Why I Sold My Car, or How I Learned to Stop Driving and Love the Bus
I took the plunge and did something unthinkable here in the midwest: I got rid of my car, "Treehugger" bumper sticker and all.
Some of you in urban areas might be thinking, "Well, so what?" I can assure you that this is a radical act where I am from. I grew up in suburban Des Moines, where driving around in cars is what we did for fun on weekends in high school. Even though I live in the city of St Louis proper, it’s still pretty unheard of for middle-class folks to be voluntarily car-free.
(Disclaimer: I am car-free, my husband is not — well, at least, not on purpose). So we do have a car, I just won’t be driving it to work or anywhere else I can walk or take public transportation.)
Why would I do this? Aside from the environmental piece, which is what put the idea in my head in the first place, the easiest answer is because I can. The bus comes right to my corner and goes right to the school where I teach in about ten minutes time. When the heat subsides, I can walk the work. That same bus will also take me to our local market, three farmers markets, a slew of bars and restaurants, a light-rail station (which will take me a plethora of places in and around the city, including the airport), downtown, Busch Stadium, my hairdresser, and several walkable neighborhoods with other businesses I patronize. Within a mile of my house, I can get books from the library, eat Mexican food or organic pasta, get a latte, buy yarn for my latest knitting project, pick up a pizza, drink beer, take my dog to the park, or pick up dry cleaning, and there’s always my bike for a longer jaunt.
In fact, anyone can easily see what goods and services are walkable from their home. Just go to GoogleMaps or Yahoo!Maps, and search for businesses, using your address as the "where" and "all" as the what. You can sort results by distance, and you might find some things you didn’t know were close to your home.
The other big (okay, HUGE) reason I sold my car is finances. I’m tired of a car payment, insurance, gas, maintenance, vehicle testing, personal property taxes, and the like. If I don’t need a car, why pay so much for one? A monthly bus pas costs $60, a fraction of my transportation costs with a car, and I can stow the extra money away for tuition, savings, or vacation (or maybe a sporty little scooter…) My mom would be proud of my financial foresight, and I’m not giving money away to the insurance company, the oil companies, and the State of Missouri.
I know it’s not going to be sunshine and rainbows. I’m used to picking up groceries right after school and being able to run errands on a whim. Now, those errands are going to take a little more planning. I’m sure my friends are thrilled that it’s now never my turn to drive anywhere, but they never liked being covered in dog hair from the backseat anyway.
Of course, I’m well aware that this plan isn’t for everyone: not everyone has access to public transportation, or lives in a pedestrian-friendly area. Heck, it might not be the plan for me in a year from now. But for right now, it was the right choice. If you think about it, it’s a little strange that, in order to get anywhere, many of us think we need a two-thousand pound hunk of metal surrounding us. Even so, it was hard to gather my courage and get rid of my trusty Focus and the convenience that comes with it. But I’m glad I did, and it’s been a strangely easy transition. Truth be told, I can’t believe I waited so long.
A few weeks ago, when I knew I was going to try to sell my car, I walked to school one morning to see how long it would take. I put a little Sleater-Kinney on my iPod, and set off. As I was walking across a bridge in my neighborhood, I looked down and saw this incredibly expansive, colorful graffiti lining the culvert below. The only way anyone could see this urban artwork would be by climbing down into the culvert or by walking over the bridge. I smiled to myself, knowing I would have never seen this in my car. I can only hope that I have more moments like this in my new car-free life.
August 30th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
This is a good thing. I wish we could get rid of our car but what they call public transportation locally is really bad. The busses only come every 30-60 minutes and they stop at 7:00 p.m. in most places. The routes are so wonky that if I want to ride to a place a mile from my house, I probably have to ride the bus to a transfer center three miles away and hope I get their on time or wait 30-60 minutes for the next bus. The trains we have that run to Los Angeless (60 miles southeast of us) only run during commuter hours and there is nothing on the weekend to the city.
Even with this, we are a 1-car family as well. Most people on our street have 2-4 cars so I know where you are coming from. My wife absolutely needs a car because our primitive bus can’t get her within 2 miles of her work which is 20 miles away and even then its a 3 hour busride with no less than 4 transfers each way. I personally work at home and walk most places in case we need anything.
We don’t have a car payment. I bought our car used with Cash. Also because it is a little older but in good shape, the fees and licensing are less and it only costs about $300 a year to maintain not counting fuel costs of course.
Instead of sending people to Google or Yahoo! Maps though. I suggest http://www.walkscore.com. It is a Google Map application and if the person enters their address, it will give them a score telling them how walkable their neighborhood is. It also shows all businesses by category (grocery, restaurant, coffee shops, etc…). I only have a walkable score of 51 though there are 2 movie theaters, Minor League Baseball stadium, a coffee shop, a dozen restaurants, a Staples, Michaels, Petsmart, Harbor Freight (hardware store), Walmart and Food-4-Less Supermarket and about 30 smaller stores within 3/4 mile walk from the front door.
August 30th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Thanks for the tip about walkscore…looks like a much better application that Google Maps.
Going car-free isn’t for everyone, but for me, I could feasibly do it, so I did, because it was the next logical step in being more sustainable. For some people, their next step might be carpooling, or walking when they can. I took all the baby steps that I could to use less fuel, and it got to the point where I was already taking the bus and carpooling a lot, so why keep that cost of owning a car? I might as well save money for my trouble, you know?
August 31st, 2007 at 12:35 am
Sounds good. I do quite a bit of our shopping by walking to the nearby stores and all of our bills are paid online which really helps as well. Primarily the car is for getting my wife to and from work and a shopping trip about once a week to a couple of stores for the rest of our needs. If we had better public transport then I would look at other options.
August 31st, 2007 at 7:57 am
All this is very well. It seems that the US is far behind regarding public transport. In fact most American cities have a rather poor and outrageously expensive public transport system . Although the topic is interesting, I do not think this article brings anything to the debate. We want facts, data about green alternatives and not a merely impressionistic egocentric account of one’s daily experiences.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:39 pm
I wasn’t under the impression that every post on this blog was supposed to be part of a debate. At least, that’s not what my editor conveyed to me.
What do we have if we don’t have people’s stories, including our own? I wrote the article to show that you can get rid of your car. I am an average American, and I did it. I wasn’t trying to act like I’m Mother Theresa. People go car-free all the time, many of them not by choice. However, I stand by the idea that for many people trying to green their lives, this is a big step that intimidates them, and I wanted to show that it can be done.
There are plenty of GO writers who offer facts and data, if that’s what you seek. Occasionally, I offer a narrative about my life as a green teacher and member of society. If that’s not your thing, don’t read my posts.
August 31st, 2007 at 3:09 pm
“We want facts, data about green alternatives”
Not everyone wants just the facts. Personally, I get more out of reading what people experience and change in their own lives than most reports that are made public.
Facts aren’t always the ‘inspirational’ things that get people going - some people are more likely to ‘move’ if they read about another’s trials and experiences… and realize they can make changes in their own life. The so-called facts don’t always have the same impact.
And, that big run on sentence is just my 2 cents.
August 31st, 2007 at 3:41 pm
No offence but your article was on the front page this is why it caught my eye. Being a navel gazer myself I could not help but reply. I have no better thing to do that react to people’s vacuous comments posted on the internet. Join the club.
August 31st, 2007 at 4:27 pm
i read with interest the string of places one writer could reach within 3/4 mile. this netted at score of 51 which seemed to be poor. i wondered what kind of score my rural area would rate. the site informed me my address could not be found. funny, but sad. i used to live in portland, which has a wonderful lightrail system and in compactly made which makes getting around easy. i mention this, because i got my driving miles down to 7200/year there, and thot that was good. now, in an unfindable rural place, with only a library, jewelry repair, sheriff’s station, volunteer fire dept, and general store with 2 gas pumps within 1 hilly mile (and the 2 nearest little towns at 15 and 30 miles away), i drove 6000 miles in the last year. i want to encourage folks to make the effort. in portland, i thot i was doing alot, and here, where it would seem so difficult, i am doing more without being deprived.
blessings on your greening,
emmer
August 31st, 2007 at 5:08 pm
What a wonderful article! My girlfriend’s considering selling her car as well. I’ll pass this along to her.
I read in Motor Trend that the average US car-owner spends $250,000 - $360,000 on cars in a lifetime. Ouch!
I also love the joy and freedom of not being tied to a huge hunk o’ metal. I love walking, taking the train, riding the bus, bicycling, and exploring the great outdoors… even if they’re urban outdoors. Being outside wins my vote!
P.S. Brilliant title!!!
August 31st, 2007 at 11:18 pm
I enjoyed your story because it is inspirational and it is my story as well. I sold my Jetta last year! I am investing my money in infrastructure (public transportation) instead of giving it to big oil. As a filmmaker, I made a short film about my transition into transportation alternatives. It is called “Alternate A to B”. Look for it on Youtube and google video.