My family is doing an experiment in car-free living. We’re considering going car-free for the winter, mostly because our only car needs major repairs, and it’s too old and unreliable to sink much money into. We want to save money to buy a better, more efficient vehicle next year, and the best way we can think to do this is by living sans automobile for awhile.
We tried the car-free life last month to see how difficult it would be. My husband rode his bike to and from work. My son and I walked and rode everywhere. Honestly, it’s been great. My husband has been enjoying getting exercise outdoors each day, since he has to be inside all day. Our son is getting older and can walk further distances, making it much easier than the last time we tried this a year ago. And we’re having a great time riding bikes together to the store, park, library, and farmer’s market on the weekends.
This feels like a normal, sensible way to live. But what we’re contemplating is downright radical. Just look at these statistics:
- 41 percent of urban trips in the U.S. are under 2 miles.
- 90 percent of those trips are made by car.
- 6 percent of them are made on foot
- Less than 1 percent are made on bicycle.
It’s no secret that driving is not good for us, the environment, or our society. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “Driving a private car is probably a typical citizen’s most “polluting” daily activity.” Cars spew hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide into the air, and air pollution is linked to asthma, heart disease, cancer, and even diabetes. According to a 2004 study, each hour we spend in a car each day is also associated with six percent greater likelihood of being obese. And driving isolates us from each other, and too often, leads to rage and aggression
It takes about 30 minutes to walk two miles, and about ten minutes to ride a bike that far. Most of us can use more exercise. So why are we driving so much? City planning – suburbs, strip malls, cul-de-sacs, drive-through restaurants, and box stores with gigantic parking lots – undoubtedly plays a huge role. But even in places where it’s easy to walk, ride, and take transit, like where I live in Eugene, Oregon, the vast majority of people still drive alone nearly everywhere they go.
My family is learning many lessons from our experiment in car-free living. Maybe they can help others who want to drive less or ditch the car altogether.
- Plan trips wisely
During a downpour a few weeks ago, my husband made four (yes, four) trips to the hardware store to get materials to fix our faucet. If he’d been driving, it would have been annoying. Because he was riding his bike, it was also exhausting. I don’t think we’ll make that mistake again. We are learning to plan all of our trips much more carefully.
- Break old habits
The hardest time to be car-free is in the evenings. We want to zip out for take-out or run to the store to get a dessert. Like quitting any habit, we’re just having to change our ways – as painful as it feels sometimes. The good news is we’re saving a lot of money (and keeping packaging out of the landfills) along the way.
- Make the journey part of the adventure
I interviewed a car-free family with four kids for an article awhile ago. Monica Adkins told me that riding bikes often sounds difficult before her family sets out, but once they are on the bikes, “It feels good on my face and on my hair. My kids are giggling and talking and closer to reality. And we’re getting exercise. Everything about it feels really good.” I think about her quote all the time. We often lose a lot in convenience and ease when we leave the car at home, but we gain lots of fun and fresh air on our journeys.
- Learn to barter and ask for help
“The hardest part is asking people for rides,” my husband lamented recently. He’s right. But it’s also the best part. Our neighbor offered to drive us to the airport, and we got to know her a lot better during the drive. A friend helped us pick up chicken food in exchange for some fresh eggs, and we were both excited about the trade. We’ve also started car-pooling with some friends to a weekly get-together, and we always have a great time on the way over. So even if it’s hard for us to ask for help, we’re building a tighter community and closer friendships.
- Set a goal and celebrate
We’re not planning to be car-free forever, but for now we’re sort of reveling in it – in how healthy it is, in how much money we’re saving, and in the little bit we’re doing to make the air cleaner for everyone. It’s also freeing not to worry about maintaining an old and ailing vehicle – at least for now. We know the idea of living without a car may sound crazy to a lot of people, but it’s starting to seem a lot less crazy to us.
Looking for more on car-free living? Check out these posts:
- Plan a Car-Free Vacation
- How Walkable is Your Neighborhood?
- A Snapshot of Car-Usage in America
- Plan a Bicycle Trip
- New Urbanism: Planning Healthier Cities and Retrofitting Suburbia
- The Art of Walking
- Bicycle Love
Are you trying to drive less? Do you have any tips to share?
I live in a rural area and going car free is not going to be a reality. Given our weird and wonderful work schedules we couldn’t even pull off living with one vehicle. We tried. However, I work three days a week and only use my car those days, stacking all my errands on those days. If I don’t do it while I’m out today it won’t happen until Wednesday.
I’ve been car free since I returned to the states 6 months ago. Now, I do have access to family cars, however I find myself preferring to go by bike or foot whenever I can. Today for example, I need to take my bike in for a new drivetrain. I think I’ll walk the 2.5 miles home from the shop.
I know this will likely change when I finally find a job, but for now it’s part of being unemployed that I actually kinda like.
We live in suburban Houston, and if anyone’s ever been to Texas, they know that Texans are never short on space. Which makes living car-free virtually impossible. But when we moved here, we deliberately found housing close enough to work so that I could walk there (half an hour), and then my husband found work, miraculously, even closer to home, so he walks there too. Now if we want to buy groceries or go to Houston proper, (whch is quite often), we’re forced to climb into the car. Besides, I think an aspect of owning a car is climate-control. The summers here are miserably hot and humid, so I imagine that even walking that 30 minutes would be tough for most people. (I manage, but usually collapse upon reaching the house and take a few minutes to recouperate 🙂 ) But yeah, if you manage not to get a heat-stroke in the process, that would be a great way to lose (read: sweat out) weight!
When you do get a new car, perhaps you should consider an electric one, that transfers the gasoline pollution to the generating facility. Ones are being made now with added artificial sound so that pedestrians will be aware of them. If I were still commuting to work, I would get an electric car in a “New York minute”,
Congrats on going car free! I did it for two years and only recently purchased a new car because of family obligations. One thing to warn you about is insurance. They treat any lapse as a negative and it can drive your rates up triple what they normally are for the first six months that you get the new insurance. It might be less expensive to keep your car until you are ready to purchase a new one, and maybe just insure it against theft since you will not be driving it.
Thank you for your inspiring and practical article! You inspired my own blog post on Slow Family Online about other car-free enthusiasts and the positive attitudes reported by young people about alternatives to driving individual cars. While my family is not car-free, we do what we can and try to make conscious choices — and also enjoy plenty of bike and public-transit commuting. Thanks again for your great blog.
We have a car and a truck, but usually only use them on the weekends for trips out of town or picking up large objects. During the week, I live close enough to walk anywhere I need to go- green grocer, butcher, grocery store, library, etc. I love it.
A good blog to check out is Rowdy Kittens. Tammy and her partner promote car free living. It’s a great site.
Sounds intriguing. On our spread there are more cars then people. And that does not even include the motorcycle or trailers. Cars in a rural setting are an unfortunate necessity. But they are part of the picture- my old pickup carried 3 loads of manure, sawdust, and moldy hey up to our place last week so we can build some compost and grow next year’s vegetables. In my opinion the ‘efficient’ car is not the cute little electrics and hybrids, but something that is inexpensive (if you need to be making payments then you can’t afford it), engineered to last, and owner repairable. My personal favorites are ‘70s Ford trucks and ‘80s Volvos.
I was living car-free since August until a week ago when I bought a vehicle. It’s great to ride a bike to work, which I do. But, I live in Tempe, Arizona. When every trip required biking or walking or waiting in the sun for a bus, it gets old. Specifically, I am referring to the heat and sunshine.
I bike to and from work during mornings and evenings. But, to go anywhere in the middle of the day meant enduring the intense sun.
I enjoyed every aspect of being carless, except the amount of sun I would absorb during the day.
Thanks for your thoughts on this. We’ve been contemplating going from one car to two for some time but just haven’t been able to find the courage. Your post gives us more to think about!
We live in a very rural area and it would be very difficult to be complely car free. I have been letting my car be still for a while now. I’m down to maybe 1 or 2 trips a week so I’m on my way. I think I may be able to live with just one car soon.
This is so great Abby. We’re walking to the library each week and cook walk/ride more places but just don’t have the time. If I did that, even with combining errands etc… I would have seriously less time for homeschooling and my homemaking chores.
But… we are a dedicated one car family. I have yet to read about families (north american at least) with older children who are carless.
Wonderful experiment! I know that feeling of freedom (I was car free in college) and really miss it. I’ve been trying to think of a way to walk to work more often. It’s a shame, since it only takes 11 minutes to walk (only six minutes longer than it takes to drive). BUT I work in a shirt and tie type of place and would be bathed in sweat even taking that short of a walk during most months here in South Louisiana (the humidity is ungodly here–there is not way to describe it). The only thing I can think of is to maybe keep a wardrobe at work and “jog” to work (I hate jogging, but that seems more normal to people than walking to work) and change clothes. There’s no shower at work so I’d kind of have to air dry. Maybe that is gross. If anybody has suggestions about how to pull off walking to work and not looking wilted all day, I’m open.
A nasty bike wreck ended our experiment. My husband was riding to and from work. Some kids piled boulders across the bike path he used. This was under a bridge, so he was coming from light to dark and couldn’t see them before he hit them head on. One trip to the ER later and he’s ready to ride again – I’m just not ready to let him.
Anyway – linked to this on my blog!
That’s terrible. I’m so sorry to hear that. We’ve also dealt with a few of the pitfalls of the cycling life (mostly aggressive drivers), although fortunately nothing that serious. I’m so glad your husband is on the mend.