One Month and Counting
We sold the family car one month ago today. For the first time since January 1, 1982, we are carless.
As the old Alka-Seltzer ads said, What a relief it is!
Now, I realize that for many of you non-readers out there (does anybody read this thing?), going carless in modern America would be impossible. All I can say to you is "Too bad!"
But, how do we get around? you ask.
It's easy--for us (admittedly not for everybody, or even for mostbody [why isn't that a word?]).
One: walk! Amazing, isn't it. Even though our 50th birthdays are receding in the now departed rear-view mirror, we can still walk. And we do. To the butcher, the baker, the drycleaner, the grocer, the bank, etc., etc. (It helps to live in Brooklyn, New York, a liveable city, not some arid, built-for-cars-not-people blot on the landscape.)
Second: bicycles. My wife rides her bicycle the mile to work. I work at home so the commute is shorter. Errands to shops more than five or six blocks away are also done by bike. I rode to a client's office yesterday by bicycle, and make my daily runs to Staples, my satellite office, by bike as well.
Third: public transportation. Again, we're blessed to live in a city that gives us this option. I've found that many of the places I go regularly can be reached nearly as fast by subway as by automobile. And, I get 20 or 30 minutes of reading time each way, instead of 20 to 30 minutes of aggravation.
Fourth: by car. Ok, I know I told you that we got rid of the car. That's only 99% true. We got rid of all the hassle, and a huge portion of the expense. We own a fractional share in a whole lot of cars, sort of. Zipcar. For $50 a month we have about six hours of car, and every hour above that is between $8.50 and $12.00. So, for the trip to the supermarket or Costco, or the run to the airport, we have a car "when [we] need it" to paraphrase Zipcar's PR folks. And, for that $50, we get the car--insured, fueled, garaged, repaired, complete. All we pay for is tolls and tickets. And the car is new. And I expect that it'll continue to be new--no 5- or 10-year-old rattletraps.
Fifth: by taxi. For the times that the Zipcar doesn't make sense, and public transportation is a hassle (like my daughter's trip to the airport 3 weeks ago--I gave her a hug at our curb, instead of the curb at LaGuardia--no difference), we get a cab.
And, what do I miss?
As the old Alka-Seltzer ads said, What a relief it is!
Now, I realize that for many of you non-readers out there (does anybody read this thing?), going carless in modern America would be impossible. All I can say to you is "Too bad!"
But, how do we get around? you ask.
It's easy--for us (admittedly not for everybody, or even for mostbody [why isn't that a word?]).
One: walk! Amazing, isn't it. Even though our 50th birthdays are receding in the now departed rear-view mirror, we can still walk. And we do. To the butcher, the baker, the drycleaner, the grocer, the bank, etc., etc. (It helps to live in Brooklyn, New York, a liveable city, not some arid, built-for-cars-not-people blot on the landscape.)
Second: bicycles. My wife rides her bicycle the mile to work. I work at home so the commute is shorter. Errands to shops more than five or six blocks away are also done by bike. I rode to a client's office yesterday by bicycle, and make my daily runs to Staples, my satellite office, by bike as well.
Third: public transportation. Again, we're blessed to live in a city that gives us this option. I've found that many of the places I go regularly can be reached nearly as fast by subway as by automobile. And, I get 20 or 30 minutes of reading time each way, instead of 20 to 30 minutes of aggravation.
Fourth: by car. Ok, I know I told you that we got rid of the car. That's only 99% true. We got rid of all the hassle, and a huge portion of the expense. We own a fractional share in a whole lot of cars, sort of. Zipcar. For $50 a month we have about six hours of car, and every hour above that is between $8.50 and $12.00. So, for the trip to the supermarket or Costco, or the run to the airport, we have a car "when [we] need it" to paraphrase Zipcar's PR folks. And, for that $50, we get the car--insured, fueled, garaged, repaired, complete. All we pay for is tolls and tickets. And the car is new. And I expect that it'll continue to be new--no 5- or 10-year-old rattletraps.
Fifth: by taxi. For the times that the Zipcar doesn't make sense, and public transportation is a hassle (like my daughter's trip to the airport 3 weeks ago--I gave her a hug at our curb, instead of the curb at LaGuardia--no difference), we get a cab.
And, what do I miss?
- paying for insurance, gas, oil, new exhaust systems, tires, repairs, parking tickets, etc.
- alternate side of the street parking rules (only in New York, I know)
- having my radio stolen
- looking for a parking place
- swearing at the traffic on the BQE--now it's the subway system that catches it
And, I get to feel righteous about not polluting the air or clogging the roads.
There is one thing I really do miss--taking my 4-year-old yellow Lab Abby to the park in the mornings. The Zipcar rules say No Pets, and it's too far to walk.
But, if I can get her to ride in a bicycle trailer, we'll be in business!
posted by Mark Butler at 12:55 PM
4 Comments:
Of course, you also have to put up with living in New York City -- it'd drive me nuts, when I go, even when I can see the sky I feel like I'm trapped with no way out. Maybe if I could live in a cottage in the middle of Central Park... I always feel like I'm on the edge of a nervous breakdown walking around in that city.
(living in a little country town, on the other hand, is also pretty amenable to minimal car use... though the 13 miles to the church building means 75% of your carless friends and neighbors never show up.)
Thanks for your comments.
Logan, I don't have any good suggestions. But, it took us 24 years to get to this point, so perhaps patience is the only way out.
Sarah, you're right that living in New York City involves trade-offs. I'd be happy to be able to see some stars at night. And cleaner streets would be nice--I don't like cleaning up other people's litter that blows into my front garden. But, anyplace in the city outside Manhattan has a lower skyline and feels more open.
Oscar. Thanks for your note. I'll try to keep it interesting.
Fourth: by car. Ok, I know I told you that we got rid of the car. That's only 99% true. We got rid of all the hassle, and a huge portion of the expense. We own a fractional share in a whole lot of cars, sort of. Zipcar. For $50 a month we have about six hours of car, and every hour above that is between $8.50 and $12.00. So, for the trip to the supermarket or Costco, or the run to the airport, we have a car "when [we] need it" to paraphrase Zipcar's PR folks. And, for that $50, we get the car--insured, fueled, garaged, repaired, complete. All we pay for is tolls and tickets. And the car is new. And I expect that it'll continue to be new--no 5- or 10-year-old rattletraps.
Fifth: by taxi. For the times that the Zipcar doesn't make sense, and public transportation is a hassle (like my daughter's trip to the airport 3 weeks ago--I gave her a hug at our curb, instead of the curb at LaGuardia--no difference), we get a cab.
I just had this discussion with a guy at work.
He is paying, with insurance, gas and car payments, about six hundred dollars a month for a car.
At twenty dollars a cab ride, that is thirty rides in a cab. If he switches to the light rail, catches the bus to and from the rail head, takes a fold-up bike, and catches a cab once in a while, he saves four hundred dollars a month.
You wrote that you don't live in some "arid, built-for-cars-not-people blot on the landscape." I agree that you don't, but why pick on arid places? There are plenty of places built for cars that aren't arid. This part doesn't fit your logic but seems to be a rant against particular places you happen not to like. I may not like them either, but hey, I try to at least maintain an illusion of impartiality :)
By the way, I've told my friends about your blog... Please post more!
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