September 13th - How many of us can get by without a car?
Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast
The Independent
3.6 • 628 Ratings
🗓️ 13 September 2024
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Can you really enjoy life without a car? I'm talking to the transport guru Thomas Ableman, who also happens to be co-author – with his wife, Helen – of the Carefree Car-free blog. Helen has a unique claim to fame: she passed her driving test first time aged 17, and has not driven since then. Thomas has never learnt, and tells me he's very happy like that.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to today's independent travel podcast with me, Simon Calder. |
| 0:05.2 | It's Friday the 13th of September. |
| 0:08.0 | Unlucky for some, but not for me because I have a really interesting guest with me. |
| 0:13.1 | He is Thomas Abelman, transport consultant, maestro, work for everybody from transport to London to National Express to Chilton, |
| 0:23.5 | doing great things. And he's also with his wife Helen, the author of the Carefree, Car Free |
| 0:30.3 | Blog. And I'm just desperate to talk to Thomas on behalf of the many people I know, friends, family, sensible people, nice people |
| 0:40.3 | who say to me, I can't manage without my car. And that even applies to people who live in London |
| 0:47.3 | as well, of course, as out in the country. So welcome, Thomas. How long have you been car free for? We've always been car free. So Helen and I met in our first week of university, aged 18. |
| 1:00.0 | We've been a couple ever since that day. Neither of us have ever driven a car in that time. |
| 1:06.0 | I have never, I don't have a driving licence. Helen has a driving licence. |
| 1:11.5 | She took her driving test age 17, closed the door after passing and has never sat in the driver's seat of a car since. |
| 1:20.5 | That is quite extraordinary. |
| 1:22.6 | I'm sure she qualifies for some sort of record. |
| 1:25.1 | And there will be people listening to the podcast who think, oh my my goodness you've got to be able to at least have the skill of driving surely |
| 1:33.3 | Thomas because you never know when you're going to need it you go to America there's swathes |
| 1:37.7 | of that country where you're only going to get around in a rental car or indeed a um a stretched |
| 1:43.0 | limousine well amusingly of course i could get the skill |
| 1:46.0 | quite easily helen has a you know clean driving license you get great rates on insurance having not |
| 1:50.3 | had a prang in 25 years and yeah she could take out a license i could get we get a license back |
| 1:55.4 | i could get out of provisional she could teach me as long as we don't go on a motorway we could |
| 1:58.6 | take off across england with me and the driving seat so it wouldn't be hard. Seriously though I obviously there are places you |
| 2:06.2 | can't get to in in the United Kingdom without a car and I'm not saying that everyone should be car |
... |
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