Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

[tinapbeana]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

So by simply deciding to catch the train, I am saving something on the order of $1500 a year in gas and parking only not to mention the frustration of commuting in Atlanta traffic. There's no telling how much I save in maintenance for tires and oil changes. So while I don't think it's possible or practical for a lot of people to live car-free, I do think that simple changes can allow some folks to reduce a lot of their car expenses.

i used to live in atlanta, and marta is kind of a catch-22. i went carless for a while, at the time i lived in decatur (3 blocks from a train station) and worked in norcross (half a mile from the closest bus stop). i also had a collapsable bike. so, my 2 hr one-way commute involved biking to the train station, taking the E-W train downtown then switching to the N-S train and going to the end of the line. get on a bus take it to the end of the line, then bike up the rest of the way along an access road for an 6 (8?) lane hwy. uugh!

mass transit in a lot of southern areas is great if you're able to access the necessities of life within a 2-4 mile radius or so. unfortunately, most southern cities also came into their own during the 'age of the auto' and are designed in a much more sprawling fashion than cities that were metropolitan areas at the turn on the century. the design makes it a definite hardship when trying to go carless.

[asmom]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

mass transit in a lot of southern areas is great if you're able to access the necessities of life within a 2-4 mile radius or so. unfortunately, most southern cities also came into their own during the 'age of the auto' and are designed in a much more sprawling fashion than cities that were metropolitan areas at the turn on the century. the design makes it a definite hardship when trying to go carless.

This is true and there is a lot of talk about high-density living and there has been some movement towards that here in the ATL area but by and large it is still difficult to walk/bike/mass transit here. I could reduce a lot of car trips if they would just build a freakin' sidewalk to Publix! There is a sidewalk that goes in that direction but it stops .2 miles from the intersection. Why in the @#!$ would they build the sidewalk and stop that close to the intersection?!!!

[meaghanchan]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

I consider myself extremely fortunate that I am able to live car-free. I am in an area where there's so much mass transit (and so much traffic, and so little parking) that it's actually an inconvenience to own a car. I've never owned a car, and many people I know don't even have their drivers licenses. I take the subway to work, and I take the bus or walk to go grocery shopping.

I imagine that being car-free would be more difficult if I had a family, but many people around here do it, so it must be possible... Just a bit harder.

[ren]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

I would love to be able to go carless. However, I've figured out the best route and... well, 'best' is an overstatement:

5:56 Board the 084 > 6:10 Transfer to the 080 > 6:28 Transfer to the 001 > 6:40 Transfer to the J > 7:10 Transfer to the L > 7:40 Get off at Kaiser

Yup, that's about two and a half hours (allowing for walking from my house and up to work) so I could be at my desk at 8:00. What godforsaken area do I live in? Sacramento, CA. How far is it to drive to my work? 11 miles.

As a bonus, because I'd have to buy a commuter pass for 2 bus systems, it would cost me $210 per month (Sacramento $80, Roseville $130). When I only use about $90 a month in gas, it just doesn't make economic sense.

[threebeansalad]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

My husband and I have just one car. I'm not interested in going carless, but I try to drive as little as possible. In fact, I try to have car-free days (similar in thought to spend free days). It's just a little mental game that encourages me to not make mindless trips in the car and try to string errands together. I rarely go more than 5 car free days, so it's not like the car will get in danger of sitting too long.

[MonkeyMama]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

I've looked into public transport many times and it was always a pricey alternative to driving. Even considering all of my auto expenses. But that is California for you. I absolutely LOVE the NEw York subway system - it is great and afordable -s ame for Boston, etc. IF I lived in one of those cities I'd be all over it.

I admit my car is a luxury. If I couldn't afford it I could do without. But it would be a huge PITA. I choose convenience over cost a lot of the time, and this is something where convenience wins by a mile. Second car is not so much needed, but since I don't have to rush home when the kids have a doctor appointment or something comes up, makes me more productive at work and that whole convenience thing really kicks in.

I was just looking and taking the public transport 90 miles to the city would cost our family of 4 $90 RT. I would love to support the public transportation but I Can't afford it. So I pay $90 and it takes me 3 hours each way to go on a 90-mile drive. Ugh. I remember looking into a light rail pass when I lived and worked right by the light rail and it cost about 3 times as much as gas. This was a few years back. Needless to say I Didn't bother with the long/slow/crowded commute. I love my car a little too much I guess.

[sarah]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

I lived without a car for year and one thing I learned was that you often spend more for groceries, entertainment and defintely time when you do not have a car. It used to take me 1 1/2 to get to work. I could have driven it in 5 minutes. Now this is not an option. I live in an area without pubp9c transportation.

[kimiko]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

I straddle the lines between public transportation and driving. But I definitely can't afford to go carless. I use the bus as much as possible but I simply do not have the time to take the 1hr bus ride to work and 2hr to get home between classes; driving only took 30 mins each way.

[PauletteGoddard]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

Someone on another board suggested we give up our one remaining car. I tried to imagine my husband on a bicycle, lugging his laptop and our then infant son off to daycare, and then making the trek to a bus stop so he could take his bicycle with him to work.

We will probably not be car free until we get a sidecar for the scooter and a roof, but I suppose having one of us telecommute 80% of the time, and another free to bus, bicycle, carpool, scoot to work while the child is walked to preschool by the other is still a major financial and environmental improvement over the SUV & Minivan double-income parental lifestyle.

[LateBloomer]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

I work in the downtown area of a mid-size city and my apt. is 4 miles away. I ride the bus to and from work but have a small used car that I use for shopping and errands, etc. on the weekend. I think it would have been impossible when my children were growing up and I was working and we lived in the 'burbs. But I see young mothers with 2 or more small children in strollers accessing the public transportation system and it doesn't look easy.

[Elgin526]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

Living here in the burbs we'd never be able to go car free. I'd love to be able to go to one car since DH and I are on oposit shifts, but he works a lot of overtime and wouldn't always get home in time for me to take the car to work.

But, my car is paid for in full, so at least we only have one car payment (3 more years, I can't wait until that's up!). And DH can fix both our vehicals so we only have to buy parts, that reduces our maintenance costs by 50% or more.

[Hez]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

I'm in my early 20s and have never owned a car. In fact, my license expired over half a year ago, and I'm probably not going to get around to renewing it for that much longer again. I use public transporation pretty much exclusively.

[mom-from-missouri]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

Couldnt do it. We live on a farm. DH works in downtown KC- its a one hour one way commute (but he only works 3 days a week-12 hr shifts). He drives a car that is pretty good on gas for work. Then we have to have the 4 x 4 pickup to pull the horse trailer and farm trailers. Then, I have my suburban- 10.5 miles one way to school (no bus) and I can't fit all the kids into his pickup, so it is either that or a minivan. But with the suburban, I can pull a hay trailer if needed, the camper if the girls and I want to camp and he is working, hall 7 kids for a field trip and still have room for backpacks in the back end.

[tgavin71]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

I remember years ago on one of our finance tv shows they did a comparison between having a car with all the expenses (cost, fuel, maintenacne, wear and tear, insurances etc) and catching taxis. For the same distance over the year it was cheaper to run a car by about 30-40%. Plus you also have the added convienience.
I could easily live car free but the whinging that I would get from the kids having to walk 20 mins to and from school would drive me nuts! Plus the closest family we have live 4 hours drive away. There is a train but the ticket costs for the 4 of us far out weigh the costs of driving by car.

[Hez]

Re: Lose the Wheels - Living Car Free

I think the difference between spending money on a car vs cabs depends a lot on where you live. My friend was telling me here that for her work it's cheaper to get a cab than it is to pay for parking, let along spending $ on gas etc. Craziness!