Does everyone own a car?

C

casiopea

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Many years ago, implementing good financial advice received here, I got rid of my car. Eventhough this move added to my commute time dramatically at the time Id credit card and loans and was starting a mortgage so the car became a nice but unnecessary expense and it was good advice. Eventhough every now and then Im tempted to return to 4 wheel community, Ive been car-free since.

Having had dinner recently with friends in dublin the topic came up about cars and babies, this couple were buying a SUV to carry around baby plus baby paraphenalia. It seems like most young couples/families in Dublin are now 2 car families (this is my opinion Ive no stats to back this up), is this an unfair assumption in my part? How do other people get on without cars? Once you have a baby is it an impossibility?

cas.
 
It is considerably more difficult, but not impossible. A friend of my wife does not drive and her son, now 5, was cycling solo at 3. Her partner is unable to drive, for medical reasons.

And don't get me started on people using babies as justification for driving SUVs ! Grrrrrrrrr

We have 2, the 2nd of which is questionable. If I did not have it, I would have 30 minutes in the evening with the kids before they went to bed, instead of the current 90.
 
We've just the one car and always have, with 2 kids I find it can cause problems and will only get worse. Especially now that the second one is getting to the age where he'll be starting his own activities (football, swimming etc.) and the times will overlap, but not the locations, with his sister. So I think car number 2 will be needed soon.
With kids (and even without) I think a car is necessary, what about a health emergency (or any other kind) where time is of the essense, what do/would you do.

Don't have one but what's wrong with SUV's, why do people think they'd love a porsche (or any other sports car) but have no time for SUV's when its the SUV that is more environmentally friendly. In fact modern SUV's are better in this regards than a lot of older cars you see on the road and yet there is no campaign or discrimination against these people.
 
I am making a conscious effort not to buy a car....I returned from Australia lived with my parents for six months (they live walking distance to town - Dublin) and have now purchased an apartment in an area well serviced by Dublin bus. Whilst with my parents I had the use of their car any time I wanted so I was fine and in any case I could walk into the city where I was working and socialising.

Now that I'm a bit further out I found myself panicking that I really needed a car. I resisted the temptation for a few weeks and now I find that I can actually do without. It just takes a bit more planning I think and me really sitting back asking myself why about 200 times!!! I have to say that I'm healthier for it as I tend to walk a lot more. So I will do without for as long as I can and hopefully improve my health further!

If I eventually have children, I'm sure my views will have changed...Thats a whole different ballgame I think!
 
We don't live in Dublin, but in Cork, and we have just the one car. No kids at the moment, but will be in the future. Living in the city, so the car is just really for going away the weekends, big weekly shoppings and the likes. The real problem will come if we move out of the city (which we are planning to do soon), because while I work 9-5.30, my partner does kind of shift work, and the area we want to move doesn't have good public transport services...meaning we will both have to drive either to the nearest train station (their service hours are the worse i've ever seen), or drive into town, looking for a parking spaces, etc etc. We will end up having to have 2 cars.
Regarding SUV, it seems to be the trend right now, not only in Ireland, I have been in Madrid recently (my home town), and it looks like all the new mums are all getting one....nothing against them if they are going to feel safer.
I reckon I would consider giving up my car if the adequate means of transport were in place...
 
We are a one car family as I am fortunate enough to work within walking distance of where we live. My wife needs a car for her job but that aside I think a family car is essential. We've always had pretty basic runarounds up until this year. We decided to get a new car because baby number 2 is on the way and the old car just wasn't going to do the job. Whilst the kids are small I see no reason to graduate to two cars or an SUV for that reason either. I like being able to walk to work and my colleagues are sometimes amazed that I choose to walk the terribly long distance of 1 1/2 miles to work. I avoid the traffic, get some exercise in the process and have 20 minutes or so to think before getting to work each day. My wife wishes she could walk to work as well. We both enjoy using the car for social/ domestic and leisure at the weekends and holidays.
 
What I would give not to need a car - it's a complete money trap and motorists are easy targets for indirect taxation. It drives me crazy that the government is so road-biased and think roads equal infrastructure.

I couldn't get to work without a car. Couldn't visit my parents or friends. Couldn't drive my mother to hospital appointments. Couldn't get to a supermarket or "shop around". Public transport is non-existant here unless you count hackneys who are unreliable and expensive (no taxis even in the nearest "big" town to me). Buses and trains only service larger towns once a day. Often a day-return to a town 20 miles away is impossible and would neccessitate a return cab journey to get to the bus/train station six miles away. The bit that gets me is that I used to cycle these roads as a kid but with all the trucks and cars racing at speed now and roads that have never been widened, I wouldn't risk it for all the world. I've thought about it a lot and maybe if you were really determined and could either work from home or live very close to your work and within walking distance of a village, then it might just be possible to do without a car but really there just is no viable alternative in the countryside.

Rebecca
 
We have one car, used to have two but got rid of one as soon as my husband got a job within walking distance of home.
Unfortunately I have to spend two hours in my car each day and I really wish it was possible to walk to work, before I got married and had kids I always walked everywhere. I find since we have the car I use it even when it is not strictly necessary.
Having two kids too old/heavy to push in a double buggy but too young to walk long distances means I usually resort to the car.
Car ownership in Ireland seems to have increased dramatically in recent years.
I am not 'into' cars so any car, once it is safe and reliable will do me.
If we were to have another child we would have to cahnge the car as it would not safely accomodate three car seats, other than that I will stcik with her for as long as possible and feel no inclination to upgrade to any other type of car.
 
We are a two car no kids family. We both need our cars to get to work. To get to work from our house by public transport, we would both have to travel into town and then back out again. As it stands it takes us about 20/30 minutes to drive.
 
"Does everyone own a car?"

From what I could see from the upstairs of the bus yesterday they were all on the M1 northbound ! Total gridlock !
 
We have 2 kids and one car. We are lucky that work / creche / school
locations are close and easily accessable by bike if necessary.
It is amazing that it bothers some people that we dont have a second car. A friend even suggested that it was slightly embarrassing that I cycle
to work occassionally and it was bad parenting to get caught in the rain
with a 4 year old.
I know plenty of people who have no access to public transport or live so far from work that a car is a necessary evil.

In answer to the original question
Most people have a car, some as a necessity and some because they are
too lazy / snobby to find a most environmentally friendly / healthy way to get around.
 
No, not everyone, but there is a car at the house and I have my driving test next month.:( I have not driven for awhile and will be taking my test in a smallish town. From now until then I have to be out probably every day and as yet have to find an instructor. I am fairly certain I will fail but will go and do the test anyway.
 
two cars out of necessity. (one is actually a lawn mower with a roof daewoo matiz, but it starts first time and sailed throuh the nct few months ago) I have to travel 'against' the flow of travel daily to get to work, which is great in one sense in that all the traffic is going the other way. however the downside is that there is no public transport at all. Hope to be able to take a retirement package soon and then will seriously review my need for a car. certainly have decided not to renew car every 3 years as I have done for the past 25 years. have a 4 year old corolla and its as sweet as a nut.
 
I live in a two car household with no kids, 25 miles from work with no means of public transport.

I get the feeling these days that car owners are made to feel guilty about using their cars. We're supposed to be good citizens and find a better way. I make no apologies for driving my car, driving is one of those things that I enjoy doing.
 
No car here. Talking to a (car owning/enthusiast) colleague last night he pointed out that in spite of the fact that many people moan about car related taxes and running costs the most significant cost associated with car ownership is, in fact, depreciation.
 
We have two cars. We both need them to get to and in work. We have three kids and we both do drop off/pick-up so a car is necessary for both of us. Even if I didn’t need one I’d probably still have one as I love cars. I’m not a big fan of the urban SUV. They are totally unnecessary and very dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists.
 
The EPA produced a report today on our failure to comply with our carbon emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.

The two big offenders were cement production and the increase in the number and size of cars.

If we are serious as a country about doing something about global warming, we really have to address the car issue. There are too many cars on the road. The cars are too big. It is a limited resource and some sort of rationing should be introduced.

It's easy for me to say it as I drive around 4000k a year, but we need to change our lifestyles. The posts above suggest that every child has to be driven everywhere. Kids should be put back on bicycles and buses.

Brendan
 
Brendan said:
Kids should be put back on bicycles and buses.
Click to expand...
I agree. But not on the backs of them, that's dangerous... ;)

I'm in the same lucky position as Carpenter (within easy walking distance of work), so we have one family car, and the older kids walk <1 mile to school. It's a bloody lifesaver; I'd hate to go back to a life of commuting, by car or otherwise.

For all the car runs involved in the kids' after-school activities, we try to 'pool' whenever possible, but I do sometimes get the feeling that it's not an idea that occurs naturally to many people in Ireland... 'My kids/my car', or something — even though there's often only one kid sitting in the back of that big 4WD?
 
On weekends my wife and I would try and leave the car at home if we were heading down town for a coffee or whatever and we often find people passing in cars "stare" at the two "strange" adults pushing a buggy downtown "they must be too poor to drive"! The declining number of people walking have (I believe) led to a rapid detioration in common courtesy by the majority of drivers, i.e. motorists will not routinely stop at pedestrian crossings, will not allow pedestrians to cross the road and most irritatingly will routinely cut off pedestrians crossing a minor road when they are turning into the same road. As someone who walks as often as drives I like to think that I have a better appreciation and more consideration for the pedestrian. Commercial drivers tend not to be the worst but "yummy mummies" in SUV type vehicles (again in my opinion!) are terribly inconsiderate in this regard.
 
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