Giving up your car is easier than you think, but a bit of planning will help make the transition a lot smoother.

Although an entire article could be dedicated to the actual sale of your car, that’s not the intention of this series. I would recommend Craigslist as your best bet, although an ex of mine had a lot of success with Auto Trader. If you want to outsource the process entirely, follow Greg’s advice and look for someone on Craigslist who handles the whole thing for you (you leave the car with them, they have it detailed, advertise, negotiate with buyers, handle payment, etc, in return for a % of the sale). As always, exercise caution when dealing with anyone from Craigslist.

GETTING STARTED

Once you’ve made up your mind to go with public transportation, you need to figure out how it will impact your commute and life. As I mentioned in part one, my personal commute increased with the switch.

Here’s a quick list of suggestions:

1. Make a list (a spreadsheet might be best) of all the places (addresses) you visit regularly that arn’t within walking distance. This should include work, grocery store, bars, doctor’s offices, the gym, etc. Be as thorough as possible to avoid surprises later.
2. Go to your state/city’s bus/train website and look for a ‘trip planner’. The excellent Publictransportation.org is a good jumping off point (use the drop down list on the right to select your state).
3. Using the trip planner (if available), figure out the routes you will use. When using RTD’s trip planner I always select ‘fewest transfers’ to shorten my trips and make them more efficent. Be sure to make note of the TYPE of each route. Here in Denver, there are “Local”, “Express” and “Regional” routes, and the fares vary.

NEXT STEPS

Once you’ve figured out how to get where you’re going, there’s a few more things to consider.

BUYING TICKETS

1. Figure out what TYPE of ticket you will need, based on the most expensive class of route you will be travelling on. Here in Denver, an “Express” pass, for instance, is good for all Express routes as well as all Local routes (the next cheaper tier of routes).
2. In almost every case, a monthly pass will save you money over individual tickets. The savings can be substantial. For me, buying just a daily round trip light rail ticket for work would cost me $150/month. My regional pass is $135, and includes ALL busses, skyride to the airport, etc, in addition to all my light rail trips.
3. In Denver, bus passes are available for sale at local grocery stores, downtown bus stations, and through the mail (purchase online). The latter option is what Greg uses and if you’re able to plan ahead, is the most convenient of the bunch. Check your local transit agency’s website for specifics regarding where you can buy in your town.

FINAL PREPERATIONS

1. Allow extra time. The schedule says the bus departs at 11:30? Be there at 11:20. You will quickly learn the nuances of your bus/train schedule adherence, but when you’re first starting out, it’s better to be safe than sorry. When the weather is warm in Denver, the trains will sometimes run 5-7 minutes early. When it’s snowing, the BUSSES will typically run 10-15 minutes late. Be prepared for these occasional fluctuations.
2. Keep an open mind, and understand some changes may be necessary. After several annoying, inconvenient attempts to do my grocery shopping at my ‘usual’ store using the bus, I did some research online and found a Wild Oats (local organic grocer) a mere 5 minute walk from one of the lightrail stations. Even though it’s more expensive (and I’m certainly no organic food snob- I eat big bites at 7-11 for God’s sake) the convenience of stopping off on the way home from work justifies the extra expense. The same is true of my eye doctor, who I had to switch when I discovered there were no convenient bus routes to his office (not to mention the fact I can WALK to my new eye doctor’s office in FIVE minutes.. oh the joys of living downtown )
3. Experiment and explore. There is a certain freedom in hopping on a random bus to whereever. Try it once or twice on a Saturday afternoon.

Next up in Part 3: Lessons learned and general advice from your friends at UM.

Also check out Part 1: Why?

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