[ashis89]

A slightly major bike accident led to my parents dissuading me from riding a bike again and drive a car only. They rather advised me to buy an Activa, which is supposedly slower and thus, safer. I disagreed and for the past six months, my only mode of daily conveyance is self-driving my WagonR. Now, without going OT any further, I would like to put forth my query. How many of you have a car(s) as the only mode of transport?

I drive to work daily as my locality is not 'conveniently' connected with the public transport system. On an average, my monthly running is 0.8-1k kms apart from occasional long drives. But the problem comes up when I have visit crowded localities and traffic-jam prone areas (People from Hyd would know when I talk about Charminar or even a run to Inorbit mall on a weekend evening). I try to avoid the work and find an alternative (even though inferior) solution if possible. For short runs to the markets and other occasions, sometimes I borrow my friend's bike if available. I even got a non-geared cycle for moving around in the 2-3 kms radius, though the searing heat has rendered it worthless.

Another problem that I face with my car is parking. The work-around that I found is I park my car 1-2 kms away, in relatively less-crowded places and then walk down. Now, even though I love walking (upto 7-8 kms is fine) and its good for health, it's not pleasant in a crowded dusty locality.
Lastly, though I have never faced any break-downs or unscheduled visits, I don't have any back-up transport of my 'own' in case the car fails.

Has anyone faced such a problem or dilemma? If yes, what do you do in each of the above problem situations? How practical and convenient is it to keep a car as the only ride?

I have not stated the obvious, i.e. running costs of a 2-wheeler vs. a 4-wheeler. Also, I mostly assume you drive yourself and don't employ a driver, thus tiring yourself in those traffic jams.

[kkkkkaran]

Ive been through the same thing. My primary mode of transport is a car, and, I am still a student..
Because of an accident,my bike was taken away and sold off, and had to move around with the driver, or take mums car whenever free, until i was given my own car.
I do have a suzuki access, but is used only for 1-2kms radius commutes, and on very rare occasions, longer riding.
I do around 600kms by car, and probably 200kms a month on the scooter.
Living in a city like pune, where public transport is an absolute joke, I have to drive around wherever i need to go, or uber/family driver at the most(very rare).
As long as the destination is known, and planned decently, it is not a big problem i feel.

[Eddy]

A hat-trick

Ever since a near fatal bike accident in 2002, my car is the only mode of personal transport that I use. For occasions when you need to travel to congested areas - it's either Uber or the metro.

[Lalvaz]

I have only one car for my daily use. Thats my primary drive. Use it every single day, and am lost in case it's unavailable due to some reason or the other. Those days, I cab it up or struggle with public transport. For close distances, I walk, although I do cycle a little longer distances to the club, etc.

A car is definitely more expensive than a 2 wheeler in every way, and parking can be a tough task in crowded localities, but for those situations, I prefer hailing a cab. Its much more convenient and sometimes, even cheaper, since parking costs have risen skyhigh in some places. Just paid Rs.100/- for an 65 mins of parking yesterday. Ironically the first hour was free, I missed the sweet spot by just 5 minutes. :-(

[KiloAlpha]

For all distances less than a kilometre, my primary mode of transport is 2-legs (walking!)
For all distances between about 1km-5km, my primary mode of transport is 2 wheels. I take my wife's scooter as far as possible.

And for all other journeys, if I know I am going to an area where parking is a hassle, I use disposable transport (Uber, OLA, Autorikshaw). In all other cases, I use my own car.

[pganapathy]

I still have my bike but have not practically used it for years now. It is in fact sitting with a friend right now. Accidents have scared me off the bike and I now drive myself. Fortunately we have two cars at home but wifey uses one and I use the other. Driving is my only option. With one small car, Zen, that I use for work and my personal work, the bigger car, Fiesta, is used when wifey joins me to anywhere. Whenever there are issues with the car, Ola or Uber is the solution. Fairly practical in Bangalore I have to say.
I do understand how difficult it is to get to places where parking is a pain. Sometimes I even choose my locations for shopping etc based on parking.
My decision to use the car was based on the logic "I would rather put a dent in the car than in my body"

[carfreak7]

For small distances, I go walking as it is an exercise and will help me reduce my weight

During other times when I m alone, I take my scooter as it is a very cheap means of personal transport. I prefer it over bus/train.

But, when we are going out as a family, we simply book a Ola/Uber. Thanks to shortage of parking spaces and other factors, we have not bought a car as of now. We don't go out much so taking an Uber/Ola would be cheaper. Also, there is the benefit of free 4G WiFi and I feel it would be cheaper than owning a car. Rather, I'd invest that money in something else.

[Ace F355]

For me, yes. Before I upgraded myself to the Fortuner this month only, I did have the option to keep my Civic but as a bachelor I didn't want to carry the burden of having 2 cars at my disposal. For small distances (upto 1-2 kms) I usually walk. However, everywhere else it is just the car for me. I did have 2 bikes at my disposal, however I personally do not consider the Delhi NCR region safe for bikers because of no respect from larger vehicles (not to mention all the harassment bikers face from Police here) and I never touched my bikes since I got a job in Delhi in 2011. They were gathering dust at home, so parents decided to sell them off.

Coming to your question of being the car only mode of transport as a problem, for me it has never been. For 99.99% of the times I have always driven around. For those rare 0.001% incidents, there is Delhi Metro or Uber for me.

[Mistakenguy]

Yes. My primary mode of transport is my Car.

This is what I do for most common things.

Going to office/nearby areas on official work- My car.
Any area in Bangalore on work, where I know traffic can be high/parking can be a hazzle- Uber
Malls etc - My car( I time it so that I don't hit too much of traffic)
Weekend Dinner/Parties- Uber.

I did use my wife's Activa couple of times for < 5 km commutes, but I found it pretty unsafe.

[krish-iitm]

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[Rahul Rao]

My primary mode of travel is a car, there were two short periods, 1992 to 2007 Engineering college days, and few months when my Innova was off the road due to accident that I used a bike. One thing that I've noticed is that whenever I use bikes I use them for short distances too, whereas I would have walked in case I had been driving a car.

Rahul

[Firebird]

Let me start by accepting that, I don't know how to ride 2 wheeler and the car has been the primary mode of commute. The last 2 wheeler as such I had was Speedking bicycle during school days. Then car when I settled well in job.

There are pros and cons to just using 4 wheeler

Some pros
1. Safer and comfortable
2. You arrive in good shape and fresh
3. If anyone has concern about status and designation, 4 wheeler does answer that.

Some Con
1. Parking - if you sure you have parking then it's good, else it becomes worrisome to locate safe parking and that consumes time and energy

2. Comfort - yes, once you get used to it, gives a paralytic feel when vehicle goes for service or unscheduled work. There the point starts on having
Another one and you would go extra mile to find any reason to acquire second vehicle

3. Expenses - that's what you pay for comfort given by 2 additional wheels

4. Traffic condition - if you love your car, you need to develop patience which lacks when you are used to using 2 wheeler and making your own way through traffic (nothing personal, general observation)

I have a set norm - any daily activities which are mundane and I can walk, I walk by. Don't even hire autoriksha. If I am out with Family or some place I need to reach in good shape, take the Car.

Since now by god's grace, I can afford to maintain two cars, I don't face comfort issue. Use Petrol Honda City for shorter and family rides within City limits. For work I use Duster which covers daily 60 KM which involves crossing city jurisdiction.

You will soon get used to just using 4 wheeler, so don't worry. You will be good. Develop patience, that's it.

[A350XWB]

Originally Posted by Eddy

A hat-trick
Ever since a near fatal bike accident in 2002, my car is the only mode of personal transport that I use. For occasions when you need to travel to congested areas - it's either Uber or the metro.

Make it 4
I had an accident in 2001 which left me with a broken collar bone. It was not due to my mistake and that actually worked against me (See, you were riding safely and still you get into an accident because of somebody else). So these days, I use only my car or public transport.

[dileepcm]

Here is my take on the situation. I had been through a similar transition a couple of years ago and needless to say, switching to a car was not easy due to the fact that commute became a lot slower in comparison and parking was always a problem. Having said, I saw myself starting to pick the car more and more as car commute kept me fresh. It was always providing a higher level confidence by being safer. As time passed by, the inner feeling of being safe in a car [and not being safe in bike after seeing many accidents happening in front of me due to careless ride etc.] has grown so much that I don’t think I would ever go for a bike commute again.
Summary: I strongly recommend going for car-commute. You will find it to be better and safer within a few weeks for sure. Having a small car makes it a lot easier as you can imagine.

[carrerastrax]

I'm in the same boat here. Or maybe worse - I have a very bad car to drive in the city and I live in Bangalore. The car only sees highway runs and, when mobile and private real estate is required in the city (1-2 times a month). For maintenance purposes, it's driven once a week for 10-20 kms during off peak hours. For short distances like 1-2 kms, I walk. Above and beyond 4-5 kms, I use the app based taxi services. The missing part is the distances which are 2-5 kms. These days, most of the services I require in these distances is available through other apps in my phone. I'd say life's good for now.

A small odd ding on a panel like the fender sets me back by 5-8k. A couple of dings have the potential to rot the thousands of rupees worth of detailing products. Thank you, I'll take the cab..! Ride share has forced me to think on the economic relation of time and money and for sure, has reduced my car's usage in our traffic situations. I'm now investing on my knees, blood pressure levels and other health benefits of not driving in Bangalore.