Being a car-free family is not some fad for us. As written about in the first entry to this blog we have never owned a car. Of all the things that we have done to try to pay attention to the impacts and feedback related to what we eat, the energy we use and how we get around, not owning a car has been the thing that has prompted the most puzzled or annoyed responses.

During the Covid-19 pandemic to visit family we did hire a car now and then as we didn’t want to potentially spread the virus to (older) family members who were more vulnerable to severe illness. Traveling by car, or more specifically driving one, was an awful experience. Used to sitting on the train playing games or reading a book we found ourselves stressed and tired-out from traveling by car. Also, we just simply did not feel good (let’s call it ‘a bit yucky’) when we finally arrived at our destination. And, even worst we had these nagging concerns of ‘Will the car be alright?’ and ‘Do you think it is safe to leave it parked here?’.

So to us not owning a car is a pretty pragmatic choice on comfort, cost and climate grounds. Which makes it ever so intriguing how people can be so astonished that we manage to get somewhere – without a car! Hence the title of this entry ‘How did you get here?’.

Recently we went to a cross-country running event on a Saturday morning on the other-side of the city at which our daughter competes. We were asked (no less than!) three times by puzzled looking parents whose kids where also running – ‘How did you get here?’. It was like we had landed on the moon without a spaceship! I could barely hold back the laughter (I did, until later) as it was such an, I am sorry to be critical, stupid question! In this case we got the bus there (we might have also cycled) – which seemed surprisingly revolutionary and incomprehensible to those how could not imagine what getting there car-free could possibly entail. We even got, and I have to say not unusual, kindly pitying offers of “Well next time we can give you a lift”!

Photo by Mitchell Johnson on Unsplash

There is a lot to unpick here with these (I have to say) regular reactions to the impossibility of being a car-free family. To us being so is rather dull and unremarkable really, but to many others it seems unimaginable. As I wrote in the previous entry, in the UK and based on some statistics that in 2020 17 million households owned no cars – so we are not alone, its quite common really! As we carry on with this blog we will try to explore these reactions to car-free-ness a bit more and also attempt to help others who are (trying to be) a car-free family. Particularly, as some commentators are suggesting – probably rather optimistically – we might be peak car.