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.
September 1st, 2007 at 9:19 pm
You are my hero.
Love the article KBO.
September 3rd, 2007 at 2:29 am
As a teacher myself, I know that personal narratives are often effective ways to educate others. Although I consider myself more of an environmentalist than most people I know, I visit Kelli’s blog in order learn how to become more socially responsible. I find her ideas innovative and when I read the topic for this particular blog, I was immediately fascinated. Speak for yourself when expressing what “we” want; I personally find this blog more interesting than boring facts and data. Besides, I already know them. If facts and data are what you want, research them yourself and stop complaining. You seem like an intelligent enough person to be able to do so. By the way, Kelli teaches a sustainability course; perhaps you could sit in on some of her classes.
September 6th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
It’s good to hear that yet another person in our family has jumped onto the car free bandwagon! (that makes 3 of us!)
I am on the beginning of month 3 with not having a car and I love it!
When i totaled my car I took the $600 that the insurance company gave me and bought a bike, which i love more than my previous car. I highly recommend anyone who is thinking about going car free to go to their local bike shop and look and ride around for a few days. Spending the money on a nice bike from a bike shop rather than a $50 bike from wal-mart makes all the difference in the world.
I am lucky to be in a small town where i can ride my bike almost anywhere. but am very unlucky because this small town does not have public transportation.
I feel healthier, eat better, get more done, exercise everyday, am more organized, see things i would not normally see in a car and i am certainly saving money!
Congrats to you and hope car free life continues to be as good to you as mine has been to me!
September 8th, 2007 at 8:15 am
In 1993, we were a three-car family, and all three of us drove to school or work. We could not imagine giving up our vehicles. Then I read Diet for a Small Planet and began to imagine a less hurried, more sane life. Two years later, our daughter took her pickup truck and became part of a two-person, two-vehicle family. Two years after that, we gave away one of our cars. Though we lived in a small town in a rural area, and both had jobs, we discovered we didn’t miss the car one bit.
Seven years later, we moved to a city with lots of public transportation, sold our remaining car, and joined a car-share program. We use a car-share vehicle once every three or four months, typically.
The money we save on gasoline, repair bills, car payments and insurance is HUGE! Freedom!
September 13th, 2007 at 8:09 am
I am concerned too with our environment but I wont give up my car because theres a lot of ways you can avoid harming it like Dodge catalytic converters it filters the exhaust gases produced by vehicles as it burns fuel to operate. It helps lessen the pollution that are emitted by vehicles making it environment friendly.
September 17th, 2007 at 6:17 am
That’s so great! What a wonderful experience.