When I broke my wrist back in May it obviously prevented me driving. Since my wife doesn’t drive I was left relying on public transport or walking. I live about two miles from the city centre.
Well it’s true of course that I missed the car but I have to say that life wasn’t as bad as I feared. Fortunately I live about a ten minute walk from the bus stop from where I can get a bus into the city. Buses are electric and reliable. Can check on times via an app. and it is free. Main line train station is a mile and a half away. Taxi to the station costs£8.
Grocery shopping was a problem so we ordered it online from Waitrose. Corner shop is five minutes walk away.
Pleased to be back driving again but experience has changed my views. Still get bus into the city (it’s easier and cheaper). I now know I can live quite happily without a car if I have to. I used to think I would like to live out in the country but life in the suburbs is not so bad. Not sure how I would have coped miles from anywhere.i
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Fortunately I have no serious problems at present, but two weeks ago following a visit to the optician I had a referral to the Bristol Eye Hospital.
Usually I drive into central Bristol (about 12 miles) - parking issues and eye drops made the bus an option from the local park and ride.
I last caught a bus ~15 years ago. The journey was as quick as by car (probably quicker at peak periods using bus lanes). No expensive car park. Stopped 200 yds from hospital. Impressed, we applied for and now have a free travel card. Getting to Bath or Bristol now costs nothing.
We moved to a small town with walkable facilities a couple of years ago. Being isolated in the countryside with mobility compromised was not an attractive prospect. We have decent basic shops, pubs, restaurants and a Waitrose all about 10 minutes walk away.
While I would regard as a major constraint being unable to drive in the future, life need not come to a complete halt.
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Fortunately we live in suburbia - an area that likes to call itself a village, but which some time ago was embraced by the sprawl of the local town. Within a few minutes' walk we have small shopping centre and a somewhat longer walk gets us to a large Supermarket.
SWMBO doesn't drive and at various times I have been unable to, due to injury, surgery or just plain illness. We know that we can still run our lives more or less as before, with shopping delivered and the use of buses which stop very close to the house. For years we've used our bus passes to get to the town centre, or to the other two local towns, when parking is too much of a problem.
However, as a keen amateur musician, I would have to rely on lifts and taxis to get to and from evening rehearsals; buses don't go near the venues and services have more or less petered out by 10:00 pm anyway.
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In Scotland we qualify for a free bus pass at 60, I hit this a while ago.
I also live just off probably the 2nd busiest bus route in Glasgow so if I want to go into/towards the city I am well covered.
Consequently, my annual mileage in my car has halved.
It's not all good though, I actually don't need/want to go into the city centre at all frequently & getting to the places that I do want to go to by bus involves more walking &/or transfers & much more time. 5 minutes in the car each way or 45 minutes+, hmm?
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We both retired a couple of years ago. However, we still managed to put 11,000 miles on my car and 8,000 miles on my wife’s during each of those years.
For now anyway, I think we’d miss our cars if we didn’t have them and would probably (definitely) fall out if we only had one between us.
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When I had my cataracts done a few years back, I could not drive for about 10 days each time and missed it not.
Then very little driving till the eyes had settled and had to wait for the check up and then the new glasses.
3 Bus stops with 3 routes into Colchester,, 1 even goes past the hospital. Pub 100 metres.. Co-op local 100 metres. Trains 800 metres. Asda 1 kilometre. Walk to Colchester High street 1.8 kms.
Walk to work for YOUNGROVERGIRL 10 minutes.
SWMBO uses the lttle venga not a lot.
Next week National express bus to Stansted £9.00. why drive except when silly times of the night?
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For the last fifty years, we've lived in a suburban area. Several pubs within a mile, local shops and supermarkets within a few hundred yards, surgery and walk-in centre as well.
We use bus pass if we're going into town for a meal and drink, but a large, town centre multi-storey car park has four hours free parking - Tory mayor you see!
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We're in a large dormitory village just across the M1 from Northampton. We needed two cars when we both worked and only reduced to one earlier this year. That's an ongoing experiment albeit so far successful.
Without car or taxis there's an hourly bus service linking Northampton with Daventry both of which have good shopping facilities. But it goes 'all around the Wrekin' in both directions and the last service home is around 18:00 so no good for evening entertainment.
The village shop has come on by thirty years in the last two and is now well stocked with enough stuff to do a reasonable weekly shop. Inevitably, tuff like fresh meat/fish, veg etc is very limited c/p with even 'local' Co oP or tesco type shops but (eg) tonic now includes two or three Fever Tree variants whereas previously it was Schweppes full fat or diet only.
The proprietor is very focussed on what customers want and keeps various lines, like my strong Polish beer, at customer requests.
We could certainly manage on Waitrose or whatever deliveries with the shop filling the gap.
However, I think if we got to the no driving point we'd be looking to sell up and move nearer the kids in Liverpool/NE Wales.
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I live in a Surrey commuter town, 10 minute walk to station, 30 minutes to Waterloo. 10 minute walk in either direction to pubs & shops (inc a Waitrose - natch). 5 minutes gets me on the Basingstoke canal, linking to Wey Navigation, country walks with dogs.
Dogs. There is the problem. I travel to dog shows all over the midlands, South and South West, where I judge and work my dogs. And training - Aylesbury, Huntingdon, Southampton. Not to mention steam train chasing all over the country, and shed tugging for multiple holidays.
My only big no car moments has been broken hip and after various cancer surgeries.
Having no car would be a serious dent in my activities and a downhill spiral with mental health and fitness.
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 5 Oct 25 at 19:24
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As already noted the ease of life without driving depends massively on where you live, especially once retired. Being in an outer London suburb is a major plus with excellent bus services (4 from the nearby stop) thanks to the much maligned TfL. Local shops are excellent, GP, chemist and dentist all within walking distance.
I abandoned driving (and parking) for major shopping centres long ago when a Freedom pass introduced the advantage of using public transport. Prior to Covid a weekly supermarket shop made the car seem essential but since then has been replaced by a weekly delivery (5 or 6 major supermarkets serve our area).
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I guess we would all miss our cars but at the same time time its a fact that many of us will have to give up our cars at some time as age and ill health catch up with us. You have to face the facts and be prepared to adaptI suppose.
Mind you it might not happen. Just found out my neighbour but two dropped dead from a heart attack two days ago whilst mowing the lawn. As good a way to as any I suppose. Just bought a nice new Audi as well.
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>> As good a way to as any I suppose.
Needn't have bothered to mow the lawn, though.
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Bit of a cutting remark T&E…?
;-)
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Pity it was Norfolk, not Suffolk, or it could have been a Suffolk Punchline. ;-)
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>> a large, town centre multi-storey car park has four hours free parking - Tory mayor
>> you see!
Me and my big mouth! The mayor's just announced the free parking is to end due to financial constraints.
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Never trust a politician,
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Never mind Bedford’s Mayor has said “ I remain fully committed to bringing it back to Allhallows and Lurke Street Multi-Storey car parks when the borough’s finances allow.”
Just before hell freezes over then.
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Local authorities have an almost overwhelming capacity for stupidity.
Mine decided (i assume financial reasons) to introduce charges when previously parking was free.
This meant that most parking around the large 1960s shopping precinct is privately owned and still free. The only charging car park I sometimes use locally is adjacent to the GP surgery.
The result - cars which previously used that close to the surgery now create congestion in the free car park. The surgery (rightly) has installed a number plate registration system exempting surgery users from charges, and now generates close to zero revenue.
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>> Local authorities have an almost overwhelming capacity for stupidity.
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>> Mine decided (i assume financial reasons) to introduce charges when previously parking was free.
>>
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"Let's increase the parking charges and do put double yellow lines everywhere".
"Great idea Councilor Nonentitity, and while we're about we can extend all the pavements to get rid of those damn delivery vans from the High Street".
Two years later -
"The town is dying because people are driving ten miles to the out of town shopping centre with the 9,000 free car parking spaces," say's the Council leader. "It's so unfair.
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>> Local authorities have an almost overwhelming capacity for stupidity.
I don't think it's quite that straightforward.
Charged town centre car parks were a thing before the seventies. Remained so twenty years later.
1990/91, we'd drive into Northampton on Saturday morning to do our shop. After going round the town's charged car parks which were full we'd go and park half a mile out at the station where I had a commuter's season ticket and walk the 800 yards back to the market.
The places outside town with free parking, albeit time limited, came along in parallel.
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>> >> Local authorities have an almost overwhelming capacity for stupidity.
Woking
>> I don't think it's quite that straightforward.
True, Criminally stupid.
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“don't think it's quite that straightforward.“
No it’s not. Norwich is an expensive place to park in the City centre. £6.60 for three hours. There is no free parking. I tend to take the bus. Would more people visit if parking was cheaper or free.? Well the car parks are full pretty well every day despite the prices sp presumably not. Free or cheaper parking would just make it impossible to find a place.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Wed 8 Oct 25 at 18:15
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>> We both retired a couple of years ago. However, we still managed to put 11,000
>> miles on my car and 8,000 miles on my wife’s during each of those years.
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The motorhome generally does 8K per year now. The current one has done 6K over the last 6 months (though being Summer that includes the two customary continental jaunts per year).
The two cars are lucky if they do 5K between them (and yes, we could manage with one, but the Smart costs very little to run, so it will get run into the ground).
Because the motorhome is "what we do" and has been for over 30 years, I'll miss the joy that random exploration brings when it needs to be relinquished. The rest would be survivable.
The village we live in has enough for local needs, Doctor, Pharmacy, Library, Co-oP supermarket, and quite a thriving High Street all in walking distance. Regular bus to the nearest larger supermarket is a short ride, but bus into the city is a pain, going all the way round the houses and villages in-between, irregular service and no evening service.
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My 93 year old dad has recently given up driving on opticians advice. So family are rallying around to drive him his weekly supermarket trips, volunteering at the local hospice and going to church.
By his own admission everything is now covered except for one thing.
Being able to spontaneously decide to go somewhere.
Bit like during Covid when we had him isolated at home and then a few months later in the family WhatsApp chat got a message from him saying “I am going to Aldi’s”
In a panic we all answered along similar lines - we bring you shopping twice a week, why do you need to go to Aldi’s??
His answer - I just want to go and spontaneously see something that I fancy buying instead of having to give you a list to buy me.
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Unless living very remotely there is little that is essential that cannot be done online or by taxi (if family or friends are not around).
Covid ramped up online shopping - for us now normal, certainly for staples. We wouldn't go hungry without a car but wholly online becomes very tedious - pictures online are no substiitute for an occasional browse of fresh food cabinets, deli counter etc.
Some essential travel - doctor, dentist etc - may require a short taxi ride - but this is hopefully infrequent and affordable.
The main loss is social, recreational and family. Currently driving 50 or 150 miles to see folk, have a meal etc, is easy and straightforward. Without a car, journey times may double or treble, timings may be inconvenient, journeys need planning.
Recreational - cricket, football, theatre, hobbies etc all become constrained by lack of personal transport.
Perhaps this is a sad but inevitable feature of aging - the opposite to the expansion of horizons for most in their teens and early 20s. All one can do plan and act well in advance to ensure that the the negative impacts are (insofar as one can) limited.
Last edited by: Terry on Sun 5 Oct 25 at 23:16
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Lifelong town dwelling friends fulfilled a long held desire and moved to the country during early retirement. Seems they'd not really thought it through as the whole experience seemed to come as more of a shock than they expected - lovely walks and beautiful countryside views but no neighbours to be matey with, no nearby shops, doctors, entertainment or pubs and no public transport to speak of so almost total dependency on the car.
Which is all very well when it's running OK and either of you can drive but only he drove and he recently had a "medical event" which prevented him driving for some months. I think they'd like to move back but financially it was a bit of a one-way trip.
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The idea that you might rely on taxis is increasingly a city thing. We live in a market town of 8000 people with a further several hundred people in villages 5-10 miles out. There is no Uber and the few taxi companies that still trade post-Covid are tied up with the school run and pre-booked airport transfers. Few (none?) now offer an ad hoc immediate (within the hour) booking service.
There are no buses after 7.00pm and we are 7 miles from the railway station.
Pre Covid there were at least 3 companies from which you could casually get a taxi. They were always busy but could fit you in with a short wait.
No doubt it’s part of the vicious cycle of the decline of the night time economy (less taxi demand, fewer taxis, pubs and restaurants closing down).
We are 10 minutes walk from the town centre but (my guesstimate) 90% of people drive in during daytime and few are willing to walk it in the dark so the decline mentioned above continues.
In contrast my daughter lives in greater Leeds and there buses and Uber provide a service we can only dream of.
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Son went to Liverpool for Uni in 2013; met a lovely local lass and stayed there there. Now married and have their own place just off Queen's Avenue.
Ubers are ten a penny and easy peasy even if it's what might otherwise be walking distance to West Derby 'village'.
Started to see Uber branded cars locally in Northampton town but still a bit scarce in the dormitory villages.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Tue 7 Oct 25 at 23:38
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>> Son went to Liverpool for Uni in 2013; met a lovely local lass and stayed
>> there there. Now married and have their own place just off Queen's Avenue.
>>
Queens Drive!
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>> Queens Drive!
Spot on Mr Payer. It didn't read right when I posted!!
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'Son went to Liverpool for Uni in 2013; met a lovely local lass... ...now married.
Sincerest commiserations, similar thing happened to me. There is a 'get out' clause though (divorce), and I took it. But PTSD is forever and I still get Scouse flashbacks.
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Had a bus pass for the last six years (qualifying age is 60 in Wales) - use it weekly to gor for a beer or three with a friend. We currently live within an easy walk of two small shops, a small Co-oP supermarket and the Dr's surgery is a ten minute walk through a park. Used the bus pass to go to the next town to collect my bike following a service in the next town. Looking for a new house is based on making wlaking to shops etc as easy as possible.
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Living in rural Sarf Efficks. Yes its possible to exist without a car.
Shopping home delivered, hours spent on Busses going where you don't want to be to get connecting buses. Etc. Lots more walking.
However having a car is massively convenient enabling trips that take an hour instead of three plus on public transport.
Take today. Trip to the Doctors, then to the Chemists. Off then to a Supermarket on the outskirts of Bazz Vegas. By bus? Not easy. Into Gavin and Stacey town then another bus into central Baz. Then another out to the shopping park. Then the reverse to get home. Hours or fifteen mins in the car. Then there's the cost. Pounds. Where's it cost me less than 4 kwh or 36pence tops. Tomorrow I'm off to near to Clacton. That'd be similarly lots of money . Whst it means in practice is no car and your going to ration your outings. Wheels is freedom to me.
Then there's the safety aspect. Have we overlooked Iryna Zarutska already? I get that her case is rather extreme but it simply doesn't happen to drivers. In many respects I get the anti second amendment argument. They'll prise my car keys out of my cold dead hands and not before.
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>>Tomorrow I'm off to near to Clacton
Say allo to Nige for me.
:o}
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Doubt whether he's there !
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>> Doubt whether he's there !
At his girlfriend's new house?
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Life without driving - Terry
