David Henshaw is a freelance journalist and the editor of two magazines: Miniature Railway; and A to B, which covers alternative transport. More at: www.atob.org.uk

David lives in Dorchester, Dorset, with wife Jane, and two boys, Alexander (9) and Orlando (1). David has been car-free since 1993, and the Henshaw household is totally car-free. There are several folding bicycles, a power-assisted bicycle, and a bike trailer. When the Henshaws lived in rural Somerset, David says that they used to cycle around their small town, and used the train for longer journeys. The family then took an active decision to move to Dorchester where far more facilities are within cycling distance. According to David,"We either walk or cycle into the town, or cycle to other destinations within five miles or so. The train service here is excellent, with trains every 30 minutes to Weymouth, Poole, Southampton and London, but I don't make many longer journeys these days because I work from home more than I used to."

As David says, "That's the lot day-to-day, but every six to eight weeks we hire a car, usually either to visit my parents in public-transport challenged north Dorset, or to take my parents out, now they are finding driving difficult (and scaring everyone else)." David learned how to drive by stealing a car at 16. The judge gave him the benefit of the doubt for being a car fanatic, and he secretly bought his own car a few weeks later. He put in for two driving tests three months early at different test centres and got two tests within days of his 17th birthday. He failed the first and passed the second. David then owned a succession of "interesting" motor cars, including a Daimler, a Range Rover, a Land Rover, a Mini pick-up, numerous Hillman Imps (on which he co-wrote a book), several Jaguars and various vans. David comments "If you said I was obsessed, you'd be right." 

But there came a turning point when David drove a van, working as a courier in London. He began to realise that motoring might not be all it was cracked up to be. David says, "After three months I developed a hatred of traffic jams, of fumes, and finally of cars. My vehicles got smaller and smaller, and my use of the car became less and less frequent, until we ended up with a 2CV. After the M3 was built through Twyford Down, I vowed never to drive through it, and swapped the car for pubic transport and folding bikes as a six-month experiment. That was in 1993, and we never owned another car. Life without a car was much more fun than I thought it would be. And cheaper. Did I ever drive through Twyford Down? Not until last year, when I missed the A272 in a hire car."

David says that his last car, a 2CV was "a lovely gentle, car and perfectly serviceable, but not really up to the rigours of modern motoring. If everyone drove a 2CV there wouldn't be such a problem."  It finally departed on a flatbed truck to the local scrap yard.

David says that the best thing about being car-free is not having to comply with The Rules. "There seem to be speed cameras everywhere. In a word it's about RULES. Don't speed, don't drink, don't park where you like, don't forget your MoT. Bicycles are refreshingly rule-free (almost)."

The worst thing is that, following the arrival of an unplanned second child, who is "an absolute delight….travel has become much more complex."  Although most places in the UK are accessible without a car, there are some really annoying glitches with public transport , where buses and trains just fail to connect, or the last bus departs at 3pm. "You get to realise that the rules are set by people who drive, or they would never plan things that way. The government needs to bang heads together."

So much for the downside. The upside is that "Visiting London is a dream. I can't believe I ever drove there. In fact, visiting all cities and most sizeable towns is easier by train these days. I can't stand congestion, and slicing through it by bike is a really liberating experience. And something we didn't expect is that without a car, our travel arrangements are much more flexible. For example, we might all travel to Bournemouth on the same train, visit different places, meet up, separate again, and come back at different times. With a car, the family are forced to stay together all day. A recipe for friction."

David thinks he would not go back to owning a car, but is considering car hire for some family holidays, as "the logistics of carrying bikes (even folding ones) for four people on our increasingly cramped and over-stretched rail system can be difficult."  Fares continue to rise well above inflation and peak hour travel is becoming increasingly expensive. But, "Owning a car ties you into using it, to make best use of the fixed costs and depreciation. If you hire a car, you only pay for the days you really need it. That makes the cost of driving more transparent. A journey isn't really the cost of petrol, it's also the cost of insurance, spares, depreciation….. If everyone paid for their motoring by the day, paying no money if they did no miles, they'd make a lot more trips by bicycle or on foot."

As for the money saved, David reckons that cars cost 50p a mile to run. So if the Henshaws had two, which they would need if they were to achieve the same flexibility, and did 10,000 miles a year in each, "we're saving £10,000 a year, less train fares. Our fares used to run to several thousand pounds a year, but we make fewer long journeys now, so it's probably less than a thousand. It sounds as though we're saving a fortune." 

When David says that he doesn't own a car, "People think we're completely potty. Some are downright rude, but most just feel sorry for you. And oddly, they always think they get places faster, which is strange, because it's very rarely true. They don't get to the airport faster, they don't get to London faster, and they don't get to the seaside faster. They also don't get to the school at the end of the road faster, or into town faster."

David's Top Tips for living without a car:

"1. Start gently. We kept the car in the drive, taxed and insured for six months before we disposed of it. It's like being weaned off a drug: cold turkey may send you back for a fix. You could get hooked again. 

2. During those early months, learn how to really THINK public transport. On the way into a meeting, jot down the return train times. That way you know when it's the best time to skip for the station.

3. Buy a folding bike. Without it you will be endlessly fussing about looking for buses and taxis. A folder is a magic public transport integrator.

4. Buy a power-assisted bike. If you haven't ridden one, you have no idea how much fun transport can be. All the pros of cycling with none of the downsides."