A Month Without A Car – Could I Really Be Super Eco Friendly?
How would I cope getting a new job and volunteering without my own wheels?
I recently had to recycle my old car at the ‘breakers’ yard as it had come to the end of it’s life – but knowing that all the still working parts could make someone else’s car last a bit longer!
But this coincided with me having started to look for a new job and keep up with my volunteering for various charities.
Could I do it without a car?
I wanted to try to live without a car for a month to see if 1) It was possible, and 2) If public transport was really the way forward for everyone.
The First Problem:
Obviously I was either going to have to only apply for any jobs within walking distance of my home (great for the eco friendly approach) or apply for out-of-town eco friendly jobs that had easy public transport routes!
Both of which sounded hopeful – but what about the existing volunteering?
Well, the Internet proved very handy for checking out bus routes to the more out-of-the-way reserves – but the transport websites were not always that helpful. Some of them wouldn’t tell you every single bus stop on the route – or the prices; and others would only let your search if you already knew the bus number – not on locations visited!
Then I got a job – at a beauty spot away from all main bus and train routes!
Step 2: Public Transport.
Luckily this job coincided with the summer vacations so there was a ‘special’ bus time table in place for this particular beauty spot! However, the first bus arrived at 10.30!
Not the earliest start, but my job was flexible hours – and this meant that I could miss ‘rush hour peak prices’ on the train (to get to the bus) as well.
If timed perfectly, the whole journey would take just over an hour and cost £10 a day return. However, if timed badly (or with train delays) it could take over 2 hours and cost around £16!
As you can see, it wasn’t a simple journey and was costing around £30 a week (as I am only working 3 days a week) but that’s £120 or more a month on transport – and it was only a part time job!
The volunteering was even more of a problem as the reserves and centres I was working for were all out-of-town – and the buses that served them were not regular or even all day.
The Wildlife Trust bus was only every hour until 4pm and cost £6.80 return
The Orchard Surveying Day was a complete No-No due to timings and location
The Hedgerow Surveying Project will have to wait until I have a car due to location
The RSPCA is £7 return on the train plus a 45 minute walk
The Eco Open Houses will be £5 on the train plus 15 minutes walking
And anything else will have to be worked out as and when – or turned down!
The Rest Of My Life:
I know it has been all about work and volunteering at the moment, but the rest of my life is ‘suffering’ too. I mean the first thing is that after work – I just have to go straight home on the bus – I can’t combine woking with visiting my family, friends, supermarket or anything – as I can’t get there if it’s off the bus route!
And on my days off – visiting local attractions, days out, buying or moving heavy or bulky items, horse riding, walking in the countryside – all out!
There is no way to do most of these things without incurring huge cost on travel or wasting a lot of time waiting around for buses.
It is almost like you are trapped in towns without your own car! I know getting into and around shops and stuff is all well and good with buses and trains every 10 minutes – but for country lovers – public transport fails us!
There is no way I could ever live without a car I have to admit. Don’t get me wrong – I love public transport and it really is lovely to sit on a train and read a book rather than sitting in traffic – but I am missing out on so many more of the things I love without having a car.
And of course – once you have a car, it isn’t financially viable to keep catching public transport! I mean if I brought a car, once you add together the insurance, MOT, servicing and Road Tax – it would be rather stupid for me to still spend over £100 a month on travel to and from work, wouldn’t it?
Surely I’m not the first of the last person to have struggled with the car debate?
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Tags: 2010, alternative travel, car travel, carless, eco friendly, eco friendly travel, eco travel, green travel, how can i, how to be eco friendly, my challenge, no car, public transport, train travel, travel challenge, travel without cars