Life Without Car: One Year and Counting…
By Tim Joyce, KOIN Local 6 Environmental Reporter
It’s hard to look back on my year without a personal car and think about any significant hardships or difficulties. In fact, it’s kind of hard to believe that it’s been a whole year since I sold my 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe. There are several things I can attribute my positive experience to several things: smart choices, Tri-Met, ZipCar, and my scooter.
Choices. The smart choices involved things that I decided about how I wanted to live my life. When I purchased a home in 2007, I chose a smaller home closer in to Portland’s city center. I prioritized a walkable neighborhood over things like a giant backyard and square footage. A walking neighborhood has things like a grocery store, dry cleaners, taverns, coffee shop, park, etc. (If you’d like to know how “walkable” your neighborhood is- you can check out this website: http://www.walkscore.com). Another big choice was to live close to where I work and socialize- that can make a huge impact on how much time you spend getting places. If you live where you already want to be—life can be much easier. Now, these choices don’t work for everyone—and they are not possible in many cities around the United States. But, this was another conscious choice of mine: choosing to live in Portland.
TriMet. Just because I’m living without a car- doesn’t mean that I don’t still want to get places. The Portland metro area transit district does a great job of moving people around. When I bought my house, I researched to find out which and how many bus lines were close to my home, where they went, and how long it took to get there. I also looked up which mass transit projects were in the works for my area—and purchased near where a brand new MAX light rail line is going in within the next five years. There are two amazing features that make Tri-Met (http://www.trimet.org) very user friendly. The trip planner allows you to input addresses or landmarks to plot out a route and timing to get you where you want to go. The transit tracker actually tracks real-time arrivals of buses and trains at any stop whether it’s the one near your house or near your favorite sports bar.
ZipCar. I had a co-worker ask me last fall about what it’s like to live without a car. And I didn’t really get the question—because I realized that while I was living “car free”—I was never without a car. ZipCar (http://www.zipcar.com) is an international car co-operative. There are vehicles waiting to be used all over Portland. There are about three within a short walk from my home in inner Southeast Portland. Signing up for ZipCar costs about 30 bucks for the year. With my plan, I only pay for the hours that I use a car. It’s about ten bucks an hour: gas and insurance is included. Luckily, it’s more than just cars. A ZipCar pick up truck helped me haul 14,000 pounds of sand, gravel and paving stones for a patio project in my backyard.
Scooter. My scooter was a purchase I was reluctant to make, but I’m so glad I did. In June, I purchased a KYMCO People 150. Let’s face it. There are places that are too far, neighborhoods that are too hilly, or days when I’m just too lazy to ride my bicycle. It cost almost four thousand dollars to buy the scooter, winter, rain, and safety gear. It gets about 60-70 miles to the gallon and can go fast enough to ride on the freeway- although it’s something I avoid doing almost all the time. With relatives in Vancouver, Washington- that’s one reason I got a scooter with enough power to keep up with traffic on either of the freeway bridges over the Columbia River. When gas was 4 dollars a gallon last summer, I could fill up with a five dollar bill and get change back.
$$$ Savings. One thing people ask me about was cost savings associated with getting rid of my car. Honestly, it’s something I didn’t really think of until I started writing this blog entry. No car payments meant a savings of about $3000. In part of preparing for a life without a personal car, I only filled up once a month to think about using my trips efficiently. So, I’d estimate fuel savings at about $600. Insurance savings were also significant. For my car, insurance was about 500 bucks twice a year. Scooter insurance runs about 100 for a whole year. There’s also maintenance and wear and tear issues too which do add up. So I’d estimate another 500 to 1000 dollars in that column. Given the fact that I used ZipCar to get to some weddings out of town and a weekend at the coast, I’d say I still saved about 4 or 5 thousand dollars last year.
Pitfalls. I’ll be the first to admit it: having a personal vehicle you can use at your whim makes life easier. Traffic can be awful and parking can be worse, but being able to go where you want to go whenever you want is a nice luxury. Portland is also a wonderful place where we live close to some pretty amazing natural wonders. It would be nice to be able to jump into a car and see Multnomah Falls or go whale watching at the Oregon Coast. But, I found that I didn’t do that all often when I had a car at my disposal—I just liked the idea of going on that hike in the Gorge whenever I felt like it.
The December snow posed some problems. Waiting for a bus for many minutes in the cold was not fun. But, being from Chicago, I’m well aware that if you dress for the frozen weather- it’s not that big of a deal. Cabs are also a nice amenity in the snow. They’ve already got chains on and any slipping and sliding accidents are their insurance headaches, not mine.
I also had gotten really good at something called “trip chaining” which is when you line up several errands to do with one well-planned out trip. It’s how UPS and FedEx do their routes—but on a personal scale. It’s harder to do on a scooter or bike—but not impossible. It does limit the amount one can carry. But, I’ve surprised myself a the amount of stuff I can carry on my scooter, including about a hundred pounds of raw Columbia River salmon that I gutted and cleaned later in the backyard. Grocery store trips are more frequent, but I’d describe them as more European for lack of a better term. Going more frequently for more fresh products and doing it on the way home from somewhere else anyhow.
The one thing that I repeatedly did miss was being able to take the dogs to their (and my) favorite dog park which is all the way across town. I also missed visiting friends who were just far out enough away from a bus or MAX line to make a trip to see them incredibly difficult.
Changing my mind. One thing that I really became aware of was my change in mentality in the last year. There were seeds of this before, of course. I think about distance now; I think about it a lot. I think about how far a mile is: it takes 60 seconds in the car on the freeway; it takes a whole lot longer if you’re walking it along the shoulder. Hillsboro and Happy Valley seem so much farther now. The Oregon Coast seems an ocean away based on the spotty shuttle bus schedule that would get me to there (yes, there’s bus service to the Coast). I’ve been to Seattle and Eugene via train—which is much more reliable and frequent and makes them feel closer.
And while parts of the world have gotten bigger-- what’s also funny is that my neighborhood seems to have gotten so much smaller. Things that I thought were car trips are easily done on bicycle. Things I thought were bike trips are not that much of a hassle just walking. Visiting one of my favorite wine bars in Southeast Portland, I’ve discovered is only about a 20 minute walk. Getting to work on a beautiful autumn day last year took about 40 minutes on foot. Mental barriers like the railroad tracks that mark the north end of my neighborhood or the Willamette River now don’t seem such a big barrier anymore. It’s been an interesting year without a car. I’ve learned more about myself and much more about my world around me. It’s made me really appreciate the car- and how easy it can make things. But, I also really recognize there’s a cost that being in that metal box can dull your senses to sights and sounds and surroundings.
My family was making predictions around New Year’s about things that would happen in 2009. My Uncle Terry predicted that I’ll break down and get a car this year. It was a night I braved some freezing temperatures on a very frosty scooter ride over the I-205 Bridge to get to his house in Vancouver. My facemask on my helmet was getting icy from my own breath that dark January evening. Not a pleasant trip—but not awful either. Looking back, I should have taken him up on that bet, because I honestly don’t think I’ll be buying a car this year.
So, one year and counting-- this car-free experiment continues indefinitely. -tj
