Clobbered by road tax, insurance premiums, depreciation and fuel costs, let alone the whole hoopla of maintenance, parking permits and the congestion charge, owning a car these days has become a thankless struggle. Happily, one of the joys of living in London is the ability to be free from all that automotive nonsense, but without curbing your ability to get behind the wheel as-and-when the need takes you. In case you need any further convincing, here are our top five reasons why most Londoners never need own a car again.
1. Why own when you can join the club?
Carsharing clubs are all the rage, and with good reason. Not only can you kiss goodbye to all the problems listed above in one swoop, but with a simple mobile app and membership card, it’s easy to locate a vehicle nearby and drive it off in a matter of moments. Carsharing innovators DriveNow offer the option to drop off their cars virtually anywhere you want within the 84 km2 area of London in which they operate, stretching from Clerkenwell up to Tufnell Park in the West, Tottenham in the North, and over to Stratford in the East – whenever you’re done. Any residential parking spot will do, no need to even find a car club bay.
2. Make an environmental choice with real impact
As well as the obvious green advantages of not investing in a costly, petrol-powered vehicle of your own only for it to sit idle on the roadside for most of its life, going car-free also helps to transform our cities away from the inefficient, traffic-clogged nightmares of old, and make transport safer and more enjoyable for all. Ditching your own car isn’t just about enjoying an easy life, it’s an environmental winner too. Bonus!
3. There are loads of other transport options
Investing time, money and stress into the upkeep of a vehicle means many owners feel compelled to use their car for even the most minor of local trips, when often it would be far better to cycle, jump on the tube or simply walk. It’s often a revelation to stalwart 4-wheeled road users that there are alternatives which can be enjoyable… and often faster. Then, for the journeys when only a car will do, there’s a DriveNow BMW or Mini around the corner, valet cleaned and ready to go.
4. Time is priceless, so make some more of it
Running a car is as demanding on the owner’s time as their wallet. Recent stats reported in the press have uncovered that used car owners spend an average of 27 hours just looking for the right car to buy, (with 68% of those still unhappy about their final purchase)! Then there’s the average of two hours spent researching insurance, the faff of renewing road tax and resident’s parking permits. How about freeing up all those hours to actually getting out and about in this great city instead?
5. Forget city limits
Not owning a car in London can actually mean hassle-free access to a fleet of thousands of cars across Europe. DriveNow members can, for example, pull up at London City Airport and leave their vehicle there, then simply walk up and drive off in another one at the other end of their journey in Berlin, Copenhagen or even Milan. Although it sounds somewhat upside-down, not being tied to car ownership actually brings you closer to ‘owning’ cars everywhere, and with 10 cities around Europe, you’re more connected than ever. Plus think of all that time saved on rental car paperwork too.
Join for FREE (skipping the usual £29 sign-up fee) using this special link exclusive to Kentishtowner readers.
