Many families nowadays own more than one car, sometimes three or four if a couple of the grown up ‘children’ still live with their parents. But what are the alternative travel options? How else can we get about in our busy modern lives? There are actually a number of alternative travel choices which could save you money, get you fit and help the environment.
For a start, do you always need to take the car, or is walking a serious alternative? Almost 25% of car journeys are under two miles long and would therefore take half an hour (or less) to walk. Great exercise and free! If you have children at school, have you thought about setting up a walking bus? This is a great way to cut down school run journeys and can be quite a social occasion! For slightly longer journeys a push bike could be an option. Once you have bought the bike (which doesn’t have to be expensive) the ride is free with very low maintenance costs. Take a look at our sustainable transport page for more information.
Obviously walking and cycling aren’t always options, but could you car share to work or take public transport? You may even be able to buy a season ticket and could save on parking costs.
Taxis may seem like an extravagance but could actually be ideal for those who own a car but use it in a very limited way. If you only need to drive to do your weekly shop, for example, it would probably be cheaper to get a taxi each week (or catch a bus there and book a cab for the way home) than to run your car for the year. And some supermarkets offer free bus services. And if you havn’t got a car you will have to walk or cycle those shorter journeys!
Source: www.direct.gov.uk 2011
