Comments on: Thoughts about going car-free

By: donna

donna — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:26:49 +0000

Lori: One of my coworkers used to be in the auto co-op (til his wife had to buy a car as her business sort of demanded it) and isn’t that far from where you live… and they loved it. There were always cars available, if not right there, then a short walk away. And from the other people I know who use it, it’s not complicated at all!

I just can’t seem to come up with $500 without something more pressing taking precedence, like training the dog, or going to Zimbabwe… yeah, yeah, priorities.

By: erin

erin — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:24:31 +0000

Have you got Joe to go on the co-op website and check out the cars that are available in your neighbourhood? Every time I check for North Van there are at least 5 vehicles that are within walking or short bus trip distance. And I think you can book vehicles in advance too, so if he knew he needed a car for a specific day then he should be able to get it.

I think it’s awesome that some of my friends are car-free and you two have definitely been inspiration for me to start having these thoughts and hopefully transition from wishful thinking to practical reality.

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:02:16 +0000

It’s amazing how the thought of living “car-free” isn’t all that difficult when you’ve never owned one and you didn’t get your license until you were pushing 30. The big discussion in my house is whether or not we should get a car.

I’m hesitant to get a car for a lot of the same reasons you are considering getting rid of your car. I’ve suggested the car co-op and Zipcar.ca but Joe doesn’t like the idea because he’s convinced that its too complicated, it will never be available when he wants it, and most importantly it’s not his.

So the debate wages on, and thankfully we’re still car free.

By: erin

erin — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:56:06 +0000

I know that I would get used to it if I didn’t have to spend every waking minute on transit to get where I need to be. That’s why not getting rid of the car until after August makes sense – I’ll still be going to the dojo when I get my black belt but I won’t have to be there six days a week.

Just having a plan makes it seem more achievable too. I’ve been thinking for quite some time about moving off the North Shore but things are starting to come together that are showing me that that will be the best solution.

And with the co-op – there just won’t be any excuse, once I’m across the water.

By: donna

donna — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:51:12 +0000

It was surprisingly easy to go car-free. You just… stop thinking about it, really.

I sold my truck when I moved downtown …what, six years ago now? I had a motorcycle, so that was my backup transportation, but hell even the bike hasn’t been running for the last year.

And you just… get used to it. I occasionally borrow Jenn’s car, but this is generally after 15 minutes of wrinkling up my nose trying to figure out how I’m going to make something work before it even occurs to me. When I was still living with my ex, he’d occasionally make snarky comments about how “I can’t take his car” … and I thought huh? Well, I wasn’t really planning on it… more to the point, I hadn’t even considered it. Why would I take the car, when I have a bus?

With a dog, things get a little trickier — she’s too big for transit, so if I want to go visit my parents for more than a couple of hours, I have to find a vehicle. This is why I want to join the auto co-op. Other than that, transit has done just fine for me.

Granted, it’d be harder if I lived any further away from regular bus service — specifically, night buses. I grew up in Cloverdale, where … you sort of have to have a car if you want to be out past 7. (Note: this has changed, but when I got my license, the bus near my parents place stopped at 7. Suck-ola.)