CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting

Commuting: motoring costs

(34 posts)
  • Started 11 years ago by Dave
  • Latest reply from Instography

No tags yet.


12

  1. crowriver
    Member

    There is of course an issue of affordability in Edinburgh. I've heard the argument many times: "you get more for your money out of town". Inevitably there's an (unspoken) assumption attached to that, ie. "you need a car".

    For those already running cars in town, it's a more straightforward decision, and I've seen many make it. If you don't run a car, then it's frankly very difficult to live in most suburban/dormitory areas. If you're careful you might find somewhere close to the rail network or a main bus route, but even then you will not be as well served as in the city.

    Let's imagine you move to the 'burbs and decide to go car free. All your neighbours will be driving to most places. The social pressure to conform will be pretty strong.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  2. mgj
    Member

    Appreciation of both types in the DS; I think I may have referred to Smiles per Gallon when driving it (when not wrestling with the column shift). In the last 18 months prices of similar ones for sale have gone up between 3 and 5 thousand pounds as opposed to what I was looking at. Contrast that with the Passat estate I bought new, that depreciated over 11 years from £17,000 odd to £2,000 and cost much more to run as complicated things broke over the years and there was much more that needed replacing, even though it only did 6,000 miles a year, none of which could be done by me or a friendly little mechanic. Article in the Guardian recently recommending a simple classic (Morris Minor etc)as a second car on the basis of a lack of depreciation and simpler servicing. For a city dweller, could be first car based on my experience. YMMV

    Posted 11 years ago #

  3. wee folding bike
    Member

    One reason I never used my '71 VW much over the winter was the lack of heating. Now the '97 Volvo is in the same boat and I can't get a replacement control valve so the VW might make as much sense… if it still worked.

    Minors have more easily available parts than my VW does. That might not be true for Beetles or Kombis.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  4. Instography
    Member

    "Let's imagine you move to the 'burbs and decide to go car free. All your neighbours will be driving to most places. The social pressure to conform will be pretty strong."

    @crowriver
    I'm not saying it's non-existent but I think you overstate the social pressure to have a car and to drive. If anything I'd say there seems to be a stronger pressure to justify driving. We have a car and I cycle most places but not everywhere and have never once felt the urge to explain why I don't drive when other people would. But often people will spontaneously explain why cycling to work or the shops would be so much more difficult for them (even though they also work in Edinburgh, in a similar office-based job and have no more or fewer children than me).

    Posted 11 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

12

Reply

You must log in to post.


Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin