how to ditch your car for good: part 1 - why?
May 22, 2007 by Cash
I haven’t driven a car in over 6 months. I could not be happier. As any regular Urban Monarch reader knows; I don’t live in some massive metropolis where public transportation is a natural alternative to the automobile either. I live in Denver. In Colorado, public transportation has been somewhat of an after thought, and only recently, with the arrival of the new Southeast Light Rail line has the decision to ditch my trusty Honda been feasible.
Since Greg and I both have reaped the benefits of selling our cars and going down the bus / light rail route, I’ve decided to share the details of the switch in a three part series:
Part 1 - Why?: Here I’ll discuss the benefits of a car free existence
Part 2 - How?: This will focus on the nuts and bolts of taking advantage of your town’s bus and train system.
Part 3 - Lessons learned and general advice: This is where Greg and my ‘experiences’ (aka pains in the ass) will help save you time and trouble as you make the move.
Ready to give your local gas station the one finger salute?
There are numerous benefits you can reap from selling your car. Here’s a look at several of them in decreasing order of value (for me).
1. Saving money
Living in the heart of downtown is a joy, as I can walk to almost every place I’d possibly want to go. Parking however, doesn’t come cheap. Nor, as I’m sure all of you realize, does filling your gas tank (even with a high MPG car like my Civic). Finally, there’s all the additional expenses of driving a car, including insurance, maintanence and the occasional ticket.
Quick, high level, monthly breakdown from my own experience:
- Parking: $150 (underground garage in my building)
- Gas: $90 (this was an average as of November, 2006, it would probably be higher now)
- Insurance: $75 ($106 every 6 weeks)
- Maintanence: $15 (let’s just estimate an oil change every two months. This of course doesn’t even consider things like the $600 I spent last summer to get my CV joints replaced, and new tires)
- Tickets: $10 (Even with having a garage to park in overnight, the occasional meter snafu / speeding or ‘moving violation’ ticket was almost inevitable. We’ll average one every two months for our comparison)
TOTAL: $340 / month
Now, let’s compare that with the Cadillac of Denver public transportation; the monthly Regional pass (which allows access to every single public conveyance in the state. This includes all light rail zones, buses, and skyRide service to the airport).
TOTAL: $135 / month
Savings by switching to RTD: $205 / month… $2460 / year.
2. Reclaiming time
Notice I didn’t say ’saving time’. There is a reason for this. On average, my one way commute to work in my car was 40 minutes each way. Now, with a 40 minute light rail ride and approximate 20 minute walk (or ride on the shuttle if I choose to be lazy) to work, I’m looking at an hour each way.
Two important points here:
- THIS IS AN AVERAGE. I don’t even want to tell you how hideous the commute used to be when we had even moderate snowfall. We’re talking as long as THREE hours one way in some cases. Now, I look on with smug satisfaction as my commute time remains EXACTLY the same, regardless of weather / accidents on the highway, etc.
- Two hours a day are now mine for productive persuits. I used to spend my commute in a white knuckle battle royale with other work / home bound road ragers, having to focus on the drive while listening to music. Now I spend that time reading (I’ve gone through more books in the last 6 months than I had in the last 2 years, easily), researching stories for UM, absorbing podcasts or music, and sometimes, even sleeping. Try doing that behind the wheel. No, actually don’t.
3. No chance of DUI
You can’t be accused of driving under the influence when you’re not driving at all. I’m not proud to admit it (boy howdy am I not) but a positively scary experience I had early last year (where the grace of God and good karma alone saved me from some nasty legal trouble) helped make up my mind in favor of public transportation for good.
Abraham Lincoln had an excellent quote I quite agree with:
If people are injured from the use of liquor, the injury arises not from the use of a bad thing, but the abuse of a good thing.
If you enjoy imbibing as I do, taking public transporation allows you to enjoy it to the fullest with a completely clear conscience.
4. Helping the environment.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m about as far from ‘environmental activist’ as you can get. However, if I can do something that improves my life while helping out the enivronment at the same time? Aces.
5. Assorted other fun stuff.
One of the first questions my parents asked me when I told them of my plans to go car free was this: “How are you gonna go on dates?”. Easy. Make her drive (if driving is even necessary, see my point above about the perks of living in an urban area). Another benefit is the crazy, and I do mean CRAZY cast of characters I come into contact with. This is especially true of the bus (see my point here) but even the light rail has its moments in this regard. Finally; from a socializing perspective, I’ve had many opportunities to interact with lovely young ladies; some professional corporate types, some bright eyed students. All a wonderful alternative to a solo drive into the office.
I’m sure I’ve missed some benefits (Greg, readers, feel free to chime in the comments) but this should give you an idea of what’s possible.
Stay tuned for Part II, when I’ll tell you how to get started.
Technorati Tags: buses, light rail, commuting, commute
I know someone with a Kitchen Aide Mixer… It’s real nice.
love using the public transit if i can. only problems i keep running into lately are:
1. a bad habbit of wanting to sleep in the extra 20 min
2. trains stop around 1 and 2 am for metro-north, so either it’s taxi time, or hangin out in or around the station until 5 am heh.
3. maybe onces every 3 months or so there’s some sorta issue with the trains, and you’ll be delayed, stuck, or otherwise inconvinenced (but then, the trains are about 30+ years old for each car…)
Other time saver: Parking
Parking was a huge pain in the ass when I would drive downtown. Sometimes I would circle several blocks looking for an open meter. Now I just get off the bus and I’m there.
Aside from the costs of such activities as paying car insurance bills, registering, emissions checks, maintenance, traffic court, and cleaning, it saves time by not even having to do any of that shit.
Cost Modifications
With the cash I’m saving by ditching my auto, it more than makes up for the $5 taxi ride I take home a few times a week. Even at $5, twice a week, that’s still only $40 a month, or about a tank of gas.
Also, an added perk is the cash I sold my car for now earning interest in my bank.
Simplified Lifestyle
I’m all about making things easier. If it’s not on a major bus route, I’m not going to do it. It refocuses on priorities. Is it really important to go the liquor store 30 miles south? Or should I just visit the one that is $1 more two miles away.
Side Note: Riding in cars scares me now.
P.S.
Do you like the train?
No. I do not like the train.
Well… I live in San Diego, where we’re intensely jealous of the San Francisco public transit, but too laid-back (or lazy) to try and make it better. Getting to and from college was a 2-hour ride each way, which could go on for as long as 5-hours (easily 3+ if you hit the high school or middle schools that got out and would fill the bus to capacity). If I had driven, my trip would have twenty minutes with light traffic, no stress over parking (though there was indeed a fee of $35 a semester).
They’re finishing a train that would run about half the route I’d have to take… but a) my student pass wouldn’t work for the train = greater cost, b) it only runs half the route and would actually take longer to get to school because of transfers to actually arrive at school, and c) the train wasn’t (still isn’t -quite- finished) by the time I graduated college.
I think whether public transportation is a viable option depends heavily on the options available in my area… I live in the 8th largest city in the U.S., but it takes 1 hours to get somewhere that I could walk in half an hour, 2 hours to get downtown, etc.
However, I agree entirely that it gives you a lot of time to read and relax. I finished my homework on the bus which gave me more socializing time, and slept on the bus if I was tired. But the people on the bus in San Diego are, honestly, not the kind of people I want to talk to. Many of them are downright scary and lecherous when you’re a young woman. So… it can be a great option, if you’ve got a decent train or bus system. If you’re in San Diego? Not so much.
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I’d like to propose a few more benefits:
1) Socialization- I think the interaction with your community is much more meaningful when you’re not locked in a metal box by yourself for hours. You get a real flavor of your city/neighborhood when you’re walking through it.
2) Health- Without a car you’re probably averaging a couple extra miles of walking a day. I think this benefit should not be overlooked, especially these days when fatties rule the U.S. In a larger sense, a city that encouraged walking/biking would have a healthier citizenry that could reap benefits both in health care costs and longevity. Also, driving is pretty much the most dangerous activity that humans do on a regular basis.
3) Sticking it to the oil industry. Fuck those fuckers.
Thanks for the comments, all.
Goat, agreed about the occasional delay (even with our brand new trains). Thankfully, they are extremely efficent at moving a train out of the way so a working one can take its place. The one exception was a time a bus hit a train ahead of us and we were delayed like an hour (thankfully this was coming home, and not headed to work!)
Greg, YAP! I bet somebody would change her tune if she had a few swigs of contraband Roset. Ole!
Telen; I had no idea SD had such poor public transportation. I can also see your point about ’sketchy’ riders being a consideration, especially for girls. Out here, at least on the train, it’s typically full of ‘commuter’ (i.e. employed, professional) types in the morning and in the evening rush hour, which is when I typically take it. When we ride the buses, it’s a different story to be sure.
Danimal; TWO great points. Healthwise, I’m personally getting a minimum of 3 miles of walking in A DAY. As for not supporting the oil companies, and just oil in general, it’s just another fringe benefit of a carless life.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought that most of California, bay area excluded, is plagued by absolute shit public transportation.
I really can’t say for the rest of California, but San Diego as a whole is awful. We have the transit system divided by North County and South County. The Coaster runs along the coast and is actually very nice if all you need to do is get to places along the 5 like San Diego to Oceanside, etc. Most business-types actually take the Commuter Bus, which runs along the inland areas to Downtown in the morning, and back north in the evening.
There are some good things (like the “Guaranteed Ride Home” program, which if you use the commuter buses or Coaster allows you 3 guaranteed rides home each year, by having the service call and pay for a taxi home for you) but for the most part, the system is a failure. God forbid you have to transfer from North County to South County (if I didn’t have a bus pass, it was about $8 a day to pay) or are remotely interesting (screaming and crying children, lecherous old men, scary scary drunk homeless).
If the train actually stopped by my college (and considering it was a UC, it should have…) or if the buses weren’t so old and unreliable (mmm only managing 40mph if you’re lucky…) I would love to take public transportation. The trains have the most wonderful seats to sit in.
Oh! I also wish it wasn’t so expensive for just a day trip. We’d been looking at taking the train from San Diego to Anaheim for a Disneyland trip, but it was $40 per person for a day, versus $30 for gas + parking.
I have been living car-free in Paris and London for 8 years now, and I just can’t think of a single good reason to buy one.
For a start, you didn’t take into account the very price of the car itself! Imagine what you save every ten years or so (even less, people tend to switch cars every 5 years). Total cost of ownershi of cars throughout your life is immense (think this nice condo you couldn’t quite get because you were missing $30,000)
And for all these instances where taking the transport system isn’t good enough (too early in the morning or too late in the night, too much stuff to carry around…) I don’t hesitate a second in taking a cab (usually around £10/$20 these days)… and it actually as proven a hit with the ladies!
They say that you have to have a car when you have children… well, we will see then! And I actually believe family life without a car is achievable…
Look forward to read the other instalments!
Thanks GB, and that’s an excellent point. Since my car had been paid off I didn’t even think about what used to be around $300/month in payments. The savings really are severe. Glad to hear the ladies like the cabs too, I’ll have to try that out myself!! Rowr!
Ok, so how hot would it be, if you’re taking a girl out on a ‘date’ and don’t have a car…
Call the cab company, tell them where to pick her up, where take her, and say “hey, i’ll have a cab pick you up around 9p”
…pay the driver when he gets there.
Actually, here in London, we have those very nice black cabs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackney_carriage) with loads of leg room.
What I usually do is get to my date’s pick-up location however I can (usually public transport), grab a cab there and then make myself announced to the girl.
Then what’s nice with cabs is that is that you are dropped right in front of the restaurant/club/opera (no parking to look for) and if it is posh enough, they usually have someone to open the door for you!
I mean, unless you have a really really nice car that you want to show off, and that the girl is even remotely interested in how big the size of your car is, the cab is always more romantic… granted, you will have to finish the night in one’s flat, but you wouldn’t want to finish it on the back-seat of your car, would you?
[...] Also check out Part 1: Why? [...]
[...] I use my ‘grocery bag’ strictly for practical purposes; it’s easier to manage one heavy duty carry all than a collection of plastic sacks. Shopping at Wild Oats rather than a ‘conventional grocer’? It’s the easiest place to reach on public transportation. As for the train ride? Selling my car made economic sense and was also smart considering the amount of imbibing I do. Still, these changes, in addition to my newfound ability (and desire to) recycle at work and my recent switch to all paperless statements for my banking / credit card accounts (one of which promised to plant a tree on my behalf for doing so) makes me realize I’ve suddenly become far more environmentally friendly, even if the reasons have been pure serendipity. [...]
[...] It’s no secret that UM is committed to public transportation, and TxtBus.net is going to make our lives a whole lot easier. [...]