When we were in South Africa in January, I happened to mention to someone in my small town that I caught the bus to work and they said 'you don't have a car? How poor ARE you?' She is unusually blunt, but it is not the first time someone in South Africa has been surprised that we do not have a car. After all, South Africa has no public transport, so if you can't drive, you have problems getting around. Most people without cars rely on private minibus taxis, or walk if it is not too far. It's not safe to walk at night, however.
I took my driver's licence as soon as I turned 18, and drove every single day. Our small town did not have medical specialists or big shops, so it was a 126km drive to the nearest big town if we needed those. I found the same thing when I was in Los Angeles many many years ago. It was not easy to get around without a car. But New York and London have great public transport. Paris does too, though to be honest, I always battle to understand the system due to language problems.
In Stockholm, a monthly travel card costs $90 and allows unlimited travel on underground, commuter train, buses, tram, light rail, and boats. Parking for cars on the other hand is hard to find, and very expensive (though you can buy a parking space for $100,000 if you have deep pockets). If you own a car you need two sets of tyres (summer and winter) and have to carry ice scrapers and shovels for winter weather. Plus insurance, maintenance and servicing adds up.
We have a bus stop three minutes' walk away, and an underground station seven minutes away. If we need to, we rent a car for both short and long trips. The best thing we have nearby is two car-sharing companies a minute or two away. Via an app we can rent a car for anything from an hour upwards.
What about where you live? Do you need a car or is there good public transport?
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