I have been following this, and other, threads out of interest to try and understand what this brave new world may eventually look like. The one thing that seems to stand out is the almost universal theme that Mr & Mrs Average simply will not be able to afford personal transport, and that this means that we are headed back to a time when only the most affluent will be able to afford cars. In one instance this was mentioned as being 1960!
Now, I am in my late 70's. I remember 1960, and before, very well indeed. For example, my parents bought the first (second hand) car in 1954. I bought my first car, a van actually, in 1965.
So what was life like back then? Especially considering that we didn't know any better!
Well, TV was limited to two, or maybe three channels. Does today's "hundreds" of channels really represent an improvement? I suggest not.
An evening out was either the pub, about which I say no more, or a visit to the cinema, of which there were about 10 with 5 miles of where we lived. Transport was diesel bus, or electric (trolley) bus, both of which ran until 11.30pm.
Work, something which a lot of people seem to forget about, was 40 to 48 hours per week, including Sat am, and by the time one added in travelling time to & from work, resulted in something like 11 hours away from home which in reality meant that opportunities for leisure were somewhat restricted. Do we want to go back to those hours? Probably not, but I do think that as a nation we are today frightened of hard work.
Holidays. I well remember queuing in Halifax for a coach to take us to the likes of Butlin's at Filey. Or having to travel by train (steam at that) to Pwtheli in North Wales.
Now, why have I brought this up. To show that there are a number of people who have lived their lives, and who managed quite well without personal transport. And, it has to be said, didn't know anything different. I was going to say "better", but are we really better off today rushing hither & thither? (I may have got my saying wrong there.) And also to show that this age of readily available personal transport is really quite short, 60 or so years at most. Perhaps we should consider making our own entertainment at home, rather than expecting it all to be laid on for us. Perhaps we should consider that all this rushing about seeking new experiences is actually bad for us. In this respect, I have recently come back from a place what we have vistited many times, a place which has an almost magical calming and soothing effect on me. Which suggests that I for one, need to escape from our increasingly frenetic lives. Perhaps, restrictions on our personal freedom to travel might not be a bad thing after all.
Lunch calls, so I'll leave it there.
Regards,
Peter G. Shaw