Car-free

As January arrives, I am celebrating my own anniversary. I have made it in California with no car for one year. Though I've already blown the punch line, here's the story. 

I bought my first car at 16, proud as any American to have graduated into vehicular independence. I never questioned its necessity, nor thought it odd that seemingly everyone owned a car. I didn't miss public transportation because to put it quite simply- I had never experienced it as a daily possibility. That all changed when I left my car and moved to New York City, where millions of every-day non-radical folks take public transportation and refrain from owning vehicles. There I too, learned to live without one. I took trains, buses, and subways everywhere I needed to go. I even commuted to see friends who lived hours away via public transportation. I did it because I didn't have a choice. And more importantly- I enjoyed it! I began to realize that there were other ways to be mobile, aside from personalized transportation. 

When I moved back to California to farm, my family assisted me in the purchase of a truck. A new truck. A big truck. A non-environmentally friendly, heavy duty, gas guzzling type of truck. Useful as it was when there was dirt to move and farmers markets to haul for, the truck outwore its welcome when I moved into town and began to work 40 hours a week at my computer producing movies. I could walk or bike anywhere I needed to. The truck lay idle. It accumulated parking tickets. I was paying for insurance, monthly payments, gas, maintenance up to $400 a month for...? Driving it once or twice. And on top of all of this, the environmentalist in me was screaming about peak oil and global climate change and air pollution and.... At that point, I woke up. 

I looked for options and I found out that a) Santa Cruz is pretty accessible by bike and public transport and b) a new program of car-sharing had just come to Santa Cruz. Enter- Zipcar. Not to promo for a private company, but Zipcar has revolutionized my life. Please google them if your curious about the details. I sold my truck, joined Zipcar, and upgraded my bike with Ortlieb panniers (another product placement). 

I now bike everywhere in town, and rent a Zipcar when necessary, which is usually about twice a month. I spend under $100 a month on total transportation and take the bus and train often. (The money from selling the truck is in a CD at my community bank from which the interest all but covers my expense.) I'm making it a personal mission to hold out on buying a car until I can buy a currently non-available plug-in hybrid or fully electric car. I am not holding my breath.

California still may be the place where it's taken for granted that you need to own a car. But as my one year anniversary without a vehicle rolls around, with my hot pink road bike, shapely thighs, and train pass in hand,  I have little hesitation looking into a car-free future.