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Old 16th May 2011, 07:11   #211
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Re: Should a few of us stop owning cars?!

Libran,

You need to come by nowadays. Its changed in the last 6 months itself. a Vast proliferation of autos that charge decently (rs10/km & no chik chik).

a. Instead of the usual drive down to lko as we've done so many times, we took auto+metro+train and it was very comfortable all through.
b. My wife often changes 3 shared autos (though the "gentry" is not great) from Cyber City to Sohna Road when she comes back from office early.

btw its the cycle rickshaw walas who charge stupidly & don't behave properly.

The other more important thing is that gurgaon has no pavements outside sec-14/GCR. There is very little space for anyone to walk at all.
PS: The shared autos are the 14-15 seater piaggios
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Old 18th May 2011, 00:38   #212
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Re: Should a few of us stop owning cars?!

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Originally Posted by vina View Post
carry something with you and beat them up when they do that - then tell them "I beat like this only, you have a body make it more pain resistant"
Haha. If like Mr. Bond i had the license to beat someone to death i certainly would've done that. Moreover, it was a one-off encounter with morons on the road. Hope to not have any such experiences in the future.
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Old 18th May 2011, 09:51   #213
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Re: Should a few of us stop owning cars?!

I have seen morons on two wheels and four wheels as well. The latter is less in number because the number of cars is also much less than two wheelers. Also many car owners generally drive a little more carefully due to the fear of bodily harm - to their cars, that is! And not because they strictly follow traffic rules.

Many people on our roads just know how to OPERATE their vehicles, and not how to DRIVE.
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Old 19th August 2011, 18:37   #214
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In Mumbai, where i am now, I will prefer public transport or at least Auto Rickshaws / Taxis as Public transport is good, frequency is very good and dependability is good. Rickshaws oblige and ply by meter always.

In Chennai Autos are in plenty but the whole charm is lost when i think to higgle haggle with them. Bus - Yes there are buses but the route is circuitous. they dont take the direct route and on some routes it is better to wait for god to take another Avatar and rather than wait for the bus.

Example - i wanted to go to Ambattur from Chamiers Road. AC Innova asked for 650/- Auto rickshaw also asked for 650/- . Ah Public Transport i forgot - there is one bus 41D which takes the most circuitous possible route to reach and guess what if you suggest a more circuitous route you may stand to win a Bharat-Ratna Award.

I have my car in chennai, i just drive to the destination in the shortest possbile route. I need not higgle haggle and i am the master of my time.

Another Note - Echoing thoughts shared by other BHPians.

There is a Builder's Office Bang Opposite my house. Anyone and Everyone who comes there park their cars right in front of my gate, such that i cannot take my car out. They say 2 mins and dont appear for hours.

Ah Yes !! Nature Lover - I have a tree bang in front of my house. Guess what ? I get lot of Oxygen right ? No, I get lot of nuisance by people parking right in front of my gate and preventing visitors from entering my house and me from taking my car out.

He is one of the Posh builders in chennai and house prices start almost close to 1 crore rupees. He had the office custom built fopr himselves and guess what :-: The genius who designed / approved that buildng did not offer parking for their own vehicles itself, forget customers vehicles.

They are least bothered as this affects only others and not them. I am affected when people park in front of my gate. They continue to get business irerspective of whether parking is available or not.

Last edited by Technocrat : 19th August 2011 at 23:46.
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Old 19th August 2011, 19:06   #215
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Re: Should a few of us stop owning cars?!

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Originally Posted by scopriobharath View Post
Another Note - Echoing thoughts shared by other BHPians.

There is a Builder's Office Bang Opposite my house. Anyone and Everyone who comes there park their cars right in front of my gate, such that i cannot take my car out. They say 2 mins and dont appear for hours.


They are least bothered as this affects only others and not them. I am affected when people park in front of my gate. They continue to get business irerspective of whether parking is available or not.
I would suggest you start blocking the space. If you have some old 2 wheeler park that. Or just tie a rope or something in front of your entrance.
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Old 19th August 2011, 22:20   #216
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Re: Should a few of us stop owning cars?!

Quote:
Originally Posted by scopriobharath View Post
Example - i wanted to go to Ambattur from Chamiers Road. AC Innova asked for 650/- Auto rickshaw also asked for 650/- . Ah Public Transport i forgot - there is one bus 41D which takes the most circuitous possible route to reach and guess what if you suggest a more circuitous route you may stand to win a Bharat-Ratna Award.
If you want to use public transport for the same destination in future, the following will be the fastest;

a) Take an auto to Saidapet station, take a train to Egmore; then take bus no. 71A from there to Ambattur; or

b) Get down at Nungambakkam station and take bus no. 15A from there; or

c) Get down at Park station, walk across to Central station and take a suburban train to Ambattur. Actually this will be the fastest option. My estimate is ~ 90 minutes for one way trip. And cost Rs 50.00 - 60.00 one way, including auto fare.

Last edited by Gansan : 19th August 2011 at 22:24.
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Old 27th July 2012, 00:36   #217
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Re: Should a few of us stop owning cars?!

I fully agree with the title of this thread.
Here in Goa one can't survive on the public transport alone. The two-wheeler pilots (motorcycle taxis) and Autos quote minimum Rs.80-100 fare. Car is a necessity here.
Whenever I go to Mumbai, I never felt the need of owning a car. But even now that is changing. Getting a taxi is becoming difficult day by day.
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Old 27th July 2012, 10:46   #218
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Re: Should a few of us stop owning cars?!

I used to go to use the BMTC red volvos in Bangalore for my daily office commute. Never felt the need for a car, but maybe that's because of the route my office was on.

In Delhi, I used the metro quite extensively initially when I was travelling to Gurgaon for work but now that I stay in Gurgaon, I have to use the car. I hate it but that's the only sane way of travelling here. Metro doesn't reach everywhere and the autos and buses, the less said the better.

My point is that unless public transport in our country improves, it isn't feasible to not own a vehicle. Taxis, cabs and autos are not reliable or safe in most places, in my opinion.
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Old 27th July 2012, 10:59   #219
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Re: Should a few of us stop owning cars?!

Well speaking for myself, until I get comfortable, air conditioned, regular, reliable, safe, clean and not crowded public transport, I shall keep my cars. Looking at India currently I dont think I shall ever leave my cars

Last edited by apachelongbow : 27th July 2012 at 11:02. Reason: grammar
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Old 27th July 2012, 11:03   #220
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Re: Should a few of us stop owning cars?!

The goverment should improve public transport in quality,comfort,efficiency.Only then would it make sense to not use a private vehicle.I used to use public transport everyday.But now i have started using more of my own vehicle.Its better, safer,more comfortable.I prefer getting stuck in a traffic jam in my own car with the ac switched on and with the music system playing rather than being packed like a bunch of sardines in a bus where regardless of the number of standees people are still pushed in.
Trains for example or one of the worst to travel in.Yes,they save alot of time but they ain't comfortable to travel in at all.Firstly getting to any station, the roads are madly packed.The approach is so badly planned to even see the entrance will be another ball game all together.Then the you get into the trains which are hot n stuffy,over crowded and smelly.Now if to every 12coach they attached an ac coach and restricted the number of standees.Many of us would not need to use our vehicle to that route where the train travels to.
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Old 27th July 2012, 11:10   #221
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Re: Should a few of us stop owning cars?!

In Chennai, Auto-rickshaws are a nightmare. I purchased a Santro in chennai just to overcome the need for an auto-rickshaw.

My Usage is 42000kms in 5.5 years. Secondly, to reach on time, I cannot reach on time. To depend on Volvos (21G) cost me time.

secondly, To reach tourists spots, i found car to be more convenient that Public transport.

The Chennai-Madikeri KSRTC takes 15 hours to reach, whereas i could reach in 9 hours with sedate driving not crossing 100kmph. Also, in coorg, we wanted a local sightseeing taxi to come by 7:00 am (i like to beat the crowd), but i think there is a union of some sort and everyone comes only by 9:00/9:30 am till 4:00pm. I could not understand, what the harm was by driving from 7:00am-2:00pm.

In the above scenarios, I feel having a car is important.
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