{"id":670693,"date":"2026-05-15T07:18:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T07:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/670693\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T07:18:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T07:18:08","slug":"cycling-and-buses-dont-always-offer-a-solution-to-our-transport-conundrum-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/670693\/","title":{"rendered":"Cycling and buses don\u2019t always offer a solution to our transport conundrum \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Sir, \u2013 Having just read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/ireland\/2026\/05\/12\/campaigners-highlight-gulf-between-numbers-of-boys-and-girls-cycling-to-school\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/ireland\/2026\/05\/12\/campaigners-highlight-gulf-between-numbers-of-boys-and-girls-cycling-to-school\/\">\u201c\u2018The car shouldn\u2019t be the default choice\u2019: Cycling campaigners visit Leinster House\u201d<\/a> (May 13th), I can most certainly agree with this statement, but as a \u201cnon-driver\u201d using cycling and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/public-transport\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/public-transport\/\">public transport<\/a> to get about, I can honestly say that I would sell my soul for a car.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">If I had the privilege, as a cyclist, to live in urban areas, I suspect my opinion would be vastly different, but I\u2019m not. I feel us country folk are massively overlooked in discussions and debates where cycling is concerned. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">For example, I frequent Wexford regularly for business and by car that would take me just under four hours for a round trip. Unfortunately, without said car, to be in Wexford for 1pm I would need to leave with my bicycle at 06:50am to catch the first of many buses. If I\u2019m lucky, on my return I will cross my threshold at roughly 9pm.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">These timescales are unrealistic to maintain and so I have had to reconsider using a vehicle. As I have been an unnamed driver for over two years, I have lost all my no-claims bonuses, technically reverting me back to being 18 years of age in insurance quotes. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">I considered electric bicycles, but they\u2019ll neither fit, nor are they allowed on most public transport. So, I came up with the bright idea to get a scooter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Unfortunately, this is also untenable, as I have to do another theory test, get a new provisional licence and I have to complete 16 hours of  initial basic training. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">All these options are out of my financial means, leaving me to consider being a named driver under my husband\u2019s policy. At 42 years old, this is, for me, lacking in independence and freedom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">I can, however, if all else fails get a tractor. Apparently I am gifted that on my licence, and in light of that fact I can\u2019t help but appraise just how lacking in sense Ireland\u2019s policies can be at times. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">SARAH ROBERTS,<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Youghal,<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Co Cork.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sir, \u2013 Having just read \u201c\u2018The car shouldn\u2019t be the default choice\u2019: Cycling campaigners visit Leinster House\u201d (May&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407905,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,113957,82],"class_list":["post-670693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-public-transport","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}