Drive
Drive when you are carrying something, the weather is rotten, or someone cannot walk the distance today. Say the reason. It is not laziness by default.
All comparisons
Everyday
Drive or walk a short trip
Under a mile, the car is often slower once you count parking. With bags and a hill, the walk is a speech.
Driving a short trip makes sense with cargo, with someone who cannot walk it, in bad weather, or when the return is uphill with tired children. Walking makes sense when parking is the real delay and the route is one you consider safe.
Be honest about mobility. A walk that one person will suffer is not a healthy choice. Mark it unworkable if someone cannot do it, and do not make them explain in the chat.
Walk
Walk when the distance is one you have done, the route feels safe at that hour, and you are not hauling a shop home. Leave earlier than the drive would have.
What actually differs
| Difference | Drive | Walk |
|---|---|---|
| Often faster | When you can park at the door | When parking is a hunt |
| Weather | Irrelevant | The plan |
| Cargo | Easy | A limit |
| Children | Seats, then the walk home | Fine if the distance is real |
| Cost | Fuel and parking | Shoes you already own |
Questions about this choice
What counts as short?
If you have not walked it, you do not know. A ten-minute walk is short. A thirty-minute walk with a small child is an outing. Name the minutes.
What about cycling?
A third option if you own bikes and have somewhere to lock them. Add it to the vote. Do not assume it is available.