this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2024
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M. 34

I'm currently studying for the theory and then the practice for the license and I hate it... But since I'm unemployed for like half a year now maybe it will give me more chances to get hired. Still I will avoid driving as much as possible, being on a highway scares me and I'm afraid of having an accident. Plus I wear glasses and I'm not sure if my reflexes or peripheral view are good enough...

So, what's your reason to not drive a car... money? For the environment? Are you afraid? You really don't need to?

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[–] Dirk@lemmy.ml 9 points 4 months ago

So, what’s your reason to not drive a car

I simply don't need to, nor do I want to. I live in a country with good public transport - in a city with comparably well working public transport. There simply is no need for me. There never was.

I can get around the city either by train ("normal" trains and subways) or by bus. On weekends there is a 24 service for all trains and subways every 8-20 minutes (depending on line). There are also night busses connecting party areas with the nearest train stations and the inner city with the outskirts.

In the mornings and afternoons on weekdays there are additional commuter busses and trains and subways on most lines so the service is scheduled on a minute basis on some lines for some time during rush hours. The "worst" it gets is every 30 minutes in the middle of the night.

And if I don't want to take public transport I can always use my bike or my electric scooter. The bike lanes are not Netherlands quality, but they're okay. It's also fun to drive by traffic jam having my inner monologue making fun of alle the people waiting hours over hours on the streets πŸ˜„

The great thing is: Some time ago the government and the individual public transport providers of the cities and areas made a country-wide ticket for all public transport. So I can just hop on a bus in my city, drive to the train station, enter a regional train that goes to another city in another federal state, come out the train station and take the nearest bus I want without having to pay anything except the monthly fee for the ticket or checking if the ticket is valid in that area.

When I want to take longer trips further away I'll likely take a train on our highspeed railway network covering basically the whole country (not covered by the ticket I mentioned). It's notorious for being delayed or having issues, but my individual experience is much better than in the memes that exist.