Willamette Week reports on a family on a low-car diet, courtesy of ZipCar. They’re not totally car-free, but they’re not using their personal car — just bus, bike, feet, carpool, and the occasional ZipCar.
This is really appealing to me. I’d like to be car-free. We don’t, however, have any ZipCars near us. So far, ZipCar hasn’t seen any need to serve East County. So I’m still hesitant to actually sell the car, as there probably will be times when we need/want one. I will also have to convince my husband that we can do it.
Anyone have a car-free story to share? Or a link to a good story?
Well, we are sort of close to car-free. And we’ve decided not to buy a car when this one gives up the ghost (Nicole’s parents are sure this will happen soon, but they never saw the Toyota, or the Mustang; I have more faith in it), but right now it costs us very little to own it, and it has terrific gas mileage. But normally we don’t take it out more than once a month, maybe. We don’t have ZipCars here either, because everyone has a car. But we’ve decided that if there are times when we need a car, after we don’t have this one, we’ll rent a one–expensive in the short term, but will probably cost less than owning a car in the long run.
I think more of us (yes, me too) have to do our part. If we can be car free, why not? I think if more people went car free, perhaps Zip Cars and others would become more widespread, covering the areas that aren’t covered now. Of course, there are some people that rely on their cars for their living so we can’t expect everyone to go car free but if those people can reduce the use of their car significantly (like at least 25%) it would make a big difference to everyone.
Of course, public transportation would have to improve tremendously and perhaps the cost of bicycles could come down, too. It’s going to take EVERYONE’S cooperation to make significant changes.
Public transportation here is spotty, because the whole state is rural, basically. What’s there is in cities, and the routes are spotty at best. Local and state government would rather give $100,000 to a bunch of German tourists to visit our worst beach (and possibly put a plant here, since the state squashes unions like I kill spiders) than put a buck into helping the environment.
I certainly picked a good year to start working at home, since now I only drive every other day on average. Also, I have to recommend the Camry’s fuel efficiency. I get 35 mpg on the highway, even at the speed I drive.
We live in the county, so busses are not an alternative. We do try and coordinate trips to town, and cover all the bases at once. Most bills are paid online, and my shop is very close to my house, so my truck sits most of the week without being cranked.
The city has a very spotty bus service, nothing like it was when I was a child. We were carless for a number of years, but we lived right on the main busline. My Dad worked in the mill, and the bus covered the mill schedule very well. Most of the stores were still downtown, so Mom and I would board a bus to Main St, do all of our shopping, and head home at the end of the afternoon. My once-a-week or so lunch counter meal at G.C. Murphy’s, or Woolworth’s was a huge treat.
A large fountain Coke, the best fries you ever tasted, and a grilled cheese or BLT.