How can I live without a car?
Overall, the trend for the upcoming years will be more and more cars, maybe up to 3.5 billion around the world (there are about 800 million on the roads today). Cars like the ultra-cheap Tata Nano are opening the door for more and more people to own their own car, and a lot of people are eager to get their hands on one.For some people, though, mostly young urban dwellers, the answer to getting around does not involve owning a car. Instead, many people are choosing to go car-free and use transportation alternatives like car-sharing, public transportation, borrowing, carpooling, bikes and, get this – walking, to reach their destinations. How can you do this? Let's talk after the jump.
Gallery: Tata Nano
Car divestors get rid of their vehicles for many reasons – environmental, emotional, etc. – and this post isn't going to try and convince you that getting rid of your car will save the world. Instead, let's take a look at a simpler reason: money. Each person has to do the calculations for him or herself, but it's not all that hard to find out that you can save money by going car free. That's what Erica Gies from Grist discovered recently, and many others have found out as well. Saving cash is just one reason to eliminate your car. Our friend Katie Rogers filmed her carless adventures and sometimes the idea strikes an entire town at once as a sort of social experiment. For the hardcore, there's always the move to Masdar plan. Someday. And maybe one day we can car-share a fleet of PUMAs. For now, the key thing to think about when considering the value of your personal car is your network. Do you have a network of good public transportation nearby? How about a network of friends who can help you out if you need a ride? Do you have a network of bike paths you can use to get around?
One very strong reason to consider ditching your car is carsharing. The idea behind carsharing is that a fleet of cars are parked around town and, when you need one, you use your membership card to rent the car by the hour, and that low fee covers the gas and insurance and everything. Zipcar is the best-known national brand, but there are other alternatives coming from Mercedes-Benz in Austin, Texas and IKEA in France. Carsharing doesn't really make you car-free, it just takes a big hunk of metal out of your daily life. When you need a car, you can still get one, and it can be cheaper for many people. The idea has enough merit that the traditional car rental companies like Hertz have gotten into the game.
For some people, there's no question that owning a car is a necessity. I grew up in rural Michigan, so I know what it's like to live miles from any store, work or school. In my life today, I'm also glad to have a car. If there were carsharing here, though, maybe I would consider eliminating insurance payments and gas station visits from my life. Some people move to live car-free. If you already live in a "networked" space, then perhaps it's time to sit down and do the math. Calculate if selling your car (or donating it for a tax write-off) makes sense. Perhaps you have your heart set on a certain kind of technology (how many times have I seen "no plug, no sale" in the comments here?) - would it be possible for you to go car-free until that technology becomes available? In fact, if going car-free saves you money now, then you can think about using the money saved to pay that premium for the Chevy Volt of Tesla Model S when they become available. We certainly participate in our fair share of car-lust, and the cash-for-clunkers deal is going to make it a little bit easier to buy a car, but car ownership is not for everyone. Is it for you?
Gallery: Tesla Model S
Scooter photo above by Rodrigo Cayo (DREAM). Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brandon 12:26PM (5/14/2009)
Kudos to you for posting this story as if living without cars isn't for everyone. FYI you should also put the exercise argument in there. (No cars = more exercise (walking, biking, etc))
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Robert 1:43PM (5/14/2009)
It wouldn't make much sense to post an article to convince EVERYONE that they don't need a car on a site with the word "autoblog" in the title. They'd convince themselves out of relevance.
sunnycyclist 4:22PM (5/14/2009)
To Robert:
It's not impossible to both be an auto enthusiast and not own a car. I love car design, love working on old cars with friends and family, even work in the auto industry, but choose not to own a car. I rent a car a few times a month and get to drive purely for pleasure.
The bottom line is I love driving too much to commute that way.
Throwback 12:56PM (5/14/2009)
I grew up in NYC where everyone used mass transit if not most, at least some of the time. Most kids growing up in NYC don't own cars, this is not a new phenomenon. I'm sure the same is true for Philly, D.C, Chicago etc. What is the point of the article? The only new thing mentioned is Car Sharing services, which in the 70's involved borrowing a friend's car and giving them a few bucks for gas.
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Wren 1:09PM (5/14/2009)
I agree with Brandon: kudos on highlighting what I see as an oft overlooked option in the current discussion of greening transportation. I want to add to this article that it isn't only city dwellers choosing to go carless. I've made the choice of carlessness for 2 years now and I live in a small town with limited public transportation and no car sharing options. Getting around takes a little more time and thought, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
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Kalle 1:12PM (5/14/2009)
Well, people been screwed by the auto industry long enough...
Expectations about quality, mileage and maintenance costs made by the sales people are typically not met. Some brand are better than others but still, if you can live without a car you'll save more money than you think...
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mister nomer 2:12PM (5/14/2009)
Two words: Google Transit.
Best thing that's ever happened to public transportation.
I have never figured out why transit agencies made it so hard to get route maps and route schedules (I had to go to their offices downtown). And, why, when the internet came along, their trip planners on their websites were so atrocious. Maybe they didn't have the funds to create a good one(?).
Now it really is possible to leave the car at home, take public transit, and, when your plans change, just ask Google how to get there.
Absolutely marvelous.
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GoodCheer 2:23PM (5/14/2009)
I agree
Google transit routing is probably the single best thing on the internet.
required 2:28PM (5/14/2009)
Now that the world has a nice robust network, hopefully we will begin to see a lot more working from home and/or folks working closer to their employers and/or remote call in centers.
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Richard 3:48PM (5/14/2009)
Here in Austin I lived quite happily without a car for about a year, before my needs changed to include a lot of remote team workouts with a bunch of equipment (now I have a 15 year old Ranger). Between public transit, living near the city core, and walking, its really not that difficult... even for someone with a busy demanding job and a family.
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Gavin Brown 10:17AM (5/16/2009)
I live in Denmark, where the public transport is efficient and runs around the clock - they have effiecient bus services and lots of metro train systems. In fact, I commute on an Intercity train daily with minimal fuss and effort. Also, there are cycle lanes everywhere and all amenities are arranged to take advantage of this. Technically I don't need a car but I choose to borrow one from my Parents-in-law so I can shop at a certain discount supermarket.
Living car-free can be done but it works best for the single person or couples without kids. As long as the infrastructure supports this and is not built around the car, it can be done.
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GOT 6:52AM (5/15/2009)
My wife and I didn't have a car for the first 3 years of our marriage. It was bliss. We rode the bus, walked or rode bikes. We moved within 3 blocks of everything we needed. So much stress ended the day I gave my Golf to my Mom (nothing wrong with the Golf though). I was abel to see a lot more of the world around me. A month doesn't go by that I want to get rid of our current cars.
The only reason we got a new car was that our parents were embarrassed to visit or acknowledge to any of their friends that we existed. So my Mom gave us a new one (an 89 Dodge Omni... which was awesome) when our second child was born. Our neighbors were also embarrassed and even complained to us and other neighbors (we never even bothered them for a single ride. Go figure). My boss felt so bad for me because we only had ONE car, that he gave me one of his trucks.
As far as I'm concerned, only owning the coolest and most awesome vehicles makes it worthwhile to tolerate all the nuisance associated with the personal automobile. Right now I only own cars to satisfy social pressures (from teenagers, anxious neighbors and extended family). I could easily and happily live forever without these piles of crap.
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christophe 8:39AM (5/15/2009)
I've lived with and without a car over the years. Life with out a car is not a problem in a urban area. Car rentals are cheaper than owning if you only need a car a few times a month. When i was in grad school I owned a car but only drove about a thousand miles in a year. I was lucky enough to have a friend that allowed me to store it at his house. Now my job has taken me to a rural suburb where buses are no where to be seen. The Car culture is ingrained in every fiber of the rural lifestyle. One thing i have noticed is the people i work with say they are much more open to train and bus travel than in the past. They say they wish they had it available.
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Ryan 9:45AM (5/15/2009)
I gave up my car a little over a year ago (350z w/ my favorite stereo ever) and it was a little sad to see it drive off but extremely welcoming to be rid of the headaches. I bought it when I was living in suburban pennsylvania and spent many nights working on it. It was a really fun project, but it seems there was always something insanely expensive that needed replaced or fixed. Tires cost over $1000. Now, I know that was just because it was a sports car, but come on... $1000 is ridiculous. Now I have three bikes that get me around Chicago with no problems. I have found that bike theft may be even more popular in urban areas than stereo theft, though. I have gone through three saddles on one ride.
I'm still paying for premium tires too. Bike shoes cost at least $50 a pop.
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Graeme 5:54PM (5/15/2009)
I'm 36 and I've never owned a car.
OK, I live in Europe where we have such a thing as a public transport network. And my flat is in the centre of town, with good rail connections to the rest of the country.
Would I like a car? Maybe. Do I need one? Probably not.
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John Foster 11:45AM (5/17/2009)
It would be nice to be able to get around w/o a car. However here in Florida the first thing that the previous governor (Jeb Bush) did was to cancel, by executive order the High Speed Rail initiative approved for by 65% of voters. This year the republican controlled Legslature cancelled a smaller medium speed rail proposal for Orlando and is soon to cut-off all funding for the only regional rail system in the state.
With these "initiatives" in mind, I do not see any future for public transportation in the entire state. Therefore, access to gas (yes gas, so we can actually arrive at our destinations), diesel (not really viable right now - no vehicles to buy/rent) or alcohol (like the Indy 500 racing cars) which get 50++ mpg (like my 1991 Metro - no longer sold) is critical - where are these cars ?
Even Toyota pulled the first generation Scions which get 35 mpg + - and replaced them with less efficient vehicles w/ only 25 mpg or so. Obviously national policy keeps the giant future clunkers on the sales lots and in production.
I will buy the first Nano that I can get my hands on for short trips of up to 50-60 miles which I need to make my rounds each day, saving the total miles on my Scion xA for longer trips.
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