Are you driving less?

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

i am and so are many people it would appear

apart from losing the desire to travel [age] i have never been so conscious of the cost of putting fuel in the tank [would no longer clam to fill it]

[Serial_Apologist]

i am and so are many people it would appear

apart from losing the desire to travel [age] i have never been so conscious of the cost of putting fuel in the tank [would no longer clam to fill it]

From the environmental pov this is good news. This and the apparent news that our young 'uns are turning against illegal drugs are among the few positive titbits to emerge for quite some time. But one's thoughts go out to those living in deepest rurality without other than voluntary means of getting about - those repeatedly promised improved public transport and let down. The latter has only taken place in our larger conurbations. I only miss the motor for the odd trip out into the countryside I used to make, being "free" to choose when I want to get stuck in traffic, or when carrying heavy stuff on bus and train, e.g. horticultural merchandise.

[gradus]

'fraid not. In common with others in rural areas, driving less is impossible as there are no public transport alternatives.

[Don Petter]

Less than when?

About the same for the last four years, I would think, though that is more than previous to that time, which is when I retired.
One of the joys of retirement is being able to spend more time exploring this country and abroad (and damn the expense!).

As gradus rightly says, here in the sticks one could hardly drive much less, anyway, the nearest bus is two miles away, and the nearest useable train, twenty.

[umslopogaas]

Since retiring, I mostly use the car several times a week to visit the local supermarket. Compared with what I spend in the supermarket, the cost of the petrol to get there is comparatively trivial and if they doubled the price of a litre I doubt it would affect the amount of driving I do. As for other posters, there is no real alternative. The bus goes past my house, but it doesnt stop there and it is a dangerous road to walk down to get to the nearest stop.

[french frank]

After the sad loss of my dear old mini last year, I finally replaced it in January with a 10-year-old Citroen Saxo. I was so shocked when I filled the tank for the first time and it cost £40 I made that last out until last month, when I decided I couldn't get by until the end of the year as I'd hoped (half refilled for £20 but it was already a quarter full from the previous fill-up). So, yes, I'm driving less. It's no fun any more

[Bryn]

I very rarely use the car now other than to go to and from work. That, by car, takes between 35 minutes and an hour and a quartet each way depending on the day of the week and other traffic issues. By bus it takes between 2 and 3 hours each way, but now that the daylight hours, and consequently the length of my working day, reduce, I may opt for the bus more often. Trouble is, the advertised 'free wifi' on the main bus is often not working, and if I try listening to music via noise-reducing headphone, the electro-magnetic environment on the bus interferes (people's mobile phones, the braking system, the GPS system, etc).

Fortunately, there is a bus stop but a few paces from my front door, so local shopping trips are all done either on foot or by bus. I am seriously considering looking for more locally based work.

[BBMmk2]

Me and my wife have a car each and at the moment are looking to move house to be nearer our places of work for that very reason(the price of petrol). It's still quite high and there is no reason why prices should be this high at all?

[heliocentric]

a quartet each way depending on the day of the week and other traffic issues

Webern on a good day, Feldman on a really bad one.

[Don Petter]

Me and my wife have a car each and at the moment are looking to move house to be nearer our places of work for that very reason(the price of petrol). It's still quite high and there is no reason why prices should be this high at all?

We kept both our cars when we retired, since the second was a 'fait accompli', but a year ago when one failed its MOT we did not replace it. We have yet to find we want to be in different places at the same time, so it has been no hardship, except a couple of days a year when it's in for service and we can't go out for lunch!

[mercia]

I filled the tank for the first time and it cost £40 I made that last out until last month, when I decided I couldn't get by until the end of the year as I'd hoped (half refilled for £20 but it was already a quarter full from the previous fill-up).

I was hoping to use that information to work out how many miles you are doing per year, but I've made three assumptions

- you've used £30 worth of petrol in 8 months
- the average price of petrol over that period was £1.35 per litre
- a Saxo does 45 mpg

[amateur51]

Webern on a good day, Feldman on a really bad one.

Bravo, helio!

[french frank]

I was hoping to use that information to work out how many miles you are doing per year, but I've made three assumptions

- you've used £30 worth of petrol in 8 months
- the average price of petrol over that period was £1.35 per litre
- a Saxo does 45 mpg

I will check the mileometer against the registration document and tell you exactly how many miles I've done ....

Add:
MoT Cert 28 Dec (I bought it on 23 Jan) 056941
Today 057334
Mileage 393

[mercia]

I will check the mileometer against the registration document and tell you exactly how many miles I've done ....

<doh> hadn't thought of that

[french frank]

See answer above