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.

[tjf9]

I've considered going from 2 cars to 1, but DH isn't too excited. He has to drive for work, so car-free isn't an option for us. He likes driving my car for work (better gas mileage, and more fun to drive) but driving the mini-van on the weekends when we have to ferry the kids around or if we're going camping and such.

Maybe someday...

[madscot13]

i've always been car free but hey I am 22. My bike gets me everywhere I need to go faster than public transportation and with a there and bike ride at $5.00 that can add up. I also realized that everything I may need to go to on a daily basis is within a 3 mile radius and weekly about 5 miles. It is quicker to bike than to bus or drive due to multiple stops and parking and traffic. My parents live 20 miles away and I can bike to see them when the weather isn't too bad and they are really kind in letting me borrow the car or chauferring me when necessary but maybe that does not make me carfree then? They offered me a car for graduation but I think me and the Trek 520 will try roughing it out for at least a few more months on our own.

[Torrilin]

Well, we're happy to carpool with car-owning friends who offer us a ride . It's just not needed on much more than a monthly basis.

We don't have kids, and if we did, carfree might not be realistic. I wasn't really capable of handling utility/commuter type riding as an 8 year old, even tho my parents taught me how. Once I hit 13 or 14, I was a lot more capable. And well, most of the trailers I've seen assume your kids will be able to ride on their own by around age 6. Not very realistic for things like mom and the kids going grocery shopping. And if you've got more than 1-2 kids, well... you're outta luck.

Really, we went carfree because it's more fun. If you're thinking of making the shift, that's probably the best reason to do it. That way you'll stick with it. I really enjoy certain kinds of driving, and I love tinkering with cars. But most cars are money sinks, and the driving I like best isn't the kind of driving I'd do the most of (even if we lived out in suburbia). Our car insurance rates would be high, despite not driving much. And well, bikes are fun, and riding a bike in stop and go city traffic isn't maddening for me. Neither is walking. Driving a car in that *is*.

I haven't dealt with a real winter yet with no car. It'll be interesting, and I'm sure I'll fall back on public transit a lot at first. That's ok tho. The point is to keep it fun, not make it into another big source of stress.

[Melalvai]

winter riding. It can be done, save for days when there was a lot of snow or ice on the road.

Actually it was winter riding that nearly burnt, or rather froze, me out on cycling. Then I took the Road I course and have been completely obsessed!

About borrowing friends' cars, if I am ever car free I will take the approach my friend does: never ask, and only accept a ride if my alternate plan was to rent a car. He's going to try being car free and when visiting his wife's family, he'll rent a car. He says it is works out to about the same cost as owning a car (license, reg, insurance).

[nicole309]

I have been car free since moving to Washington last November and I have not missed my car one bit. All the extra money is really nice.
I must say that I am lucky. I work within a mile of my home and there are plenty of places to shop close by. Our transit system is wonderful.
I can get to the Seattle airport by bus for under $5.00. Every other weekend I put my bike on the bus to Port Angeles and then take the ferry over to Victoria.

[Geonz]

I sold my car to my brother May 30... I am "between cars" but I have a feeling it's going to be like being a recovering alcoholic.

Before I sold it, though, I had gotten to the point where I didn't think of the car for getting places. If the weather was bad I would think "what should I wear?" not "should I take the car?" Three days in the winter I took the car to work (right after our 15-inch windy blizzard) but I could have taken the bus or a taxi. I would definitely pretend to be car-free before I actually did it! And even now, I stuck the car-selling money into the bank and I think to myself, "I could go out and get a reasonable used car today if I needed it."

A car-free acquaintance said he has "named operator" insurance for driving other people's cars and rentals; I asked my insurance guy about it and he didn't seem to think it was necessary. I'm thinking that if I rent cars enough for odd trips to my siblings 740 miles away that the extra insurance from that would add up but until I see how that is, I'm not worrying about it.

I am single with carred friends for getting to those organized rides that aren't close enough. Right after I sold the car I bought a good bike rack :-)

I have to say I haven't saved a lot of money yet because I didn't put a lot of money into the car. I *think* GEICO put that $200 in my account... and come October I won't have to send $78 to teh state if I don't have a car still. I am thinking that actually it's the summer I'll miss it more 'cause I go more places out of state then.

[uk elephant]

BF and I manage just fine without a car. I commute to work by a combination of train and bike, BF rides his bike. To do our shopping we strap on big backpacks and take the train in to town. The three or four week-ends a year when we get away to see his family we rent a car. Works out a lot cheaper than owning a car for the whole year. I suppose we are lucky that we live in a place with pretty good public transport and mild winters for cycling year round. All you need is some good raingear.

[Ebet]

I sold my car a few months ago so we just have one car now which I rarely use. I use my bicycle for local trips and sometimes to commute to work (with train). On the other days I commute by motorcycle, which gets good fuel efficiency.