from the neurologist for 18 months so I'm going to have to go green and pedal myself everywhere At last I'll be able to shop where I want, not where will deliver!
Now does anyone know if Lidl have a good record on food? I know they are cheap but the two don't often go together I'm thinking especially about meat here
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| cab |
Never found a lot of meat in any of the budget supermarkets (or the big supermarkets, truth be told) that I'd buy. Nice trailer
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| Grimnir |
I know what you mean on the meat front. I did check out a local farm shop but its one my partner is morally opposed to - personal reasons not related to the farm but very valid 
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| Jonnyboy |
Riding laws have changed so it's not so easy to get a bike, plus there are no better in traffic than a car, and wetter. |
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| Behemoth |
Trikes seem to be associated with heavy metal or reliant robins, though I think a trendier version of the latter may see the late of day if fuel prices continue to rise. | ||||||||||
| Stacey |
Have you got room for a big freezer and get it delivered in bulk from someone on here? Meat is the one thing I wouldn't buy from Lidl to be honest. |
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| Grimnir |
We only have a fridge/freezer, I'm trying to get a second freezer from freecycle but until then I just can't fit half an anything in! It's difficult getting something like that when you can't pick it up though
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| Jonnyboy |
Motorbike manufacturers have completely missed the boat on economical motoring. The most economical bikes are still using 30 or 40 year old technology. Too much effort is spent on performance |
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| dottyspots |
Hmmmm, I don't fancy carrying my 4 kids on a moped!
(I can't drive either, most of the time it isn't a huge difficulty, but sometimes, like when I need to get a child to A&E, it can be a huge problem, I won't even get started on the incident that ended up with ds3 stopping breathing and being rushed in by the paramedics a couple of hours after phoning the out-of-hours service who didn't think he was worth coming out for and told me to take two buses to get to them *sigh*).
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| Rosemary Judy |
I reckon even a cheap car needs a lot of money a week, in car tax and insurance, to keep it on the road, and I think it works out at something like £30.00 a week before petrol......
this is a lot of taxi fares, specially if you set up as a regular user with one firm. Or to hire a car for a week to do all the running around jobs..... We stayed in the Town, when we moved 11 years ago, as we can run one car in Town, but would need 2 in a village, or even more isolated place.... I can see my allotment just about, from my window, and am lucky enough to be able to walk to work..... do take the car to the shops, though, as full bags of food are just soooo heavy, but I could get a bus into the Town centre and market if I had to.... |