How to use your car less

[jeffrey]

Anyone making a conscientious effort to use their cars by using other forms of transportation? How difficult has this been and what things did you used to use the car for that you have found another way to do it>

[ThriftoRama]

Well, in my old city, we rode our bikes everywhere. We benefitted from living close to work/downtown/entertainment as well as a very flat very bikeable city and no children to haul around.

We now live in a very bike unfriendly place, however, we've made changes in recent years so that we can now bike to work and parks once again, and are now within walking distance of our children's grade school and middle school.

Sadly, I notice parents who live around the corner DRIVING their kids to school when we live 6 blocks away. That won't be us. I relish living within walking distance, and the time I spend holding my kids' hands and walking to school and back is real quality time.

[ua_guy]

For some of us, a vehicle is necessary for everything. But some good advice still applies, like carpooling when feasible, consolidating trips, telecommuting when possible, driving with fuel economy in mind, and operating on a flex schedule to avoid peak commute times. In my situation, the value and time savings of owning a vehicle far outweigh the expense and alternatives. I'm also not willing to risk my personal safety to save on commuting expense.

[asdf]

I've commute biked in some form since all the back to high school days. My parents would not help me get a car until I graduated from college, so until then, that was my sole method of independent transportation. After college, my mom was impressed enough that if I put together a certain amount of money for a car, she would be willing to match it. This allowed me to buy a new compact pickup completely using cash. When I drove it off the lot, I swore to myself that I would own this as long as possible.

About ten and a half years later, I still own that car, with its mileage at a grand whopping 54,400. Yep, I have consistently averaged 5000 miles a year--and most of that is spent on long distance road trips. How did I do it? Biking. I always made sure to find housing and employment close to the city center and bikeable routes so that I can use the car as little as possible. I've probably spent as much in this time on bike maintenance as I have car maintenance--and I bet both are still in the three digit range each.

I'm glad I learned from the beginning that cars are money pits, as I'm sure many of you here already know. It's a shame to see how much money some people will indebt themselves in for an object that continues to cost additional amounts to operate.

[SeanH]

My grownup answer is consolidate trips.

My real answer is that avoiding small junk trips to buy stress-relief things saves money on junk food and gas at the same time. ie. "Gosh-golly, it sure sucks that I'm going to be studying all day. I think I'm going to drive to the store to just buy gum and take a small break." When really what I needed was just a small break walking around or stretching.

Last thought - I think its easy to forget just how expensive gasoline is. I'm sort of tempted to post something on my family blackboard that shows the price per mile and the cost of actual trips. My 10-mile round trip to school to school actually costs me close to $2 now that I'm driving a less efficient vehicle.

[ruffy]

When we lived in the city we used to walk everywhere. It was nice. Not so big on the biking thing, but wherever the feet couldn't take us the tram or bus could. Now that we have to go between towns we spend a lot of money on gas and have gained weight.

[kork13]

I've said it many times, and I'll say it again -- I only wish I could ride my bike around everywhere.... Oklahoma City is such a sprawling city that it's not at all practical (let alone safe -- narrow lanes & terrible drivers) to ride my bike to run errands. They're doing some road work near my neighborhood that might allow me to eventually ride at least to the grocery store (2-3 miles away) in relative safety, but that's probably about the extent of things for now. The nearest shopping center area is another 4-5 miles past that, and I don't trust the roads, potholes, and traffic enough to make that ride, since it's a rather heavily trafficked street ::sigh:: Makes me want to live in cities like Portland, Oregon...

[Jerry91]

One can opt for car pool instead of driving his or her own car. This will not only help the person save money while going to the office but will also save the environment.

[bjl584]

I really don't have the option of walking or biking. I live in a more rural area, so none of the roads have street lights or sidewalks. Riding my bike or walking to town is simply too dangerous.

[feh]

I bike commute to work 3 or 4 days a week from April through October; totals about 1500 miles for the year.

I'm fortunate that my path to work is bike-friendly and we have showers at work. The environmental/financial benefits are nice, but the main reason I started was for exercise. I had grown tired of running; biking is much easier on your joints.

[asdf]

I've said it many times, and I'll say it again -- I only wish I could ride my bike around everywhere.... Oklahoma City is such a sprawling city that it's not at all practical (let alone safe -- narrow lanes & terrible drivers) to ride my bike to run errands. They're doing some road work near my neighborhood that might allow me to eventually ride at least to the grocery store (2-3 miles away) in relative safety, but that's probably about the extent of things for now. The nearest shopping center area is another 4-5 miles past that, and I don't trust the roads, potholes, and traffic enough to make that ride, since it's a rather heavily trafficked street ::sigh:: Makes me want to live in cities like Portland, Oregon...

I once knew someone from OKC who said the exact same thing you did. It's also notable that you mentioned Portland since I've always lived in the Northwest, and there's no denying that we have it better as far as bicycling goes than anywhere else in the nation. There are a lot of cities that really need to put investment into bike-friendly infrastructure.