Why did you take the car today?

Tipsy Mac

kbannon wrote: »

I can't wait for next month when the driving licence laws become enforced!
Loads of cars off the road - woohoo!

This won't happen, there's a referendum to be voted on, enforcing that law would be a disastor for it

angelinthemakin

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

I have paid through the nose for use of my car and as a mode of transport in this country for me and the journeys I do it is the most reliable and quickest available and I think this for me will continue to be so for the near future. I have no intention of limiting my travel or switching to our backward public transport. When petrol gets to €3 a litre or when I am tolled off the road then I will consider it.

well said Tipsy we do pay enuf not to have know alls telling us we cant use our cars how dare they !!!!!!:mad::mad::mad:

Mitch Connor

I drove today because if i didn't; my 35minute commute to work (and 45 minutes home) would become a 2 hours 30minutes in and 3 hours out. I don't think I really have a choice to make.

snickerpuss

Don't be too hopeful about learners off the road. The SGS centre near me is passing 7 out of 10. 5 people I know have passed in the last month, I know only 1 learner now!

Anyway I drove because the trip takes 2 hours on a bus, involves me getting a bus to town and a bus back out. Ditto way home.
Driving takes about 35 mins. Also I'm now deep into research and have laptop, chargers, various books, folders, printouts. Weighs a ton.
Be finished driving that far in August anyway.

Lord Nikon

I took the car today so I could drive up the price of fuel.

galwaytt

+ 1 to Tipsymac.

I pay through the nose just to own the car (taxes, that is..) - my 2 x car tax's prop up the exchequer, and I'm not going to appease some half-assed cyclist just 'cos he feels guilty about something. No sirreee, not me. It's my oil, too, remember, and I'm doing all I can to get my hands on my share of it.

Oh, and if we all give up driving - who's going to pay for the schools/hospitals then? Cyclists ?? gimmeabreak..........:rolleyes:

Zube

Does anyone anywhere imagine that any of that oil is going to be left in the ground? I mean, no matter what technical innovations come along, we all know that all the extractable oil is going to be extracted and burnt.

Even the Greens must realize that no-one is going to shift to a more eco-friendly option until it costs less. Carbon taxes will only save the planet if China and India adopt them: good luck with that.

So it's just a matter of when and for how much the oil is sold. All that carbon is going into the atmosphere whether you like it or not.

arse..biscuits

Oil is running out, prices are going to continue rising, this will make it more expensive to drive to work than your days pay. The time of living miles from your work is coming to an end.

ninty9er

bazzachazza wrote: »

People look at me now and say ouch look at the price of your diesel.

Then i say well i only have a 55 litre tank that i can only ever get 51 litres in max and my fuel consumption is 25% better than yours so i'm still golden compared to you.

One guy in work pays €75 to fill his 2.5 Lexus and gets less than 500k's out of it.

It costs me only €60 and i get 800k's from mine.

So it will be a very very very long time till i change my mode of transport.

His tank is the same size as yours and it now costs you as much to fill up on diesel at €1.43 as seems to be the average round these parts compared to the guy with the nice smooth Lexus who probably couldn't give a sh1t that he's getting 300km less from a tank


On topic....I walked, but it was windy and cold:(:(:(, I did get from home to work in 15 minutes though:D:D

ART6

angelinthemakin wrote: »

well said Tipsy we do pay enuf not to have know alls telling us we cant use our cars how dare they !!!!!!:mad::mad::mad:

Absolutely!! I am sick of being ordered about by the ban everything brigade that seems to have taken over government in this country. Memo to politicians of (apparently) limited reasoning ability -- We pay your feckin wages. We pay you to represent us, not to punish us. Wake up or go:mad:

Elessar

Because I can. I could easily walk the 15 minutes or so to work from my house but I couldn't be bothered. 5 mins in the car

Nice.

R.O.R

As my car is a bit poorly, yesterday morning I got a lift in to town with the missus, Luas Red line then 20 minute walk to the office. Took just over 2 hours and I arrived Cold, Wet and Miserable (although it only cost €2.20 - she was driving anyway).

Getting in is the easy way. Getting home would involve the 20 minute walk to the Luas, 45 minutes in to town - probably missing the train by about 10 minutes so having to wait another 20 minutes for the next one. 1hr 20 on the train then a 25 minute walk home from the station. Bugger that, borrowed a car in work but due to the wonderful M50 still took me 1hr 40 to get home.

This morning, straight run stopping only for the toll - in in less than an hour. It's about 60km each way for me and Public transport isn't really an option.

itarumaa

Well, I drive everyday from Celbridge to Ballycooling and no traffic at all:)

Today I left the house 6.37 and I was in Ballycooling 7.09, I drive everyday these nice back roads and I dont get stuck in traffic well basically never:)

Why I would like to take a bus???

ShayK1

I COULD take a train but then I couldn't fall out of bed and make breakfast at my own pace. I'd have to be in the station at least 10 minutes before departure time because Irish trains are so unpredictable that they could be early OR late. The cost of a weekly ticket it €65. I fill my diesel tank once a week for €80. My car is much more comfortable than the piece of sh1t trains that are on offer and in my car I control the temperature.

Ever been on a train on a cold morning or worse again.... On a hot evening ?? Not Nice at all!!!!

So I'll gladly continue driving 100 miles a day and paying ridiculous price for fuel until such time as the irish goverment hire some germans to come over and sort out our trains!!

Oh and driving is quicker too.

ambro25

I've been in Dublin 4 years. In that time, my commute hasn't changed: 10ks each way, south side into center, and back.

The first year, I used the car, cos' I had it, I earned it, it was nice and I wanted to enjoy it. Big n00b mistake: 1000s in fuel, insurance, tax, servicing, for a speed average (at rush hour) of about 10kph. Big quality of life issue, losing 1h30 to 2h a day for that measly commute. WTF, I could nearly walk it faster (I know, I tried a few time).

I haven't taken the car in 3 years (still have it as weekend/holiday toy). I've been taking the bike/superscooter instead: 15 mins each way, few 100s in fuel, insurance, tax, servicing, for a speed average (at rush hour) of about 40kph.

I'm moving back to the UK this Summer, not in a heavily congested area, with v.good roads/network/infrastructure. Guess what: first thing I'm doing when I get there is a DSA fast-track motorbike license course, and getting a biggish super-scoot.

Unless you need to cart people/kids/goods, go 2-wheels, that will ease your mobility challenges and travel costs + contribute to solve congestion.

Way I see it, atm GVT should incentivise two-wheels and car-pooling (insofar as private vehicles/cars are concerned).

L1011

If you're taking a bike in Ireland would its licence not transfer to the UK?

mkdon05

I do pretty much half and half. Drive to parents house 10K and cycle to town from there 7.5k

I will eventually cycle the whole way, a lot cheaper and healthier.


To all the "Dont ban us learners, we pay taxes too" brigade, GO PASS YOUR FUNKING TEST!

ambro25

MYOB wrote: »

If you're taking a bike in Ireland would its licence not transfer to the UK?

Not a provisional it wouldn't

cormie

ambro25 wrote: »

I've been in Dublin 4 years. In that time, my commute hasn't changed: 10ks each way, south side into center, and back.

The first year, I used the car, cos' I had it, I earned it, it was nice and I wanted to enjoy it. Big n00b mistake: 1000s in fuel, insurance, tax, servicing, for a speed average (at rush hour) of about 10kph. Big quality of life issue, losing 1h30 to 2h a day for that measly commute. WTF, I could nearly walk it faster (I know, I tried a few time).

I haven't taken the car in 3 years (still have it as weekend/holiday toy). I've been taking the bike/superscooter instead: 15 mins each way, few 100s in fuel, insurance, tax, servicing, for a speed average (at rush hour) of about 40kph.

I'm moving back to the UK this Summer, not in a heavily congested area, with v.good roads/network/infrastructure. Guess what: first thing I'm doing when I get there is a DSA fast-track motorbike license course, and getting a biggish super-scoot.

Unless you need to cart people/kids/goods, go 2-wheels, that will ease your mobility challenges and travel costs + contribute to solve congestion.

Way I see it, atm GVT should incentivise two-wheels and car-pooling (insofar as private vehicles/cars are concerned).

Good stuff, hopefully more people will catch on too. Going SouthSide to centre in the morning is absolutely mad. At 7.30am ish it takes about 1:30 from about Dun Laoghaire to Vicar St area.

If you need help moving to the UK, let me know

G-Money

I think people aren't going to leave their cars at home unless they have a better way of making their journey. When I lived in Dublin I was quite close to the 46A bus route which ran into town quite frequently. However I was lucky enough to work near where I lived so I never had to take it into town during the rush hour. However I imagine it's like any other form of public transport, it's uncomfortable, cramped, overcrowded during rush hour. It also seemed to stop at every hole in the hedge as well on the way into town.

However it was handy at times as I don't know the traffic system in Dublin and I've no idea where to get parking so I pretty much would refuse to drive in the city centre and instead would take the bus in.

I bought a car as I was sick of having to rely on public transport to get me home to the north and back. I always had to take the Enterprise train and while it was comfortable, it was very unreliable. I remember the last time I took it, I had left the car at home as I was moving abroad and had to go back to Dublin in order to fly out. Thankfully my flight wasn't until a few days later. Sure enough the train got delayed for about 4 hours. It was an hour late arriving then broke down just outside Dundalk. It was due into Connolly about 12.15pm and I think it was after 4pm when we finally got there. I then had the option of taking a taxi to my house (20 euro at least) or walking for 5-10 mins to O'Connell St to take the bus (30 min journey), or take the DART and walk 20 minutes from the DART stop to my house. Factor in the 30 minute drive to the train station in the north that was a journey that lasted between 5-6 hours. To drive it door to door, would take 1hr 50 mins.

Even when I lived in Dublin, if you were off one of the main bus routes, you were screwed. I used to travel from Blackrock to Dundrum before I had the car and my only option was the 75 bus which goes to Tallaght, or walking for 20-25 minutes to the Luas stop. The 75 had the weirdest schedule ever and didn't run at regular intervals. You could easily have to wait an hour for the next scheduled bus (if it was on time which it rarely was). To walk the distance would take 45 minutes at least. There were so many times where I miss timed it and seen the bus driving off and knew I had to wait at least an hour for the next one.

To drive it would take less than 10 minutes.

I know there is no easy solution, but until you have a better way to make your journey, people will stick to their cars. You simply can't expect people to ditch their cars for public transport when the public transport makes the journey longer and more unpleasant.

ShayK1

ambro25 wrote: »

Unless you need to cart people/kids/goods, go 2-wheels, that will ease your mobility challenges and travel costs + contribute to solve congestion.

While I agree with this in theory and I'd love to buy a bike, I have to think about my own safety. Driving 100 miles a day puts me in the higher probability of being involved in an accident than somebody like you (driving 20km a day), and to be completely honest... whether I was involved in an accident with a mini or a truck I'd rather be in my passat than on a bike.

/me touches wood that I won't be involved in an accident.

galwaytt

ShayK1 wrote: »

... whether I was involved in an accident with a mini or a truck I'd rather be in my passat than on a bike.

indeed. If you're on a bike, it's likely a Passat'll pull out on you anyhoo....so you'll be in one, one way or another ! :p

Seriously, +1 on the bike. I brought the SO's with me today - Suzuki 200. Eur 10 lasts about.........3 weeks ??

I still spend all I save on that, in the P car, though

Slig

I would love a bike too, but if another driver didnt kill me then my girlfriend would!!!
I think your too vulnerable on a bike, most bike pilots I know are great drivers but every couple of weeks there is a funeral usually from somebody pulling out in front of them or sheer speed!!

ambro25

You can't live your life in constant fear of "what if..." (..."I have an accident on a bike instead of with the car"). The logical conclusion of this, is to work, do your shoppping, and most of your social interaction, from home, and have a largeish SUV for personal transportation 'coz bigger is safer' :rolleyes:

Sure - it's a personal choice, a personal attitude to risk, a personal attitude to self-preservation, etc, etc. and with a 100 mile commute, for sure I'd stick to 4 wheels myself. But then again, with that kind of commute, I'd be seriously looking at doing whatever's required to reduce it - be it moving or changing jobs! It loops back to personal choice, etc.

I'd like to think I'm at least as careful as the next bloke, with at least as much will to live, but to me saving AT LEAST 1h a day NOT being stuck in a tailback, that starts at the office door and ends about 50 yards from my drive, is worth the risk.

Maybe it's a generational thing, and our kids, over-cocooned as they have been, won't even know what a motorbike is by the time they themselves get old enough to consider one

@ Slig - chances (probabilities, really) are there's as many muppets and idiots riding far too high-powered bikes as there are muppets and idiots driving far too high-powered cars, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the demographics and crash reasons are actually identical (inappropriate speed, inattention, or substance abuse). I had been driving (cars) 15+ years when I got my first motorbike in '05, and the one bit of advice I'd tell anyone considering it, is actually the exact same bit of advice I'd tell anyone about to learn driving: a-n-t-i-c-i-p-a-t-e. Aka learn to drive defensively, not "passively", and you'll be right as rain

ShayK1

ambro25 wrote: »

with that kind of commute, I'd be seriously looking at doing whatever's required to reduce it - be it moving or changing jobs!

And I am

Just let me point out... just incase it was misunderstood, I drive 100 miles a day. 50 each way.

cormie

More again today, check this picture out, took me 2 hours to bring a band from the red x to the venue (the bubble) :mad:

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4496/66482038fm8.jpg

Steve

cormie wrote: »

More again today, check this picture out, took me 2 hours to bring a band from the red x to the venue (the bubble) :mad:

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4496/66482038fm8.jpg

If it was easy then the wimmen would be doing it.:D