That's the view of Lyn Brayshaw who has never owned a car but once had two tandem bikes in the family for ferrying around her two children when they were younger.

She still uses her remaining tandem to ferry the uni gear of her 18 and 20-year-olds to the train station and back during the holidays.

Lyn is the subject of this week's Me and My Bike feature, which gives a voice to Southampton's bike lobby and spawned organically from our weekly petrolheads platform Me and My Motor.

She told the Daily Echo: "Our tandem was so worth buying! I have used it for so many trips “taxi-ing” my children and other people. I often feel that this “use” of tandems is missing in articles, although I personally know a lot of families in our city who use tandems to taxi their children. I’ve seen one triple tandem too, and a folding one for train journeys.

"We don’t have a car, so at one point we owned two tandems, but passed one on due to storage space and not using it so much.

"I bought mine for less than £400, a Viking Salerno, when my son was six and daughter eight. My son could just reach the pedals, and I wished I’d got it earlier and added a foot rest, rather than struggle with a floppy tag-along. My children are now 20 and 18 and we still use it. For example, to collect my daughter from university in March for lockdown, my son and I took the tandem and cargo bike to the railway station to collect my daughter and lots of bags. We have now got both children and all their “kit” to and from university, using bike and train. Sometimes, we’ll leave bikes at our local station and sometimes we’ll book our bikes on the trains.

"In the past I regularly used it to drop off children. It used to be an option if a child was feeling tired or it was a late night cycle home, or a not-ideal route. I have transported lots of other children on it, and also at least one other adult. It has always been a loved experience!"

Lyn's are quite the cycling family. They had balance bikes before most people, enjoyed a double bike trailer and various tag-alongs when the children were younger. They attended a city council cycling event in the old walls 18 years ago and tried out the cycling kit on offer, including a double trailer, and they've never looked back.

They always use bikes and public transport and only hire a care on rare occasions when absolutely necessary.

It helps them get around and stay healthy. Lyn even cycled back to Southampton from Andover earlier this year.

"When I am older I might need an electric assist bike to get up big hills, but for now I plod up hills," she said.

• To take part in Me and My Bike, click the link below