It was June. I was a little broke. And my Mercedes SUV, that I'd purchased when I was single, young and foolish, got a flat tire. The tires were ready to be replaced anyway, and there was no "patching." It was dead.That wasn't all that was wrong; I'd done a mental list of nits and major issues (like, the front windows wouldn't go up or down; the windshield was leaking; the rest of the tires were pretty shot) that added up to between $1500 and $3500, depending on how far I wanted to go. Really, it was $1000 to get the car in working order again.
I had two children, ages four and one. My house was within a few blocks of three bus lines. The whole family had bicycles and we live in a city that values alternative modes of transit. I was starting to really freak out about global warming; would my kids even have wineries nearby by the time they reached the age of consent? The papers said no.The next day, a friend emailed. "Would anyone like to participate in a car diet?" There were freebies; a bus pass, use of a Flexcar, some goodies for our bike. We handed over our keys a few weeks later in a ceremony, with the mayor and the Channel 8 news crew standing by.
And then, though the diet was only a month long, we left the keys on the hook until just a few weeks ago -- when my husband insisted he get the car working so I'd have emergency transport in case something went wrong with my pregnancy (I'm now five months along).
He left for Ft. Riley, Kansas yesterday morning for some extended Army Reserve duty, and despite exhortations from people who obviously don't get how stubborn I am, I'm not driving the car. I gave it up emotionally and financially when I dropped my keys in that lockbox last summer. It's the gas prices -- they're high and only headed higher, I hate when I have five dollars left in my pocket and that has to go into fossil fuels. I'd rather it go to coffee and a scone. It's the environment -- I get mad, steaming, shaking mad when I see someone driving in a Hummer to the grocery store to pick up a few things (it's right on two bus lines!). I watch commuters pass by when I'm waiting for the train, each car filled with one person only. Our roads are about to break and it's my tax money that will help build billions of dollars worth of new "systems." When those "systems" are already taking their toll on the weather.
Today, there is a sudden upsurge in gas prices. And it doesn't bother me a bit. Sure, I might pay a few dollars more each month for my bus pass; maybe my groceries will get more expensive. But I'm saving tons in money and peace of mind. And every time I hear news about gas prices, or greenhouse emissions, or global warming, I must admit: I feel a little smug. And I grab my burlap Trader Joe's bag, put the kids' shoes on, and head off to the market -- without my car.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-06-2007 @ 12:58PM
Brad Kirkland said...
Buy a ZAP Xebra-they are all electric.great car,great little stock.Both are "green" LOL.You can get a new one for about 10k and it plugs into any standard outlet.This solves all your problems!
3-06-2007 @ 2:06PM
Lisa M said...
I've been car-less for several years now, and I've been car-less for years previously. Once you get the drill down, it's really no more difficult or inconvenient than driving. It's also a lot cheaper. Since I don't have a car, I don't pay car insurance. I don't pay registration. I don't pay for annual smog checks. I can't get tickets for parking or driving violations. I don't pay for parking. I don't pay for oil changes, new tires, new batteries, lube jobs, tune-ups, or any other routine maintenance, much less major repairs like clutches, transmissions or mufflers. And, of course, I don't pay for gasoline.
Yes, I pay for my bus pass. That costs me all of $226 a year--less than $20 a month, and that's for unlimited rides anywhere, any time the buses run. In this town, that's 24-hour service on the major routes, and adequate service on all the others.
The only drawback I've noticed so far is that it's difficult to drag a 5-gallon, 7-foot potted palm on and off of the bus, and that you are limited when shopping to as much as you can reasonably carry (5 large sacks of bark mulch are right out). I have one of those fold-up shopping carts for grocery shopping since the nearest supermarket is a short walk from my house.
Oops--one other drawback: I burn through shoes like nobody's business. I'm beginning to suspect that shoes, even walking/hiking shoes, made for the American market aren't built to withstand regular walking because most Americans don't walk much. When I complained about the lack of durability of a pair of top-of-the-line walking/hiking shoes to the New Balance salesman who'd sold them to me, he told me that they weren't designed for "marathon walking". Sorry, but 5 miles a day 5 days a week is NOT "marathon walking". It's normal, healthy walking by someone who gave up her car. I'll be going back to combat boots shortly, because at least they hold up to ground-pounding for a year or so.
3-06-2007 @ 2:35PM
Howard Lee Harkness said...
There was a time when I could do without a car, and got around town mostly on bicycle. But Austin is a relatively bike-friendly town, and I don't live there anymore. In Plano, TX, the streets are decidedly UNfriendly to bikers, and the buses definitely do NOT run a 24-hour schedule.
I checked on the transit time to get to my job on what passes for public transportation in the DFW area (my job recently relocated farther away from me -- they didn't ask me. I suppose I could look for another job, but after spending an extended period unemployed, I'm just grateful that I have one), and it was approximately 3.5 hours, one way. And unless I go more than 15 miles out of my way, it isn't even possible to get there without traveling on a freeway, which rules out riding a bicycle. But it's a bit far for bicycling anyway, especially in bad weather.
About the best I can do is to drive the most fuel-efficient auto that I can afford, and drive it as little as possible. Eventually, I plan to move closer to work, but that is also a major expense.