There's an interesting article on Birmingham Live's website (link is external) this morning, marking Car-Free Day last Friday by speaking to people in the West Midlands who have ditched their motors to make cycling their main form of transport.

One person, Mary Mooney from Sutton Coldfield, told the site of her "relief" at not having to keep her car running and the costs that go with it, estimating that she's "saving about £1,000 a year now that I've got rid of my car". "It's a lot when you think about it," she added.

Another Brummie, Michael, says making the bike his primary transport doesn't hold him back... "Having a bike doesn't restrict you from doing things — you can have a bike with a trailer to do the shopping. You can put a bike on a train to London, and it's cheaper than driving. The cost of running a car is astronomical. Once you've got a bike, you can go anywhere and it won't cost you a penny."

Well, we all know it's unfortunately not quite that free. Maintenance costs, inner tubes, brake pads, cables (if your bike still has those in 2023) etc. but still, far cheaper than £50 plus on a tank and MOTs, parking, insurance and the rest of it. My first reaction was that £1,000 a year saving might even be a bit low...

Have any of you lot completely or largely swapped driving journeys for cycling? Even if it's just the commute for a couple of days a week? How much do you reckon you've saved? This is bringing back flashbacks of how much money commuting by bike saved me versus a train season ticket... but that's a whole different discussion... thank god for the bicycle!

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-27-september-2023-304111#live-blog-item-49979