Debate: My car is a necessity!

Submitted by AWL on 8 February, 2003 - 10:37

Mick Duncan's anti-car article, (Solidarity 3/22) says that car journeys under five miles are made by lazy people - people driving to the corner shop or going off to the gym.

I drive my toddler two miles to nursery. If I didn't, the journey would take me an hour. A very aggravating hour, as well - on a chock-full single-decker bus with no space for pushchairs and nobody willing to stand up so you don't fall over due to the antics of a bored-witless small person.

After dropping off my daughter I then drive three miles to work. If I didn't, that journey would also take me an hour (making a two hour journey in total to get to work).

If you take into account the time we need in the morning for my daughter to get herself dressed, pretend to eat her toast and be dragged away from the Adventures of Noddy, we would need to get up at 5.30am in order for me to get to work on time. But perhaps I'm just being lazy?

Better public transport would help, but in the case of getting to nursery, or doing heavy shopping the quality of my life is much better if I can use a car (or maybe taxi, but they're expensive).

Given the high and ever rising costs of public transport, it is often both more convenient and much cheaper to drive. Congestion charging is really saying to me: you use you car because getting across London by public transport is expensive and difficult so now your choice is to be poorer still and even more stressed out, or not travel at all.

Livingstone's message is: congestion is a problem in central London for tourists and business, so the poor are going to have to keep out. Brilliant.

Jane Sprigg, Lambeth

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