Do any Bluemooners live without a car

I passed my driving test in 1999 aged 19. Long story but got 6 points in my first 2 years of driving and so had to do my test again but didn't bother, for a few reasons. I haven't driven since and have got on fine with life without it, using various modes of transport depending on the situation. For large chunks of the last 25 years I've commuted on my bicycle and because I made the decision not to ever buy a house I've been able to move closer to my place of work if needs be, or have a change of scenery. However, the last few years with the state of the rental market I've been stuck in the same house for 8 years, which is a bit annoying, which meant when I was made redundant this year I had to look for work closer to this house again and thankfully living close to Trafford Park has helped. We also make sure we live within walking distance of a supermarket, however, nowadays home delivery and Amazon etc help us out.

My missus doesn't drive either. In recent years we've used Uber a lot more and between 2 of us, can be pretty useful and not as expensive as I thought they might be before we started using them.

I have pondered getting my licence again but the whole blag and expense of owning a car, being stuck in traffic etc just doesn't appeal to me when I'm soo used to living my life the way I do now.
 
Alan Harper's Tash said:
The clue may be in his username, or may be a big red herring.
Click to expand...
giphy.gif
 
I wish cars were a bit more pay-as-you-go. The problem is you pay most of the cost up front, so once you've done that, you might as well use it for everything. If every time you drove, you had to pay a chunk of your insurance and road tax in addition to petrol, public transport might work out favourably in terms of cost.

When I lived in Kuala Lumpur, I didn't bother with a car. Took trains everywhere and then if that didn't work, I took a taxi. Very occasionally rented a car if I wanted to move something or go somewhere outside the city that I might struggle to get a taxi back from.

Now I live in Saigon, so it's a motorbike all the way. They've finally opened their first metro line, but it doesn't go to where I work. It takes me 20 minutes to get to work. It would be 45 minutes to an hour and 3 buses if I used public transport. What I would say is if you ever want to see how cars completely choke a city, drive around Saigon on a motorbike for a while. Almost every time you get stuck, it's because some idiot in a car is doing something stupid and taking up the entire road while they do it.
 
Not had a car for over 20 years. Don’t miss it in the slightest.

A combination of bus, train, tram, taxi, does me just fine.

Might take a little longer to get places but so what?
 
I’ve not had a car since March 2020.

Don’t need one. I don’t think anyone really needs one unless they are disabled or the vehicle specifically serves a working purpose where walking, cycling or public transport isn’t an option.

Cars are the biggest waste of money in our lives. You have shit loads more money not having a car.
 
Last edited:
Psychedelic Casual said:
I’ve not had a car since March 2020.

Don’t need one. I don’t think anyone really needs one unless they are disabled or the vehicle specifically serves a working purpose where walking, cycling or public transport isn’t an option.

You have shit loads more money not having a car.
Click to expand...
I live in Oldham and worked in Sheffield for a few years. I wouldn't have trusted public transport at all and it would have taken me far longer door to door than driving. I also had the added benefit of riding in on my motorcycle on fine days in the Summer. A coffee and a bacon butty at the LadyBower cafe sat in the morning sun put me in a good mood for the day. Having said that if I'd worked in Manchester City Centre I may well have used the bus due to the concerted efforts by the council to make driving in as unpleasant/inconvenient and expensive as possible.
I'm retired now but I have no intention of giving up driving/riding, I like the freedom to be able to go somehere when I want to and not rely on times/routes available on unreliable public transport. I read a lot these days about trains being cancelled at the drop of a hat because they have 'no staff'. That would drive me nuts !!!
 
mexico1970 said:
No buses or trains on boxing day prevented me from going to the game, for that reason alone public transport will always be a disgrace :)
Click to expand...
Is there no local official or unofficial City Supporters Branch near you Mexico? I run a 33 seater from Stalybridge every home game, we generally have 4/5 spare seats, there must be one near to where you live, we charge a tenner but always have excess money so at Christmas everyone got a free pint in the pub and a couple of tinnies on the bus. Last game of the season will be the same with a free bus as well plus some food on when we get back from the game.
 
hammocity said:
Is there no local official or unofficial City Supporters Branch near you Mexico? I run a 33 seater from Stalybridge every home game, we generally have 4/5 spare seats, there must be one near to where you live, we charge a tenner but always have excess money so at Christmas everyone got a free pint in the pub and a couple of tinnies on the bus. Last game of the season will be the same with a free bus as well plus some food on when we get back from the game.
Click to expand...

I shall bear that in mind mate next time the world stops because everyone has a hangover celebrating the baby cheesus's birthday and don't want to go to work :)

I have never been a member of an OSC preferring to keep my own church, however it was a good suggestion mate.
 
Let me tell you, folks, I have a bicycle, okay? It's a tremendous bicycle, really fantastic. Beautiful, some people say it's the most beautiful bicycle they've ever seen. And believe me, nobody knows bicycles better than I do. Nobody. I've seen bicycles, I've ridden bicycles, I've built bicycles—well, maybe not built, but I've definitely thought about building them. This bicycle, it's strong, it's powerful, just like me. People come up to me and say, "Mr. Alvin, how do you have such a great bicycle?" And I tell them, it's because I'm a winner, and winners have the best bicycles. Period.
 
mexico1970 said:
I shall bear that in mind mate next time the world stops because everyone has a hangover celebrating the baby cheesus's birthday and don't want to go to work :)

I have never been a member of an OSC preferring to keep my own church, however it was a good suggestion mate.
Click to expand...
We're not an OSC, along with a couple of others in Stalybridge and Dukinfield. That Boxing Day match was a ridiculous ko, ended up back at the pub (Little Astley), playing Bingo for the first time in my life, our table won 2 prizes, both consisting of a round of shots, at my time of life I certainly paid the price the following day!

Back to the car thingy, I'm moving house late this year/early next, I'll be on a bus route, one direction to Stalybridge, the other way to Uppermill. I think I'll be ditching the car purely because I don't enjoy driving anymore and especially when it's limited daylight, I'll use my electric bike in favourable conditions.
 
Alvin-blue-qhd said:
Let me tell you, folks, I have a bicycle, okay? It's a tremendous bicycle, really fantastic. Beautiful, some people say it's the most beautiful bicycle they've ever seen. And believe me, nobody knows bicycles better than I do. Nobody. I've seen bicycles, I've ridden bicycles, I've built bicycles—well, maybe not built, but I've definitely thought about building them. This bicycle, it's strong, it's powerful, just like me. People come up to me and say, "Mr. Alvin, how do you have such a great bicycle?" And I tell them, it's because I'm a winner, and winners have the best bicycles. Period.
Click to expand...

Are there nine million bicycles in Beijing?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top