living without a car

[eofelis]

We are not car free, but are car-lite.

We deliberately moved to a neighborhood that is close to many things that we could walk or bike to.

I have a 1991 Subaru and it hasn't been expensive or a problem to keep running, so I'm loathe to get rid of it entirely. Insurance is $250/yr and it hasn't needed many repairs. Currently I try to run it once a week so it doesn't die of neglect. It is still reliable enough for long road trips too, and not bad on gas.

My SO sort of inherited a 1994 Toyota 4wd truck. We do like to use it for camping trips, but only drive it about once a week otherwise. Tomorrow we are going to go spend a few days in the San Juan mtns looking at old mines and driving on the 4wd roads.

Sometimes I think of getting a newer Subaru (one that's only 10 yrs old) and my SO thinks of getting a different Toyota truck (he'd like an extra cab, the one he has is a regular cab and is not very comfortable), but then we think that we really don't drive enough to spend money on changing the cars.

[Beane]

I haven't dealt with a real winter yet with no car. It'll be interesting,

you're in madison, right? "interesting" is not the word for it. when the snot freezes in my nose after about 30 seconds, I tend to use four letter words.

Actually what is really bad about winter is riding on roads that are snow or slush covered. I almost got run over by a bus on state street! ...OK, "almost" may be an exaggeration, but still, it was scary.

[light_sabe_r]

We are not car free, but are car-lite.

I love that line!

That describes us too. We can go weeks without using the car.

I need one for Tri season though. ^_^

[Torrilin]

you're in madison, right? "interesting" is not the word for it. when the snot freezes in my nose after about 30 seconds, I tend to use four letter words.

Actually what is really bad about winter is riding on roads that are snow or slush covered. I almost got run over by a bus on state street! ...OK, "almost" may be an exaggeration, but still, it was scary.

I knit. A ski mask may be on the "to knit" list... Wool socks, lobster claw mittens, and plain hats for them as need 'em are for sure.

I'm really more worried about traffic on Mills and Dayton. Too many spots where it's not safe for drivers to pass, and they do anyway. State St is a once a month sort of deal... those are near daily.

[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.

[shootingstar]

I've been to Kelowna several times..and we are always struck by how sprawly the city is, given the reality that the population isn't huge.

I know several people who as a result of city wide transit strikes, rode their bike....and enjoyed it enough that they commuted to work by bike regularily / dropped ownership of their 2nd car.

And these are people with very healthy incomes.

My partner actually has a sleep disorder where he tends to fall asleep if his body is still..ie. driving a car. He finds driving beyond 250 kms. daily a strain..in concentration. So cycling seriously keeps his whole body awake and alive. His sleep disorder has been tested at a teaching hospital sleep lab.

[indigoiis]

Ugh. We have four cars, two drivers.
We live on a farm, so one of the trucks is an un-plated farm truck for plowing, trucking manure, and hauling stuff.
The other truck is my husband's. He is using it to commute to work. It is a toyota, though, so the mileage is pretty good. And when I change jobs, he'll be commuting with the Prius. But we will still need a pickup for going to get hay, hauling the trailer, or when he needs a truck for his job.

We have a minivan for transporting animals.

And we have the Prius, which I currently use to commute (but come December, will be biking to the bus to commute.)

One of our problems is that I have joint custody of my daughter, which means that some nights, I have her, some I don't. This requires transportation and, as another poster mentioned, she is not interested in biking the eleven hilly and not bike-friendly miles to her Dad's. She'll be sixteen in two years, and very likely we will have to get her some economical beater in order for her to go back and forth between houses.

This also affects my bike commute, because I have to make sure on my days with her that she gets to the bus, which is five miles from our house. I have thought it up, down, sideways and backwards... I thought of getting a tandum but then, how do I get it home at night if she goes to her Dad's that night? So I am resigned to the fact that, for now, the days I have her, I will have to drive to the bus. At least it is shorter to the bus than it is to my current job... I will be saving some gas and carbon points.

[Geonz]

Yesterday I saw a fellow riding a tandem solo. Might be worth trying.

[Melalvai]

my daughter...is not interested in biking the eleven hilly and not bike-friendly miles to her Dad's.

My daughter is 12 and not overly enthusiastic about long (>3 miles) hilly rides. Other people have actually said things like "Just make her do it"!! Obviously these people do not have children. We pick our battles, and if a ride in a car means we don't live in a war zone, so be it!

[Tuckervill]

You need a scooter! SHE needs a scooter! Very economical.

Karen

Ugh. We have four cars, two drivers.
We live on a farm, so one of the trucks is an un-plated farm truck for plowing, trucking manure, and hauling stuff.
The other truck is my husband's. He is using it to commute to work. It is a toyota, though, so the mileage is pretty good. And when I change jobs, he'll be commuting with the Prius. But we will still need a pickup for going to get hay, hauling the trailer, or when he needs a truck for his job.

We have a minivan for transporting animals.

And we have the Prius, which I currently use to commute (but come December, will be biking to the bus to commute.)

One of our problems is that I have joint custody of my daughter, which means that some nights, I have her, some I don't. This requires transportation and, as another poster mentioned, she is not interested in biking the eleven hilly and not bike-friendly miles to her Dad's. She'll be sixteen in two years, and very likely we will have to get her some economical beater in order for her to go back and forth between houses.

This also affects my bike commute, because I have to make sure on my days with her that she gets to the bus, which is five miles from our house. I have thought it up, down, sideways and backwards... I thought of getting a tandum but then, how do I get it home at night if she goes to her Dad's that night? So I am resigned to the fact that, for now, the days I have her, I will have to drive to the bus. At least it is shorter to the bus than it is to my current job... I will be saving some gas and carbon points.

[shootingstar]

I should add that only the last 5 years, I've been living in Vancouver to enjoy milder weather as a non-car resident.

Prior to that I lived several decades in southern Ontario, where winters are like upper New York State,...colder, more snow/slush. During the winters in that province, I did not cycle through snow. It was subway, bus and walking. For a few years, I used to walk almost 1 hr. one way to university every day with at least 4-5 heavy texts in my backpack.

But true, if car-free becomes part of your lifestyle, your whole body becomes adjusted to it.

One good thing being on bus, train or subway, is you can snooze/rest /veg out before or after work. Something you can't do when driving a car.

[smilingcat]

My desire is to be lite on car but in Los Angeles area, you are considered insane to be walking. bike has to be either a beach cruiser or racing bike. Everything is about the looks. You can't ignore it cause if you do, ...

I hate driving over an hour each way on my commute. I don't want to be part of the global problem. Besides every week there are horrific accidents on my commute. I think I drive by a fatality every year. last year, this year... Its just amazing ... to see car pieces in a "debris field" bigger than a football size. How fast do they have to be travelling??

I can only afford one car. My partner has a ten year old pkup, bashed in a few places to add character. Thought about commuting by bike part ways. Not sure what I'm going to do when gas hits $4.00 or $5.00/gallon.

smilingcat

[KnottedYet]

I've been thinking about the part-way commute using bike and car, too.

Been doing it bus-n-bike, but I've been looking at car-n-bike as a safer way to go. (I could drive through the entire hairy-traffic part at one end of my route.) Besides, then my bike would be safely in the back of my station wagon while I drove, rather than a precarious figurehead on the bus rack! (my bus driver almost smooshed my bike into a car once. he was very apologetic. no harm done, but my heartrate went up a little! )

I guess that's kind of car lite, but I do feel a little guilty about trading the bus for the car...