THE average cost of running a private car is now more than £3,000 per annum, so it is worth thinking what alternative transport solutions exist for someone with this kind of money to spend.

On my reckoning, a County Card giving free access to the train and bus network across Greater Manchester for a year would be a good start at £625.

Picking up on the need to cover some awkward local journeys, and to be able to connect quickly to the station for at least some work journeys, a new mountain bike and associated equipment might set me back £750.

I would also like to be able to provide for a monthly long distance rail trip, or for some family-based rail journeys during the year: £840 could cover these.

Finally, I won't want to carry the weekly shopping on the bus or my bike so I would want to make allowance for a taxi a week, plus an extra one at Christmas. This would cost me another £300 and would also encourage me to argue with the local supermarkets that they should set up a home delivery system.

Adding these items together gives me a total of £2,515, which would still leave almost £10 per week to spend! Even if life in your household seems impossible without a car, perhaps those in larger households could weigh the need for a second car against these practical and cheaper alternatives.

STUART MURRAY,

Greater Manchester Transport Resource Unit.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.