living without a car

[dellafalls]

Hi, Thanks to all the great support and advice on here, I have now begun to commute to work by bike. I was wondering what it would be like to live without a car?? I am wondering if any of you out there have done it or are doing it? And how it went? Cheers.

[bmccasland]

I guess it depends on where you live, how far apart things are (grocery, cleaners, bank, pharmacy, garden center, etc...), what type of public transit you have. I met a gal over the weekend who's living without a car, and not by choice. She's been spending quality time with her bike, and is in great shape for the effort. When I was in the UK a couple of years ago the car rental companies were advertising to rent their cars for your "city break." So if you really needed a car, you could rent one. Not paying auto insurance, maintenance, gas, etc would make up for the cost in the long run.

[Torrilin]

My partner and I are living carfree, and are near the 2 year mark. It's netted us considerable savings in terms of car insurance and gas, but it does make some things more inconvenient. If we buy a moderately large item (say, furniture) we have to get it delivered. Getting to LAX was often exciting, since city buses with even light luggage are an experience. Groceries are not a particular problem, since each of us can haul 40 lbs and we have bags and backpacks that can take that kind of weight and volume. We do shop more often than we might with a car, but that tends to mean we're eating fresher food.

A key for us is location. We will not rent an apartment that is too far from stores we need regularly. Both our place in Los Angeles and our current apartment are within walking distance of farmers markets, grocery stores, hardware stores, restaurants and various other shops that we need on a regular basis. Our LA place even had movie theatres and Target within walking distance. Even with "everything within walking distance" I usually end up doing 6 mile rides while doing errands. I could hit 16 or more given the way Madison is laid out. Sprawl is real.

Start out gradually. Take the bus when you're tired instead of driving. Ride your bike or walk when you're not. Get the bags you'll need for groceries, and use them even if you take the car. Allow yourself recovery time. Use some of the money you're not spending on the car on things you enjoy. Learn to properly pack a load. Do little baby steps and eventually you'll find you're just not using the car. (just learn from our mistake and notice *before* the thing has sat unused for 2 years)

[pll]

When I moved to Evanston, I lived about 5 years without a car. I chose to live within walking distance of work and a grocery store; nearby there is the "L" and Metra (a commuter train) so it is easy. As Torrilin mentions, some things become more complicated. For me the issues were going out at night, visiting friends who live far away from public transportation, and going to a shopping mall. I finally decided to buy a car, but I don't drive it much. I still use public transportation a fair amount, walk or ride to work, do groceries frequently on my way home from work. The car has allowed me to take the bike to other places, though, such as organized rides.

[Melalvai]

I live in a midwest town which does not have a well developed public transportation system. We're not car free yet but we are making progress. Groceries & errands around town I do by bike. My husband is working toward being able to do more of his trips by bike. The big problem is our 12 yr old daughter who can't make some of the longer trips across town by bike (nor does she want to).

I doubt that we'll ever get rid of the car because our families are a 3 hr drive away, and I do want my daughter to learn to drive, but I hope to reduce significantly the amount we drive.

Since I became passionate about biking a few weeks ago, any excuse to ride my bike it welcome. I never resent riding or choose to drive because I don't feel like biking. We'll see if it lasts come winter.

[kiwi girl]

I don't drive (never learnt how). BF has a car but we actually went two years when we didn't use it because it was unlicenced and unwarranted - before I got fed up with the idea of paying to rent a car once when we were going away, and got my sister to help me get it all legal.

The two years we didn't have a car that we could use was a combination of both of us mostly cycling everywhere, public transport, taxis (we are $10 cab fare from town), bludging rides off family when going to family things (we live inbetween my sisters house and my parents house), and renting a car on the couple of occassions we went out of town for the weekend. I did (and still usually do) the grocery shopping on my bike, and anything big we bought we paid to get delivered.

[pll]

Ah... Melalvai raises a good point: winter riding. It can be done, save for days when there was a lot of snow or ice on the road. I used a fleece band around my ears and put a cover on my helmet.

Most importantly: good gloves. Below freezing, I use Pearl Izumi lobsters but wonder about the "Icebike Mitts." I also take my bike into my office (or a storage room nearby), since I cannot remove the lock with the gloves and my hands get cold very fast.

[shootingstar]

I have lived a car-free life for over last 25 years of my life. I'm 48.

My family could not afford to buy a car until I was 15. So yea, I remember walking as a child. No excuses for the 1 stroller because I have 5 other younger siblings!!

I difficulty learning to drive and hated driving on highways. So I gave up my license around 22 yrs.

I have 3 bikes. My partner has 2. I didn't return to cycling until I was 31. Still that's cheaper than a car and its annual maintenance/gas, right?? All my life I have lived in cities with public transportation..and near basic amenities of grocery store and bank,...at least.

We rent a car for a few days annually for certain trips out of town.

Stores, bank, rstaurants, etc. right now are within 5-10 min. walk. Current home and my last home, was a bike route in front of us.


If you are into Costco shopping every weekend, just forget the car-free life, unless you have a bike trailer. I don't have one, but my partner does. He has used it for bike touring and also for occcasional local transport of big purchases....paint canvasses, lumber, boxed up chairs...hey, 4 of them on trailer. He rode VERY slowly in traffic.

We do 90% of weekly grocery shopping by bike. rest is from walking.


End result:

Lots of money saved up...for other things in life.
You are slimmer. Even before cycling, I was 100 lbs. (5'1")
Less consumer oriented....you know being a gal on bike, means less time to window-shopping...you're zipping by or paying attention to traffic instead.

[MomOnBike]

We've gone care-lite, too. We have one car for 2 1/2 drivers (kid is away at college). DH & I both bike-commute. I do some light shopping on the way home from work. The car gets used mostly to haul groceries and musical instruments - though we have taken our instruments on bikes.

We buy gas about once a month. I can deal with that.

I have no problem renting a car for longer trips. I figure I've saved that much money by just not paying insurance on a second Just In Case car. The rental cars tend to be nicer than anything I'd buy, anyway.

Some cities have a Ride Share program where you join and have the use of a car when you need it; when you don't it's available for someone else to use. I know Philedelphia has the program, and I think, um, Minneapolis & others do to. That sounds just perfect for someone who prefers to use a bike for daily stuff, but sometimes wants a car. I sure Lincoln had that program. {sigh...}

[kelownagirl]

We're down to one vehicle and managing ok but we cannot easily "live" without a car in our area. Poor transit system, shopping etc too spread out, cold, snowy winters etc.