Retired or about to retire?

You may have worked full time for 40 or so years and now be retiring completely from paid work. Or, your change may be more gradual: a phased-in retirement scheme, an early retirement package combined with part-time or freelance work. There are many options but whichever you chose you may have to make decisions that will affect how you travel.

The decisions

Leaving London? Perhaps to live in a smaller city or town, where you hope to find life less stressful, people more friendly, or be nearer your family. Well you don't necessarily have to leave to London to experience those things, as Tony Emerson explains: "one friend of mine moved to London from Ireland on retirement. Apart from having a daughter here, she enjoys all sorts of free or very cheap cultural activities, enjoys free public transport, and finds the people in Streatham at least as friendly as anywhere in Ireland! So stay with us, and enjoy life in London without a car!"

Perhaps you are considering using a pension lump sum or an insurance policy that has matured to buy a car? Or the opposite, selling your car as it is no longer justified by regular work trips, big family shops, or ferrying around teenagers. Do you need it any more?

Cost may be the first issue that you will consider, as your income may drop by 50% or more. Every Londoner over 60 is entitled to the Freedom Pass which entitles you to free public transport within Greater London at weekends, and on weekdays after 9.30am. Additionally the Senior Card for rail travel entitles you to 30% reductions, and you are entitled to free bus use outside of London as well.

If you drive you can become a member of a car club – and hire a car by the hour when you need a car for a specific purpose. Or you can easily afford the occasional taxi given the £2,000 to £3,000 a year you are probably saving by not owning a car. So with good journey planning and sensible decision making on activities you can save a considerable amount of money by living car free.

Health and safety

Its is important to think of health and safety together. Without a car you build walking, and possibly cycling, into you life. Wheareas with a car it takes a lot of self-discipline not to 'just take the car' wherever you are going. You may feel exposed at a bus stop late in the evening – but the level of risk is small and certainly no more than the risk of accident if in a car.

Impact on others

You may be a grandparent already, or likely to become one soon, which brings us to climate change and the world your grandchildren will inherit. Looking at the impacts in the Families with babies page may be equally relevant to you now.

So, to make the best of London, living carefree, what do you need to do?

To plan public transport journeys from A to B go to Transport for London's journey planner. If you have not been a regular user you may need to build up a mental map of London and the different ways you can get around – a bit like the trainee taxi driver 'doing the knowledge'! Take plenty of trips on your Freedom Pass, so that you feel at home on buses, tubes, local trains, DLR, and Croydon tramline – they are all free to you now!

If your cycling skills are a bit rusty, most London boroughs offer highly subsidized or even free cycle training. For information go to London Cycling Campaign.