Just wondering how people here get around day-to-day.
I personally try to use a bike as much as possible, but end up driving because of the structure of US suburbia and being the friend with a car™.
I live in the UK. I take the train to work, but I usually drive to the shops and for errands as there aren’t any cheap supermarkets within walking distance. I do tend to walk into town as parking is a pain! And I do lots of walks around my towns parks.
Should really get on the bike train, but I don’t have a great place to store it and I’m worried about getting killed by SUVs!
Oof, yeah the storage part is probably one of the hardest things tbh. If you commit to biking it is really nice, though u might still need to drive to get groceries and do errands if u carry a lot of stuff tbh.
That’s the thing - when I shop, it’s usually for a week or so and I can’t carry all of that stuff on the back of a bike. All of the discount supermarkets are located on the edges of town in more industrial areas while all of the more traditional / expensive ones are within a 30 min walk.
I do barely use my car - WFH most of the time - and I’m glad I don’t use it to commute any more. That really is hell on earth.
Yeah, that’s a sticky situation. Low costs driven by lower cost of land acquisition. I will say if you didn’t have the car you could probably afford the more expensive markets, but obviously going car free isn’t for most people…
That said, its a lot easier to do grocery shopping walking or biking when you just do it for the next few days max. Though if the closest store is a 30 min walk its pretty inconvenient.
Absolutely. We have tried existing off the “express” store 5 mins from us but the prices are killer. We have had to switch almost solely to the discount markets because of the cost of living.
I barely use my car so I have thought about selling it, but we don’t have a reliable car hire scheme in my town so if I needed one for work I would be screwed. I think though that the savings from being car-free would in no way balance out the costs from the expensive supermarket. Difference of a weekly shop is like £50!
My cities public transport is terrible but I live in what’s basically a street car suburb close to the downtown so I can do most of my day to day stuff by walking. I also have an electric scooter for longer trips. For trips that require me to go into the burbs, I do have a car but I prefer to avoid using it
Mostly walking and public transit, because I’m lucky enough to live somewhere this is possible within the US. It’s often not enough, sadly.
I’m in Shanghai. I mostly get around by bike, but if I need to go somewhere far or the weather is bad or I’m going with the family, I take the Metro. I don’t own a car and haven’t driven in ages.
Car, though I have a plug in hybrid and fill up the tank once every 2-3 months. Public transit is a joke in my city, and while I do bike to the few places I can safely get to (work is actually one of them, weather permitting), it’s just not something I’d feel safe doing for most commutes.
Hamburg, Germany: I don’t own a car and get around by by a mix of bike/Public/walking transport. If I need to transport big I either ask a friend or rent a car, though those occasions are extremely rare (less then once a year). Longer distances I also travel by public transport.
Only walking, maybe one tram a month.
I live in Belgrade, which is the world’s largest small village.
Mostly by public transport or walking, I do live very close to the city centre in a European city, so that helps. I keep telling myself I should go by bike more, but laziness usually wins :D If there is something I need a car for i use the local car sharing which is quite handy.
Laziness >>> tbh
I made it hard to drive so I bike more often. Every small barrier makes it just a bit more likely that I don’t drive.
Mostly walking and subway, with the occasional taxi. I live in a major US city with an existent public transit system though.
I hate driving, never managed to complete the driving courses and get the permit. Also my coordination is shit and I never managed to bike. So public transit and walking it is :D
I also get everything I can through delivery (including groceries), and I work remotely. So I limit the need to get around as well.
I mostly walk and take public transit, occasionally biking or using bikeshare if there’s a major traffic snafu in the city - I’d probably bike more if I had an ebike which is something I may explore in the future. If I have to leave the city for whatever reason I do drive though, there’s some transit access to the suburbs here but primarily one way trips into and out of the city during commuter hours.
I pretty exclusively bike and subway! Being in NYC makes it easy to do so.
I get 90%+ of my trips around by walking and biking, occasionally by public transport and only a few times per year I need a car. Living in the Netherlands.
Do you own a car? I seemingly starting to find myself in a similar situation and wondering should I just ditch the car.
No, I don’t and I haven’t felt the need to buy one either. For the few times that I do need a car I’m lucky enough to have family living close by that is always happy to let me use their cars. But even if I didn’t have family living close-by renting a car a few times a year is probably way cheaper in my case than buying and maintaining my own car. Owning a car does have some advantages, but in my case I think the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Disadvantages are things like: Extra costs for buying the car, maintenance, parking and insurance. Taking up extra space in a crowded city and bad for my health if I get too much used too it.
I would buy one if I really needed one for a job, but so far I really don’t need it (and I could always still buy a car if I do need it more often).
NYC - walking and subway! I had a car and now I’m so happy to live in an area I don’t need it. Also on the plus side, my calves have grown substantially…
Living in a small Dutch city (~90k) near a major city, where I work.
- Walking to local square with supermarkets/hairdressers/cafe’s/etc. Just a few minutes.
- Cycling pretty much everywhere else in the city, mostly visiting family and friends.
- Public transport everywhere else (which makes up the bulk). Two bus stops in ~5 min walk, railway station <10 min bike ride.
Only in the last few years have I come to appreciate how lucky I am to live in such a well designed place. What my hometown does especially well is traffic segregation - there’s a good network of carfree/lite routes throughout the city. Not just great for cycling but also running.
