I live in an ideal part of the suburbs. I’m close to my work, school, the swimming pool, the grocery store, etc.,. In many instances, the scooter is more consistently faster than driving and finding parking.
Commute times (door to door):
: Work : School : Grocery : Swimming Pool
Walk : 40 min : 15 min : 25 min : 15 min
Bike : 15-20 : 5-10 : 15 min : 5 min
Scooter: 10-15 : 5 min : 10 min : 3 min
Car : 5-10 : 5-10 : 5-10 : 5 min
My problem is, I really need to make changes in life, like go to the swimming pool more often even in winter; get a better job which will be farther away. I think I’m putting these off because I don’t want to drive.
All of these will be easier if I just embrace driving my car more. I can take groceries more easily. I can carry more swim equipment and I won’t get so cold coming home from the pool. But I don’t like driving because I feel like I’m a greater danger to myself and others, even though I’m a pretty careful driver.
Do any of you face similar challenges; do you just drive when it makes the most sense to drive?
I don’t mind driving if I can avoid stroads, but I hate driving on stroads with a passion. Fuck stroads.
Yes, but I blame pandemic more than car centrism. During pandemic I just got used to staying home most of the time, and I still stay home most of the time. I have hybrid work, so I go into the offiece twice, and of course I got it the grocery once a week, but other than that I have to consider whether it’s worth it to go “unnecessary” places. This pattern may not be entirely healthy, but ….
For a sec I thought that swimming was a mode of transportation for you
Sorry about that, it looks normal on desktop view
Now I can’t stop thinking about what it’d mean to swim to the grocery store 😁
Yes
I live in a car-centric city with barely any public transportation. The lack of parking or having to pay for it is the largest deterrent for me to go somewhere.
Conversely, where I live, it’s a high-density city where traffic is slow and parking costs are extortionate. So if I need to go the center for any reason, I’ll either take the bike or walk. Then the only potential cost is some knobhead Pringling my wheel while the bike is parked.
I swear my neighbors leave at least 20 times a day, I know this because their muffler is broken. What are they doing? Where are they going? Do they just buy one things at a time as they need it? Is their bathroom broken so they go to the gas station? It’s been like this for years. They must leave their house 5,000 a year at least. Meanwhile I can stay home the entire weekend without leaving at all.
The winter cold can be overcome by biking, your body will warm up when you use it unlike a scooter (by which I assume you mean moped)
It is not a moped, it is one of those electric kick scooters that has a max speed of 18 mph.
I’ve been biking all my life and I’ve never been good at cold weather biking. Either I’m too cold or too hot, or you start off cold, get hot in the middle, and then cold again at the end, and the wind chill is awful.
With the scooter it’s easier because you don’t sweat, so you just have to dress for the cold / wind. It’s annoying to put on and take off the layers, but I prefer it to biking in the cold.
Yes. But it’s more than this for me.
I got my license years ago but it expired because I didn’t want to drive a car. I have none and don’t really need one where I live. I really really didn’t want to drive a car so I moved in a city where it’s not needed. My whole life is organized around avoiding cars.
However my family still lives in the countryside and there is no public transit to go there. In summer I cycle the 130km ride to go there, and back. But in winter, it’s a problem and I just stop going to see them. It’s unfortunately too much of a hassle. I will not get a license back, rent a car and drive there. They have to come and get me at the closest bus station. If they don’t want to, I’m not going.
I also mainly refuse to take taxis because it’s also perpetuating car dependency.
Also, if I want to go to a national park, I cycle there. Not in winter, but I plan a trip in summer and just cycle to some of the closest parks. It makes me pass through villages and towns that I would never have seen by taking a car.
In fact, I left the fuckcars subreddit two years ago because people there were telling me that I was too much against cars.
Sometimes my “choice” of not wanting to drive is obviously limiting, but it pushes me to find other ways and in the end, it makes me glad I did.
I’m in southwestern England, and it’s possible to do a lot with a bike, since the climate is mild (for the UK), there are some roads aren’t too busy most of the time, there are dedicated bike routes, and the countryside is densely populated, so you’re never more than a couple of miles from a village. Tired? Stop at a pub. Too much rain? Stop at a pub. Flat tyre? Pub. Etc.
And there are ways of extending your range. With some planning and inconvenience, it’s generally possible to bring the bike on a train. Once you get to a good port, ferries are much easier than trains. So I’ve been able to go to Brittany, Normandy and the Low Countries with little cost, and I have done itineraries like taking the train to Penzance and cycling back along the coastal path, stopping here and there and taking my sweet time. It can be quite idyllic.
Having said all that, I still own a car. There are times when I still find it useful. But for me, plan A is always to take the bike. My way of implementing fuckcars is steady reduction rather than cold turkey, but I respect your commitment. Both approaches are directionally correct. I think I’ll reach the point of jettisoning the car in another year or two.
Depending on where you are, a valid driver’s license is usually the simplest and most accepted form of ID, which goes beyond just driving. If you need to rent tools, check out a hotel room, buy alcohol, etc. then having a driver’s license for ID makes things much easier. Driver’s licenses are usually more recognized abroad as well for ID purposes.
Except for the US, passports are accepted pretty much everywhere.
And when I had a New Mexico driver’s license, you wouldn’t believe the number of ignoramuses who thought it was foreign ID.
I have a health card with my picture and it’s official ID where I live. I can buy alcohol, cannabis (legal here), rent bikes, whatever. I can even vote without a driver’s license, imagine that!
And for everything else, I have a passport. I have been in multiple countries, booked hotels, bought booze, et al., without the need of a driver’s license.
Would it sometimes have saved me trouble with stubborn people thinking it’s the only valid form of ID? Yes. But they’re in the wrong.
I will gladly insist that my health card is a valid ID where I live, and use my passport elsewhere.
I am glad to hear your perspective. When I was younger I did everything without owning a car. I would take 3 hour bus/train trips that would be 40 minutes driving (infrequently). I carpooled, borrowed my parents’ car. I used Zipcar when I really needed one. Finally I ended up getting a car for a job out in the countryside where I didn’t want to depend on my co-workers again for going into town.
Part of me keeps wanting to structure my life around the car-free lifestyle, or at least car-lite. But I guess I’m balancing how much and how far I will go.
I can understand. I could have stayed in a small town and just accepted it, and try to just use it as sparingly as possible, but stubborn me decided that I wouldn’t cave to this.
That’s why choice was in quotes. As much as I could drive, it scares me and makes me anxious. And the easiest way to avoid that was to move.
Obviously I can only encourage you to continue finding ways to avoid drive a big metal box around!
Alternative solution: live closer in smaller digs.
But really, those figures are low enough already. Why would you even consider driving to a swimming pool you can get to on foot in quarter of an hour? What’s the point of swimming if it’s not to get some exercise? Ah! The unfathomable ways of Americans!
Personally I find even a bike to be too much effort. A 40-minute walk is a positive feature for me. But sure, I live in a place where walking is pleasant, thank goodness.
In high school I used to walk to and from the pool all the time because I had no choice. But in the winter especially it’s so cold and I’m still damp from the pool. The pool is crowded after work until about 8pm so I’d be walking back pretty late. There is a big hill. It is also bulky to carry the kickboard, towel, fins, etc., and they drip water on you so I’ve been lazy and just not going. I should really just do it any way. But it’s easier to stay home.
Fair enough.
No, I enjoy going for a drive.
Having to deal with difficult parking makes me not go places, but I’m disabled and struggle to get to/from public transit, can’t bike, etc. I used to walk or take transit basically everywhere.
There’s two parts to this:
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I don’t want to drive anywhere, I’d rather be taken.
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I want to be able to leave wherever I’m at whenever I’m done to go back home, and in most cases, this requires having your own car and not relying on others.
On the plus side there’s at least decent bus service, but yeah, it comes down to, if I go out, I don’t want to have to take my car, but if I go out, I have to take my car so I can leave when I’m ready instead of being stuck, so I just don’t go anywhere instead.
When I got my car I realized that I was a lot more open to going to social functions because I could leave when I wanted to.
I already could do this by bike or subway in high school, but not in the winter or when my friends were further away, etc.
When I did have a car, I felt #2 still, since traffic would dictate when I left. I only felt #2 go away when I was within biking/walking distance to my job.
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Man I wish I had your numbers. I’m currently an hour drive from my work
It’s a blessing but also a curse because it’s making it difficult to want to find a career job.
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Yep
