STEPHEN LEWIS finds out about alternatives to the car.

WHEN York transport campaigner Anna Semlyen brought out the first edition of her guide to Cutting Your Car Use, it sold 14,000 copies.

Now, encouraged by the obvious appetite that fed-up Yorkies - and people elsewhere in the country who bought her book - have for practical, down-to-earth alternatives to the car as a means of getting about, she has brought out a new and updated edition.

Subtitled "save money, be healthy, be green", the book comes with some glowing recommendations. "A wonderful little book for anyone interested in being richer, getting fitter, and living longer ... it could be the best time and money investment you ever made," says Richard Evans, UK co-ordinator of In Town Without My Car.

The original edition of Cutting Your Car Use was aimed mainly at companies, schools, local authorities and other large organisations. It sold in bulk - 3,000 copies to Devon County Council, for example, 1,000 to North Yorkshire, 500 to Harrogate.

The new edition is also aimed at large organisations - but also anyone who feels the urge to change their lifestyle or transport habits.

It is packed with sensible tips and eye-opening facts for anyone feeling guilty about the fact they drive the half-a-mile to work every day, but never quite do anything about it.

The 90-page book is organised in handy, easy-to-use chapters, covering everything from why it is a good idea to cut your car use to why and how often you use your car, how you could make better use of it, what the alternatives are, and - for the really brave - how you can live without a car at all. There is also essential advice on things like how to maintain your bike - and make sure it doesn't get stolen. And the book is, says Anna, much more accessible than the first edition. "There was quite a lot of mathematics in that," she says. "The new edition is shorter and easier."

The benefits of occasionally leaving the car at home are enormous, Anna says. "Changing your travel habits is one of the easiest ways to be green, to save money, to improve the quality of your life, to find more time to talk to people, and to have better health," she says.

So, how do you do it? Here are just a few suggestions from Cutting Your Car Use:

Commuting:

Try to live near where you work, and walk or cycle to work (or use the bus or train)

If you are a shift worker, ask for shifts with people with whom you can share a journey

Ask to work flexi-time. Then it is easier to arrange things like car sharing or to fit in with public transport timetables

Ask for compressed working (when you can take a day off if you work hours in advance). Working a nine-day fortnight means a ten per cent reduction in commuting.

Shopping:

Share a car or taxi with neighbours. Fix a weekly date

Take a taxi to bulk buy

Check out whether your supermarket offers a home delivery service.

Cutting Your Car Use is available from Green Books on 01803 863260 for £3.95 (cheaper for bulk orders). Anna Semlyen also gives workshops on cutting car use. Phone her on 01904 654355.

Updated: 09:00 Thursday, October 30, 2003