The b-bug project aims to explore the concept of a “not-car” – i.e. a vehicle which doesn’t try to compete with an ordinary car (on speed, range or comfort) but just tries to cover some proportion of the short local journeys which we drive each day. Our trial this summer will test this the concept with holidaymakers but we also plan to include some proportion of local residents who would like to try a b-bug for commuting for work or shopping.
The b-bug currently has a very limited range – 20-25 miles depending on the terrain and driving style. So, the question is – how limiting is that for every day journeys? We hope this summer’s trial results will provide some useful data but it’s also interesting to see what the UK car travel stats actually look like. These stats are from 2009.
Average distance driven per day = 27 miles.
Average length of a car trip = 8.7 miles (21 minutes of time) – interestingly, this has stayed fairly constant over the past 12 years,
Average commute trip to work = 8.6 miles (18 miles return). Allegedly, it now costs 20% of people’s net pay to cover this daily commute!
Average shopping trip = 4.3 miles.
Of all trips we make (by any means), 95% are less than 25 miles.
And finally, 43% trips end at home where a b-bugger can happily re-charge her b-bug.
So, if we’re not thinking of a b-bug as the only vehicle you own, then it might well cover a reasonable percentage of your daily trips.
