My OH has got a bee in his bonnet (mind the pun) about us getting rid of the car for a few months. He has a good point, but it actually freaks me out a bit. Admittedly I am thinking of starting to cycle to work, and he no longer has to commute, but NO CAR?! Is he :loopy: ??

So, has anyone taken this drastic move, and if so, how have they coped?

I got rid of my car 15 months ago. I was living close to work, parents were only a short bus ride away, petrol was stupidly expensive along with insurance it just didn't seem worth the bother.

Much better off financially now..

I've never had a car and I do fine.

same here. neither my bf or i drive so we get along quite okay. we can get pretty much everything on the bus/tram/train/cab so its not much of a bother. we have our groceries delivered so no worries about a large food haul

We're also planning a family - do you reckon it'll really affect us? We have parents etc all over the UK and think we'll use a hire car for long distance visits - do you lot do that as well?

I haven't got a car and haven't ever owned one. Public transport's not that bad - if I could reasonably justify the expense of a car I would have one, mostly down to money. With small children a car is probably quite essential though!

I recently tried to work out whether I could manage without a car, and just couldn't find a way in which it would not severely hamper my life.

Little things, like looking after my niece. I look after her at least one day a week and I just wouldn't be able to do that if I was trying to do it by public transport, because it would take a tram, a train and 2 buses to get there, and the same in return, and it wouldn't be physically possible to get to my sister's house by the time I'd need to be there to collect my niece from nursery.

I would also have issues visiting relatives- because I'm the only member of my family in Sheffield. The closest relative is my sister, and she's 50 miles away. The rest are between 90 and 110 miles away and not in town centres and accessible on easy bus routes.

I've never had a car and I do fine.

Same here. Not having a car is free, painless and ultimately rather wonderful.

I had to ditch my car back in 2004 because of my sight. Ive never looked back, I have more money and less hassle.
Im in a good part of the world to be without one so its easy for me.

We're also planning a family - do you reckon it'll really affect us? We have parents etc all over the UK and think we'll use a hire car for long distance visits - do you lot do that as well?

I'm hoping to add to the family soon. My folks are in Nottingham, but I can get to their place in less than two and a half hours or less with public transport.

We're also planning a family - do you reckon it'll really affect us? We have parents etc all over the UK and think we'll use a hire car for long distance visits - do you lot do that as well?
I've never had a car but would seriously think about getting one when we have kids, I can get anywhere I need to on my bike but coping with kids, particularly getting them to Cubs, swimming... without a car would be rather more difficult.

I've never had a car but would seriously think about getting one when we have kids, I can get anywhere I need to on my bike but coping with kids, particularly getting them to Cubs, swimming... without a car would be rather more difficult.

Staying local is the trick I think, plekhanov. If it's a journey inside the city limits it's usually do-able with public transport as readily as it is by car in my experience.

Public transport is ok if you want to get in and out of the city centre but if you want to go elsewhere it can be time consuming and expensive.

The costs of moving a family around on public transport soon mount up as well and make cars a more viable option.

For an couple without children though living without a car is certainly not too difficult.

My OH has got a bee in his bonnet (mind the pun) about us getting rid of the car for a few months. He has a good point, but it actually freaks me out a bit. Admittedly I am thinking of starting to cycle to work, and he no longer has to commute, but NO CAR?! Is he :loopy: ??

So, has anyone taken this drastic move, and if so, how have they coped?

If you live in Woodseats you're always better trying to get around on foot anyway since they did that lovely new bus gate cack stupid thingy near my house. Only problem is if ever you want to go a bit further afield than work, shops etc.

I was without a car for a year and it was fine. I've got one now for various reasons but don't use it very often.
I think there's a car sharing scheme starting (or started) in Sheffield: it's a sort of hire club but much cheaper than just hiring. I'm sure someone will know a bit more about it!!

I'm on the insurance on my dad's car when I'm at home because although we don't live in complete isolation, it is fairly remote. When I'm in Sheffield for uni I don't feel any need for a car because the public transport is fairly good (compared to the system at home anyway) and everything you need is pretty accessible. However when I finish uni in a few months I will most likely move back home and so would really like my own car, now all i need to do is save up the money to be able to afford one :(

Gor rid of mine years ago & it was great.:thumbsup: Feel fitter,more cash in my pocket & do not get stressed out like motorists I see hurtling pass me to the next traffic jam.:loopy: