I sold my car three years ago, and it remains one of the best decisions I have ever made. At the time, several friends and family members were genuinely shocked. I live in a mid-sized town with limited public transport, and they could not understand how I planned to manage without my own vehicle.
The main reason was financial. Between the monthly loan repayment, insurance, fuel, maintenance, and parking fees, my car was costing me almost as much as my rent. When I sat down and calculated the total, I was astonished. It was money I simply could not justify spending on something I used mainly for short trips that could easily be made by other means.
For journeys under five kilometres, I cycle. For longer trips within town, I use the bus or occasionally book a taxi through an app. For weekend excursions or visits to family in other cities, I hire a car for the day, which works out far cheaper than owning one permanently. The combination of these options covers almost every situation I encounter.
I walk far more than I used to, and the extra physical activity has had a noticeable effect on my health. I have lost weight, I sleep better, and I have more energy throughout the day. There is also something deeply pleasant about travelling at a slower pace and noticing details of my surroundings that I had always driven past without seeing.
Public transport does not always run on time, cycling in heavy rain is miserable, and there are occasions — moving furniture, for example, or dealing with a family emergency — when not having a car is a genuine inconvenience. I have learned to plan ahead more carefully and to accept that some journeys will take longer than they once did.
If more people were willing to try reducing their dependence on private cars, the benefits for public health, air quality, and urban congestion would be substantial. This is not to suggest that everyone should or could give up driving altogether, but many people in urban and suburban areas could manage with significantly less car use than they currently assume.
For me, the experiment has become a permanent way of life. I have no plans to buy another car, and when people ask me how I cope, I find the question increasingly puzzling. The real question, I now believe, is not how I manage without a car but why I kept one for so long.