Car-less or Car-Free?

[Ian]

As someone without children I never know whether to describe myself as "childless" or "childfree" (so I don't) - both seem to imply a sense of prejudice in a particular direction...the former a barren sense of loss (guaranteed to cut short anyone's enquiry with a muttered "oh") and the latter has an air of childphobic carefree smugness...

Anyway we are considering going Car-Free (or becoming Car-less).

We went from two cars to one about 4 years ago.

Walking, bikes and public transport will (I guess) fulfil most day-to-day needs with maybe 3 or 4 days a month use of a rented car.

Has anyone else made this shift? 

Please note, moderators, I am NOT soliciting sale of my car .. though is she is a great little runner, one careful owner....[;-)]

[Tresco]

[quote user="Ian"]Has anyone else made this shift?  [/quote]

Not me but my brother did about 18 months ago. He lives in a small city in Sweden, has three children, works full time and has an active social life. He got rid of his car for environmental and financial reasons, and now cycles nearly everywhere.

He doesn't miss his car at all and reports nothing but benefits. He was always pretty fit but now he's feeling more like 22 than his 42 years. He's currently bobbing around California for a month on his savings (with money to spare), and his two older children (both teenagers) are cycling and walking more and becoming very self reliant about getting around.

Oh, and he gets to be incredibly smug, too.[:D]

[Clair]

Not an option for us, as Mr Clair works nights 35km away...

Back in the days of a more affluent lifestyle, we used to have three cars (one for him, one for me and one for fun!) and we're now down to a car and a 125cc scooter...

[Eos]

While laudable Ian, being child encumbered (!) I'm afraid it's not a luxury to which I can aspire!

We would have a 6km hike/cycle to the nearest bus stop, 10 to the nearest trains, supermarkets & banks etc and 15 to school.

This might all work well on an outward journey but we live at the top of a very steep hill which is just about walkable if you're not carrying, or pushing, anything!

As an alternative though, I love where I live so my stress levels are good, commuting traffic is generally going in the opposite direction to that which I use so I don't need an excess of diesel for sitting in traffic, astute shopping means that I'm in the supermarkets etc much less often than my town dwelling friends who generally use 4X4s for runs of less than 1km, my house is heated with sustainable fuels & I recycle obsessively so I like to think I'm doing a little in the right direction.

[Just Katie]

Will become car free very soon and, I cannot wait.  Although this is not an option for everyone, why do people need cars in the city?

[Rose (& Greyman)]

Sounds a great idea Ian. I can't see it's possible with kids in the country (are you in a city ?) but we did downsize from 2 to one car a year ago and it works fine. I can't envisage life without it altogether but we do TRY to avoid using it if at all possible. We walk to school, to many strange looks from other parents and plan to kit orselves out with new bikes soon. We even see some parents from our village driving about 200m from their house to the school gates.

If you do it you must keep us all informed of progress.

[Albert the InfoGipsy]

I'll drink to that. I'm now living in central London and gave my car to my son with the proviso that he include me on the insurance. In 4 months I've borrowed it once to go to a business meeting 20 miles from the nearest station.

[groslard]

I have been without a car for most of my time in France, and totally for the last 18 months.

I also live in a medium sized town with buses and a station.

However there are some probems. The major shops are now out of town, and the central library and Post office are being closed, so I need to take a bus OUT of town for those facilities.

The main entertainment centres have now also been moved ot of town, with very poor access if you haven't got a car.

Doing a major grocery shop is difficult, or expensive if you use taxis as the likes of Auchan will deliver but only the goods you have been to the shop to select: there is no Internet ordering.

I can only get to one or two of the many beaches, and none of the surrounding countryside is easy of access

For example, there is one bus a day to the village where I have my résidence secondaire, and that turns straight round abd comes back.

I manage, but have the feeling that my life is a lot less rich than if I could take for granted the sort of access to these things that many people take for granted.

[Nick Trollope]

Lovely thought Ian. We are down to one car (from 3), but have 2 vans (necessary for work) which tend to get used as second cars. Right-on eco-creds....

Around here we are in the middle of a medium-sized village on a main road, with no public transport, the nearest train station is 8Km away (and you can only get to Rennes).

My bike has a puncture.

Have you considered transport-less? My Father, (in the UK and aged 80) cannot get around since he went blind (thanks to NICE), because the public transport in his medium-sized town can't cope with sightless people. I can't imagine what it must be like to be stuck at home in France.

There are lots of reasons to be "green" (excuse me if I have misread your situation), but few of them bear practical or financial scrutiny.

[Ian]

It's not for green reasons particularly (I probably take 60 odd flights a year with work so I'm hardly Swampy) ... but certainly one less car won't hurt the planet.

More really that I don't think I need to own a car.  Don't they just sit there losing value too?

What is it they say?..."If it has four wheels, floats or fornicates - better to rent it rather than own it" ... or words to that effect [;-)]

[groslard]

This is a different question of course.

There is a programme that calculates this for property

http://www.lesechos.fr/patrimoine/calcul/larp/e_larp.html

And I imagine there must be something like that for cars too.

My point was more about the lack of freedom. Taxis in my town are horribly expensive out of standard hours, including Sundays, and the car hire places aren't always open when it suits th customer...

[just john]

What are the rules governing taxis, especially rural ones?, I have a similar problem which usually means that they are more expensive than a days car hire, (which of course isn't always readily available). At these prices you would think that there might be more competition from something like mini-cabs, or is there some regulation preventing this?

[8-|] the real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday

[Clair]

Taxis are very regulated in France and minicabs do not exist. A very limited number of new licences is granted every year and current licences are bought/sold or passed on though families.

[Patf]

When we lived on Tyneside we were car-less for a couple of years and saved a good deal of money. It felt like a real release, especially as I had just given up work, when I was in the car and around town all day. But there was excellent public transport, metro and buses, and we found a cheap place to hire a car if necessary. Husband biked a lot. It's essential to have at least one car here, as there's no public transport at all.

[groslard]

[quote user="Clair"]Taxis are very regulated in France and minicabs do not exist. A very limited number of new licences is granted every year and current licences are bought/sold or passed on though families.

[/quote]

This is what lies behind the recent waves of strikes, when for example taxis blocked the frontier with Spain.

The Attali report had recommended a greater  flexibility, but as often in France direct action took over and the Government caved in.

http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/news/france/20080130-taxis-france-strike-FNAT-Attali-unions.php

and

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BE927947C-C8FE-4386-BFF8-CF12F7F15AF5%7D)&language=EN

Gives you some idea of the difficulty of bringing in reforms.

[Moulin85]

At the end of the day Ian only you know your lifestyle and can make the decision.

 

In the uk we live in a town and can go 3 or 4 weeks without using the car, but in France a vehicle of some kind is essential. Except for an excellent MarchéU that we cycle to all other shops are 20km away. And its not just collection, it’s also disposal as our commune will only take away domestic refuse that is not recyclable, ie no glass, plastic, paper, cardboard etc. All this has to be taken to the local Déchetterie.

 

If as you suggest you may use a rented car 3 or 4 days a month then the economics of giving up your own car must be marginal, add in the advantage of being able to go where you want when you want without having to work around public transport and it’s a close call.

 

[cooperlola]

Anybody ever used "Covoiturage"?

http://covoiturage.sarthe.com/

Again, might help the car-free? This strikes me as a really great idea.