Published on 12, July, 2020
I think it's stupid that we have cars. They're a massive waste of money. They make public spaces less accessible. It's harder for children to play on the street or to walk where you want to go. They've led to high streets becoming more empty as cars go to large out-of-town supermarkets.
Sometimes people die in car crashes, needlessly, leaving families devestated.
People who can't drive are discriminated against. We have to rely on infrequent bus and rail services that are sometimes overpriced.
All the money spent on buying a car, the insurance, MOT, tax, maintenance and repairs, petrol, imagine what that money could do if those cars weren't there. It would give people money to spend on building better buildings, facilities, public transport, social services, healthcare, education.
I agree in general, and perhaps one day when self-driving cars are a real thing, we will just summon one when needed instead of everyone having one.
But most of the country has terrible public transport and I don't see that changing. Even where public transport is better, it's not always useable by everyone. When I was looking after my elderly parents there was no way I could have got them to the nearest bus stop without a car and then getting them onto the bus would have been a nightmare, as they could barely walk.
So for many people a car is the only realistic option.