Saving The Planet, One Bus Ride at a Time

When I was 19, I decided to save the planet. It was the early 1970s, Ted Heath was Prime Minister, and I'd dropped out of my Law course and ended up in London. The most rebellious thing I could think of doing was to go "green" and not get a driver's licence or buy a car.

Although I'd learned to drive a tractor on my family farm, I decided from then on that I would rely exclusively on public transport. It was one of those major but insignificant decisions that teenagers agonise over, which no one else actually cares about.

Although it's often been inconvenient, I've never regretted my decision. I don’t condemn people who drive everywhere, take several flights a year and who obsess over their cars. (I don't even have a go at Jeremy Clarkson very often). Nor do I make a habit of evangelising about my car-free existence. One reason is that whenever I have spilt the beans, I'm usually ridiculed.

People insist on telling me that growing armies of consumers in countries like India, China, and Brazil are making and driving more and more cars and building zillions of coal-fired power stations. I am also aware that having a car and driving everywhere is virtually compulsory in the USA.

Here I am in Ramsgate, mindful of my water consumption, as I watch TV documentaries about gold miners in the Yukon using millions of gallons of water on an hourly basis. Surely, I'm wasting my time?

It doesn’t matter what anybody else does: it’s what I do that matters to me. I know Ramsgate doesn't have a transport setup anything near as good as London's, but I can still get around relatively easily using local buses, trains, and the odd taxi. I also get more exercise than the average driver.

I had a neighbour who always drove to buy a newspaper, but because of the one-way system, it took ages, although he could see the shop from his flat. He died of a heart attack not long ago. Another neighbour complains whenever he has to park across the road from his house because he has to walk the extra couple of metres. I feel sorry for him.

You may have seen my YouTube channel where I drone on about 1970’s Pub Rock and evaluate the best and worst British Psychedelic Rock albums from the 1960s. (Very niche!).

For 2025, I'm planning a video series where I travel from my home in Ramsgate to my birthplace in the Yorkshire Dales solely using public buses and my KCC OAP pass. After that, I plan to journey to India using only trains, buses and perhaps the occasional sailing boat. Google tells me it should take 64 days each way.

I must be mad.

Written by:
Councillor Jim Driver
Northwood Ward