To Own & Use or Not To Own & Use A Car

"To be or not to be, that is the question."



Actually, no it isn't; not for me at this precise moment in time.  As a Christian determined to live a sustainable lifestyle the question is whether I own a car at all and, if so, about when it is and isn't appropriate or sensible for me to use it.



I do own a car, a W registered Ford Mondeo Ghia X as it happens.  On old but very comfortable vehicle that does reasonably well at 42 miles per gallon on a good run, driven economically and sensibly.  Which reminds me of a tip I was given about 2nd hand cars.  If you buy a second hand car buy the top of the range model with all the extras; at second hand prices the cost is the same.



The question arises, of course, as to whether I actually need to own a car.  Could I manage without one?



Well, I spend my time as a Methodist Minister in a rural and semi-rural circuit near Leeds.  Travelling just between the churches I have pastoral oversight of can mean journeys of thirty or so miles a day.  There is no bus service to or between the villages I travel to and time constraints (as well as the asthma I suffer from) mean that cycling would not be practical.  In my case I do need a car for some of my journeys in God's service.  If I ministered in an urban or city area with a frequent bus service, or with short distances involved, I could probably manage without a car and maybe use a bike or walk.  I will certainly review the situation when I move on from my present station.



But owning a car does not mean that I always have to use it.  For journeys of two or so miles I can just as easily walk.  It is far too easy to just hop into the car and drive around to the shops, or drive to one if my churches on a Sunday which is about 3/4 of a mile away.  I don't do that anymore, I walk.



For longer journeys, when time allows and there is an appropriate route, I use the local bus service.  Sure, it takes a little longer and the times aren't always as convenient, but if I go on the bus it's one less car clogging up the road and belching out pollutants.  Besides which, bus journeys give me a chance to do some reading.  Oddly, I've found that if I wear my clerical collar on a bus nobody sits next to me (this works on trains too).



Really long journeys should be taken by train, of course, but as a Minister I have to watch the spending and nukes I know well in advance that I'm travelling it's much cheaper to travel long distance by car.  I feel guilty about this sometimes, but also have to be financially realistic.  I can do Leeds to London and back in the car for about £60.  I just can't do it for anything less than about £89 by train, unless I know well in advance that I'm travelling.



I have wrestled with the size of car I own and thought about replacing it with a more fuel efficient and theoretically less polluting model.  However, I have found that my current 2 litre engined car is actually more fuel efficient than my previous 1.6 litre engined car.  Weird but true.  New card cost the environment in their manufacture and still cause pollution - even electric cars because they still need electricity to power them, which is still mostly generated using fossil fuels.  All the advice I've been given is that it's greener to continue an existing car rather than purchase a new one.  So I'll be sticking with my old Mondeo.



What about you? Do you think I've got this right?  Do you need your car or could you live without it?