I’m stopping my insurance and car tax on Sunday and planning to bike everywhere. Any tips? Has anyone else done this?
Live five miles from my work so can commute to work no problems, hoping to save money from insurance and ever rising fuel costs

Do you live in/near a town or a bit out in the sticks I reckon this makes a huge difference to the practicality of being car free.

you’ll spend a fortune on food.

and cycling tat.

I do this.

You need to plan ahead and sometimes compromise. I mentally set aside the money saved from not owning a car and use this for hire cars and taxis when its the only option – it always results in a saving over the year – a couple of thousand a year buys a lot of taxis and hire cars.

Look into getting bulk groceries delivered – most of the supermarkets do that now

Very big panniers !

It’s PITA not having a car frankly, and I live close to some of the best trails in the UK.

Luckily I get a rental car for work sometimes so can stock up on cat litter and take the bottles to the recycling.

If you are a bit more organised Tesco online is your friend.

you’ll spend a fortune on food.

and cycling tat.

True enough, when I did a long commute I was replacing something almost every month. Helps to have a spare bikes or at least a spare set of wheels. The number of times I went to the shed in the morning and found the commuter with a flat tyre were too numerous to count. Being able to just swap the wheel over rather than having to repair the flat when you’re already pushed for time was pretty handy.

Depends where you live. I live in Manchester and while I love my car, I only have it because my girlfriend lives in Durham and the costs of getting there by train got so much that it was worth me having a car when you factor in how much easier it is for getting around mountain biking etc as well. When we sort out the long distance thing, we’ll get rid of my car I expect.

Definitely get your food delivered, even if you have a car it’s sooooo much better than going to the shops yourself! If you can be 6hrs-flexible, Asda will do it for as little as £2.50 a trip.

I was carless for a long weekend a month ago. Felt great, rode the tram to go shoping, relaxed. Drank yet somehow, something didn’t feel right..

You can’t rev the knackers off of a bicycle. If I go carless in the future I’ll get a motorbike.

I live in a town sort of area so its not too bad. We already have our shopping delivered an I have a huge rucksack if I need to carry anything anywhere. Or I could always use the bus. I have a spare bike but it’s a downhill bike so isn’t too practical. I thought about buying an old cheap road bike as they seem pretty bombproof and I can kit it out just to commute on. Using a scandal to xc and commute on at the moment btw

We are car free (not by our choice, some scrote decided for us). The online food shopping thing has been excellent mostly. We’re not too far from town and the buses aren’t really that bad (time-wise). I’m not working over the summer but start at a new school in September which is 10 miles away. Trying to decide if I’ll bike everyday or get the train some days.

G/f hates not having a car. She’s fed up with it taking her an hour to get home on public transport when it’d be 15-20 mins in a car.

I guess I miss the convenience factor too but I can do without.

Friday big shop and transporting the kids. The first could be worked out, online shopping etc, the second is more of a PITA to arrange alternatives. I managed without a car til I was 30, easily do-able for child free town dwellers.

I thought about buying an old cheap road bike as they seem pretty bombproof and I can kit it out just to commute on.

Do this an solid tourer or similar that can be you commuter bike / get around bike with a rack guards and tough tyres e.t.c. Alternative an old mtb with slick tyres mudgaurd and a rack. You will need a solid but basic bike that you can just have setup with solid midrange parts unattractive e.t.c.

Never been car fee for very long but when I have been I’ve always hankered after a trailer for those awkward too big for the rack objects.

How far to the nearest train station?

I think DONK has hit it on the head – kids.

Mine have to be in so many places at such different times that it would be a PITA without the car.

Plus I actually have to have one avaialble for work, it’s part of my contract.

Yuba Mundo FTW!

Don’t have kids either so in theory it’s a breeze? Till it snows

How are fully loaded Yuba Mondos on the hills (or any similar SUB)? I love the idea of an SUB but in Sheffield…I dunno. Maybe just MTFU 😀

The kids one interests me. As a kid I did loads of stuff but I got around by bike or bus. ( Glasgow in the 70s) We didn’t get ferried around by the parents in the car much at all.

Are kids doing more? Are the distances more or is it expectations have changed?

I know dangerous beans and his kids IRL and know they appear to have sensible outlook but I find this a bit hard to reconcile.

I’ve never had a car, I’ve always lived in big cities with lots of public transport options. I enjoy the daily ride to work… but since moving to NW cumbria, I don’t have a handy rail system to rely on. Might have to get one of these internal-combustion wagons….

Definately get a sturdy tourer (or slick mtb) with rack n guards.
And dedicated commuting gear, as it gets ruined, save the shiny gear for the weekends.

hoping to save money from insurance and ever rising fuel costs

And don’t forget money saved servicing/mot & VED.

I’ve spent just over £3000 over the past 12 months running my car. I’ve often thought about what I could save if I ditched the car (pretty much impossible now with 2 kids though).

I’ve been commuting to work 4 times a week since the end of Feb. It’s a 23-mile round trip – I’ve saved 1500 miles worth of petrol, which I roughly calculated is around £330 (2001 Vectra 1.8).

£330 saving in just over 4 months. Sounds great.

But in the same period the bike’s needed a new chain, cassette, lycra shorts, lube, bb, wheel, grips, gloves … which all cancels out the petrol saving 🙄

So, in reality I’d probably save nearer the equivalent of insurance, VED & servicing/mot costs – approx £1700 per year – rather than being near the £3000 total running costs

I’m stopping my insurance and car tax on Sunday

don’t forget to get a SORN thingy

How are fully loaded Yuba Mondos on the hills (or any similar SUB)? I love the idea of an SUB but in Sheffield…I dunno. Maybe just MTFU

I’m in Sheffield, and have been wondering the same to be honest. If I went Yuba (having recently gone car free) I’d probably get an electric assist hub on the front to help take the strain a bit.

Not seen a Yuba in Sheffield yet. Seen a Big Dummy once or twice, owned by the folks at JRA I believe. Might nip down and ask them how they get on. I have a few quid burning a hole in my pocket having sold the car and freed myself of all the ongoing costs.

I tried it, and eventualy ended up with 2 cars (and the missus has one too!).

Pro’s
+fitter
+more cash

Con’s
– I actualy rode my bike less, I was either knackered from commuting, or had to rely on lifts which means no impromptu trip to the trails.
– Long journeys by train, great, except even with a railcard they cost as much/more than petrol (and a lot more then diesel), even booking 6 months in advance its only a £25 saving doing the 550mile round trip home! The trains takes an hour longer each way, I still have to get to the station, and deal with other passengers, and can’t call in on my parents on the way! And how do you know what you’ll be doing to the minute in 6 months time? Miss the train and its another £80 for a one way ticket!

Yes you can rely on mates and the missus for lifts, but it really puts a strain on things after a while.

Are kids doing more? Are the distances more or is it expectations have changed?

well both mine are under 2 so they aint doing nowt by themselves at the moment. Hoping not to be ferrying them about much when they grow up a bit.

I think the point was where are you ferrying them? especially at that age, i cant imagine they have huge social lives. When i was a kid (etc.) my mum used to take me to the doctors/shops/wherever in the pushchair or on the back of a bike. If we needed to go into the City we took the bus. Only time i got in a car was when we (rarely) went away on weekend trips with my grandparents.

Well, I suppose I could not do it but I do want to support them in their interests.

Eldest is 14 and is in 2 rock bands, a classical guitar ensemble, a big band (where he plays bass) and 2 choirs. Often theres a fair bit of kit involved to be shifted or its in a faraway place. As an example he is singing today at the opening ceremony of the European Fencing Championships in Sheffield while his little brother needed to be a school – wife already at work so no help there.

Little brother is in a rock band, choir and big band and also plays solo keyboard (which has to go with him for lessons and performances and is quite large). Again loads of kit to move.

Both of them are dead keen, spend all their available money on music kit and practice constantly. I feel that I need to encourage and help them in this so have become a bit of a roadie (and I’m not talking about bikes!!).

With a bit of luck they’ll make it big and throw me the odd spare groupie 😀

jackthedog – Be interested to hear how you get on if you take the plunge. I’ll keep my eyes a bit more open for SUBs in Sheffield now.

Beans – I guess the kit issue does not help. Mine was mainly sporty stuff so only a bag of sports kit. It just seems to me there is a difference in attitude about kids finding their own way around the place by bike and bus than there used to be. Same with students – at university in the 80-s no one had a car hardly – now students seem to expect to have one.

I am I just being an old grump with rose coloured glasses?

Job done.

TJ – you may have been slightly older when getting around by yourself. I get the impression that parents are supporting (or otherwise) their kids at quite young ages, where it might not be practical to send them on public transport.

Much better in summer months going car free, I’ve done it since 5th November and I feel more and more smug everytime I go past the petrol stations, commuted every single day…….but originally it wasnt by choice, was dreading it at first (seperated and ex took the car, well it was hers as such!!).

Im ‘lucky’ though as nearest shop is only 2 miles away so not too bad if need to pop the shop but good planning on way home from work normally prevents this, as does home delivery food shopping. Also lucky as ex runs the kids to wherever they need to go but they are 18 and 15 now so tend to make their own way on the hourly bus service which stops at 6pm….different story if they were younger.

Would I have taken the plunge if it was a choice to get rid of car? Probably not. Am I telling myself its better without a car because I havent got one? Probably.

Just try it and see how it goes going carless, nothing to lose but lots to gain

Good luck!

I think the point was where are you ferrying them?

Just the places we go, before kids a trip to see my folks was done by bike on my own or taxi/bus with my mrs, I still do short journeys with 1 kid by bike but not longer ones and not both kids.

TJ, Yes you are. 🙂

You’ve seen the amps, keyboard, stands, mikes, cables, pedals etc. in my living room, they often need to go where the kids are going.

Mine usually walk to and from school, up to the shop and all that but the car is still needed for their lifestyle. Don’t think this has changed from when we were young, bands always needed some bloke with a van. In fact, having a van got you in a band when you were crap.

You’re problably right though, I say begrudgingly, our society is much more car orientated.

And due to my job requiring I have a car I have all the initial outlay, tax, insurance, servicing whether it sits on the drive or is out and about. Therefore the only thing I have to pay for is petrol over and above what I have to pay to actually own the thing.

Nipping into town shopping costs 2-3 quid in petrol and free parking at my work, 4 of us on the bus would cost much more. Last time we did it, it was £8.80 IIRC for an 8 mile round trip.

Couldn’t even turn out of my drive on that.

I’m in Stockport which is a long way from rural, I always cycle to the various work places that require my prescence in Stockport and Manchester, rarely drive a car at weekends and almost never drive to, then ride somewhere and I managed to write our car off 5 weeks ago.
My wife is housebound for a while yet and I have 1 teenage daughter.
A car is not a big thing in my life.
O-M-G! We collect a new car on Saturday morning and it can’t come soon enough! Every time I go out the door I have to hitch the bike trailer up for something. Every time I go past the supermarket I have to call in for something. I had so far managed to be mobile phone free but without a car I’ve had to get one and it is in constant use.
Every single hour of the non working, waking day requires planning of military precision as it all has to be done by bike.
I feel like my head is going to explode!
Weekend cycling had become going to the tip, shops, library, dog hair cutting shop (NEVER EVER PUT A WESTIE IN A BIKE TRAILER AND CYCLE ALONG THE A6), no time or inclination to actually enjoy a pedal.
I won’t ever be without a car again.

Your dog has a hairdresser?

Have you ever seen a westie with dreadlocks? Actually, that could look exeptional (and save me £30 a month).

Have you ever seen a westie with dreadlocks?

west-i an I a fait fi his groomin

Mine usually walk to and from school, up to the shop and all that but the car is still needed for their lifestyle. Don’t think this has changed from when we were young, bands always needed some bloke with a van. In fact, having a van got you in a band when you were crap.

You’re problably right though, I say begrudgingly, our society is much more car orientated.

I think this is the biggest hurdle to overcome.Though not quite as bad as America, we’ve built our modern world around the presumption that we all have cars. Our friends, for instance, aren’t those who live across the street but those who live across town. Our jobs can be miles away and that’s fine, even though such a distance would have been unworkable a few years ago. Our shops aren’t down the road, they’re miles out of town and they have huge car parks.

It’s fairly easy to cope without a car, but you do have to adapt your lifestyle. It’s a mindset as much as anything, and unfortunately even with a positive desire to be car free, the current world makes it hard.

I live in a place without much public transport provision, which was okay when I moved here as I had a car so I never considered it. Now it seems less viable and I wish I was nearer town. I’ve painted myself into a bit of a corner without really realising. Another step to car dependency without being aware of it.

In the future I do hope cars become a bit less a part of all our lives, as now I’m without it I’m not sure they’re quite as liberating as I once thought they were.

People tend to say they’d die without a car, but it’s a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy. If everybody has cars, we all need cars. If we all got rid, things might make a bit more sense out there.

[bit of a tangent]

There’s an interesting book, called Traffic, which looks at modern transport issues. He makes a good point that we humans don’t think of distances in terms of length, but in terms of time.

Work therefore isn’t 17.6 miles away, it’s half an hours drive. The shop isn’t a mile away, it’s a minute’s drive away, or a ten minute walk away.

It’s apparently why making more roads doesn’t solve traffic issues the way we think it should. If they made the M1 between Sheffield and Leeds twice as wide, technically it should be half as busy. But because it would take less time to commute between the cities, more people would see it as a viable commute and expand their job/home searches accordingly. And before you know it, it’s as busy as it was before.

I don’t mean to sound all evangelistic about going car free by the way – I’m the biggest petrol head I know by some margin. That’s why I find it an interesting subject.

[/tangent]

dog hair cutting shop

**** genius. 😀

My experience: I could go car free more easily than Mrs North. I mind the hassle and planning less. she’d go insane if she couldn’t jump behind the wheel and zoom off somewhere.

Last year, I commuted daily by bike (34 miles round trip each day) and lived in a city – so consumables were always available at most times of the day and night. Mrs North would drive to work (8 miles round trip) – but she was pregnant and could hardly walk.

We’re now in a small village with no shop. We still have one car, and it’s used much more, especially for me getting to work, which is 26 miles by bike (each way) and not on a convenient train line.

So, car free doesn’t really work for us, but one car for a family (we have a baby) is fine.

Been car-free for 3yrs + now.

No kids, live in a small town withina ride of most amenities or a longer hike to the recycling tip.

Pros – you adjust your lifestyle to suit and it’s way easier than most people think, particularly if you see cycling as a pleasure not a chore. save a fortune – over 3 years i’ve saved enough to buy a long-term dream-bike, enough to plan a big trip next year, and a load aside (ie an ISA allowance + per year’s worth). I use trains and taxis when required but luckily I do live 3 mins from a station – the car-free route was in my mind when i moved here.
I’m less bothered about riding in the rain (which is actually rarer than you’d think) and overall i feel healthier and less stressed.
I appreciate the riding on my doorstep a lot more. I ride loally more, find more good stuff, adjusted my views on riding overall for the better and have more money and appetite for a once/twice yearly trip somewhere else.

Cons – i miss spontaneous trips to wales and the peak dist. Going home to visit family takes more planning. that’s about it really.

Try itfor a minimum of 6 months – after that, if not before, you’ll have started to realise how unecessary car dependance is if your lifestyle can cope without it. Fuel isn’t ever going to get any cheaper either..