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The Savings of Car-lessness |
1 Comment |
| By Steve Balogh in Conservation, Green Living | August 30, 2006 | ||
Puke Green has a good write up of the amount of money that you can save by going car-less. (I did some of the same calculations when we decided to become a one-car family.) It’s amazing when you consider how many of the hours you work in a day, or paychecks in a year that you dedicate to paying for your wheels.
I’m convinced that a lot people could probably improve their lives and finances by doing the same, but most never seriously consider it. Giving up a car is often seen as a bizarre drastic step backwards. Society teaches us to view car ownership as a sign of growing up, a rite of passage on the way to becoming an adult, and we hesitate to cross back over that threshold. Many see cars as a status symbol to show off their monetary “success” and could not bear the loss of face they might feel from not having a car, no matter what it costs them. These old-fashioned views keep many people from looking at car ownership objectively.
This is part one in a series, so be sure to check back to see how he delves into the other positive effects of going car-less.
p.s. Green LA Girl has a continuing series on trying to give up the car, and increase the use of her bike.
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Phil said,
Remember the scene in the movie Singles when the transportation engineer is explaining to his girlfriend all the wonders of the “Supertrain” and the marvel of public transport? Her response was: “Yeah, but I love my car.”
Part of the appeal of a car is not the grown-up aspects Puke Green cites, but rather the adolescent thrill of jumping in the car and booming down the road. I recently bought a used version of the car Steve gave up and realized that my guilt over driving an SUV dissipated when I opened the sun roof, cranked up “Magic Bus” by the Who and took off down the road.
That being said, I understand the economics of car ownership and people who live in major cities are crazy if they think they need a car. For us shmoes in the boondocks, downsize to one, use the bus a little more, bike to the store when you can–but you’ll never eliminate the romance of the car:
Well now I’m no hero, that’s understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl
Is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey, what else can we do now?
Except roll down the window
And let the wind blow back your hair
Well the night’s busting open
These two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
–Thunder Road: Bruce Springsteen