. . . or sleeping

You beat me to it!

"If things ever were so bad, I suspect the rural shall inherit the Earth."

Only if they live in a fortress. Otherwise the zombies will get them just the same.

FYI, cars have siphon blockers that prevent easy extraction of gasoline from their tanks. Currently gas thieves just punch a hole in the bottom of the tank and drain the gas into a container. A less damaging but more difficult and time-consuming is to unhook several of the fuel injectors and direct their spray into a gas can. I' doubt that method is very effective though.

-Blast

Don't even waste time with the injectors, up until 2005 or so the fuel filter is usually under the drivers side door, unhook it and get the gas there. Or most newer ones ~2000 and up have a valve on the fuel line leading to the injectors, its a standard shrader (SP?) valve like tires so a length of fuel line and a screw on pump end works.
You have to figure a way to run the fuel pump manually, either through the prime terminal or wiring the relay and the fuel pump in a car is a high pressure low volume so it is slow to move fuel, figure hours to empty a full tank.
Really new stuff the engine computer controls the fuel pump via PWM so there is no external tank and relay so now you would have to find the wiring going to the pump.
If it gets that bad I'm looking for high ground clearance vehicles and unbolting the tank straps and taking the whole tank for fuel storage as well

I'm willing to spend quite a bit of money on preparedness, but if I lived in a city where a car wasn't normally needed, I don't think I'd buy one just for use in emergencies. I wouldn't condemn others for lack of a car, either.

As others have said, having 30% more cars on the road isn't going to make evacuation by car any easier. If you can get out early enough to beat the rush, you probably will also avoid people wanting to hitch a ride.

On the general subject of charity: efficiency is the enemy of resilience. If you only have just enough resources for yourself, then you are vulnerable to the unexpected. If you plan to have enough spare to give some away, then you have a safety margin.

Good for you. For those of us with families, this isn't an option.

Not true at all. There are handelbar child seats, rear child seats, trail a bikes, trailers, etc.

Look at some of the "bike trains" even http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=279527

A high end bike, seat, trailer and other gear is still cheaper to buy and own than even a low end car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAOHhV1EFe4

Is Bugging in the best option? I suppose it depends on the circumstances.

In many cases bugging out is the best option because you are moving away from the problem. By bugging out you are less likely to be an added drain on the local resources in the troubled area, even if you have stockpiled your own supplies you still take up resources even if it just time of some government official coming to take your details.

What if the situation worsens and then it is too late to bug out?

I don’t think there is any need for anyone not to bug out whether they have a car or not. In the exception of an earthquake; there is normally a warning or at least clues to something happening. If that is the case and you are switched on to seeing these clues and you have a plan, then bugging out in good time is possible for most people.

People that bug out normally leave it to the last moment. That is when you see footage of roads backed up with jams and all sorts of havoc. If you have read the clues, have a plan and act as soon as you see the clues. You can bug out with the minimum of fuss and be well clear of the area before the rest of the population have even thought about it.

If you don’t drive but have a plan and act you can be out of the area whilst the public transport systems are still functioning and not overcrowded by others bugging out. If you are a family and don’t have a car you can get a bus or train out, often in better comfort than sitting in a car on a gridlocked highway.

Plan for a bug out
Observe for clues of an immanent disaster
Act on your plan early