Who here doesn't have a car?

My car has some serious issues. It is gonna take a while to get it fixed. Who here uses public trans to get to work, etc.? I am only up the street from the train I can take into work. Which is great!

But not having a car and the freedom to just "go" when I want is taking an adjustment. Who here lives by public trans and how do you handle it? Do you live in an area where you can walk or take pub. trans. to do stuff? or are you stuck in an area where there isn't much to do?

I am thinking I may need to upgrade my cable tv.

We're a one-car family. I take the train to work, and DH rides his bike. I really don't miss the stress of commuting by car, as I can read or go online in the train. Our town is small, and everything is within walking distance, so I normally only use the car for trips to the vets or if I need a lot from the grocery store, etc..

There's not much entertainment in our town, but the bigger towns are all accessible by train or bus, though normally we use the car if we're going out in the evening.

I have a car but I probably use public transportation more than I drive. I drive to/from work only because I wake up too late and don't have time to bike or bus in the morning. Once the car is parked after work, it stays. BF and I walk a lot but we also bus a lot whenever we can. They say you HAVE to have a car in Southern California ("Nobody walks in LA"), but it's not true! If you take the time to figure out the system, it's easy and you can get to lots of places for cheap, not to mention skipping the cost and hassle of parking. We're kind of public transit evangelists, trying to convince everyone to take the bus instead of drive, especially at bars.

That said, it's still nice to have the option of going anytime anyplace with a car... But I'm all for busing or walking around Long Beach (except in the morning), or definitely taking the train/metro/light rail thingy up to downtown LA.

We don't have a car! My fiance gets up at 4.45 am to catch a bus to get to work for 7 am... To get home he catches a bus at 7.15 pm and gets home at about 8.20 pm. It's a very long day for him when he's working, thankfully with 12 hour shifts, he does get some time off.

I would love for him to drive as it'd be easier for us to go places and I wouldn't have to rely on my dad as much. On the other hand, Andy still wouldn't drive to work because he'd be too tired to concentrate properly especially if he'd been on a 12 hour night shift.

I sold my car and left it behind when I moved out to Alberta. It takes some getting used to, but public transit is not that bad, especially if you live close to it. If you have a longer ride, you can often get something done on the way (like reading a book, or an article or something), which you can never do while safely driving. Renting a car for a day when you need one is actually quite affordable, around $35 including the insurance, which is what I do when I want to go somewhere out of town or want to do a big grocery shop
Now I dont miss my car, and I love the money I have that Im not paying for insurance, gas, maintenance etc.!

I don't have a car (or license) but a family member who lives with me does so sometimes I get a ride some places.
I live in Chicago so the public transportation can take you almost anywhere you want to go, within the city limits at least. It's a little trickier in the suburbs. I also live near a bus station so a lot of bus lines stop right by my house which makes it easier. I walk a lot too and ride a bike. There is a lot within walking distance. Unfortunately not as much as their used to be-- there used to be three movie theaters really close by but they all are now closed (not all at once, but the last one just closed.)

Nice to now I am not alone. It feels so foreign right now. I keep telling myself it is good for the environment and good for me also as I am walking more and need it!!

I live in a small town but I have a one screen movie theatre in walking distance. The library also. Lots of resturants etc. Also, one stop down the train line is another great town with lots of shops and restuarants, movie theatre etc. I am just going to have to expand my mind to get used to walking more.

Getting a car for a day is a great idea to do a large grocery shop once a month.

I live in NYC.....I don't have a car. I rarely even rent a car if I go somewhere. I'm a public transportation kind of gal.

Even when I was in L.A. doing a show, I just walked, took the bus, took the metro.....people thought I was nuts. "You walked?!?!?"

I couldn't live without my car. My vets is about 25 minutes away and yes I could get there by taxi (would be about $50) and yes I could get there on public transport (would take about 1.5 hours) but I need it for emergencys and if I miss the bus/train (thankfully never happened).

My Nana lives in the same road as the vets and I go out there 2-3 times a week so definitely need my car. I do opt to take public transport to work though as I do enjoy a ride on the bus. and I catch the train to class every day and back as parking in town is about $15 a day

I don't own a car and never have, I do have a drivers license though.I used to live in New York City, now I live in New Jersey close to supermarket and walgreens. I live close by the buses that can take me anywhere. I also walk wherever I can. I have been know to walk from town to town. Today I walked from Edgewater to Fort Lee. . (I love long walks like that)!

My car was stolen about 2 weeks ago so we're biking/hoofing it.

We walk/ride our bikes/take the bus. Our basic needs are very close to our home (groceries, 7-11 open all hours, Wal-Mart, pub/restaurant) but to get cat food is a pain, the good healthy food is far away - to get cat litter is a pain, it's too heavy to walk/bike home with - to get a LOT of groceries at once is a pain, same reason. But we don't really mind biking & walking, I don't mind the bus at all - it's getting colder, so my hubby is girtting his teeth a little, he wants a car so badly but we cannot afford it yet. Soon, I hope. A few months.

Originally Posted by whiteforest

My car was stolen about 2 weeks ago so we're biking/hoofing it.

Click to expand...

Oh my ... that sucks bigtime.

Yeah I usually get a ride to get pet food/litter or sometimes I just ask my brother to pick me up a bag when he buys it for his cats (and other times I buy the cat food/litter for his cats if I am going to the pet store.)
Same thing with the vet, although I actually could walk or ride my bike to the vet if I had to and I have gone on public trans. There are also other vets very close to me if I had an emergency and there was no one home who could drive. I'm probably going to get a license soon just for convenience's sake but I probably won't be getting a car anytime soon.

I can no longer drive... I am learning to ride , walk , ask for rides and the free local bus ..

I couldn't be without my car, I do have bus and tram very close to me but they don't run until around 6am so not an option for me on work days.

Usually if a group of us go out we meet up and take 1 or 2 cars.

It's not so bad for me I guess. My sister comes to visit once a week. She also has dr's appt's at least once a week down my way. So she says she will do whatever errands I need done while she is down here. Like get kitty litter etc. On saturdays she comes down and we hang out also so that will give me a chance to get to go places I normally wouldn't.

So far the commuting by train has actually been nice. I get home faster than sitting in traffic! Even though it is supposed to take the same amount of time car or train, but it doesn't because the car traffic is so bad. So thats a plus.

My shins hurt though. Not used to walking so much! Its amazing how dependant we can become on a car for even going around the corner.

i couldnt do with out my car to be honest, i wouldnt step foot onto our public transport ever again, i was attacked geting off a bus when i was younger and vowed never to put myself in that postition again

I didn't learn to drive until I was 35, so spent half of my adult life taking buses and walking. I even took the bus out to the country so I could hike! I never had a problem with it, as it was just my way of life.

Now I live in a rural area where nothing is near by, and I've been driving for 13 years, and I think I would find it very hard to adjust to not being mobile. Not that I go places much, but I do live far from my family, so would not see them if I couldn't drive to get there.

And my job requires a reliable car as I am intinerant.

this is a very intersting thread!

I don't go places much either. But I was finding I was having such anxiety over not having a car. Even though I live close to everything I need, work is accessible by train (and I am liking it better than driving to work!), and my family comes to ME and can help with errands etc. Even with all these positives my mind was still having a really hard time with not having a car.

I had to post about it because I knew people lived without cars and I knew I was not viewing this whole thing properly. I got excited once I realized I could use this oppurtunity to break out of my comfortable yet boring routine.

Sorry you had a traumatic experiance aj. Thats horrible!

I grew up in a car obsessed state (California). I felt I couldn't live without having a car. And the public transit in the East Bay is wretched. Eventually, I found myself in Chicago. I had a car, but rarely used it. And for the amount of money I was shovelling out the door to keep it, I decided it wasn't worth it. I handed the car (and payments) off to my best friend, who still has it. I lived in Chicago for two years without a car.

Then I moved to Portland. I bought a junky van to transport myself and the cats. That thing didn't last long, but when it died, I was on a road trip to CA... so another vehicle was in order. After three years, I just drove it down to my parents' house and handed it off to my dad. He paid for it as it was, so he'll hold on to it for now. Until a couple months ago, I was living where i had free parking. Now, I have to pay 100 a month to have a parking spot. It wasn't worth it, seeing as how I can barely make ends meet as it is... So, I'm getting used to public transit here in Portland. Commutes are ugly (trying to find a closer job), and my timing isn't quite honed yet. But i'll get there.

For shopping trips (once I get a snag out of the way), I will be using Zipcar. This is something you can look into. You may not have it in a small town, but there may still be something close by. it rents by the hour; insurance, gas, and maintenance are all part of your fees. It's not meant for all day use... maybe for a few hours to run to the vet or Costco or something where you'll need a car. Look at Zipcar or google 'car sharing' and maybe you'll find something in your area.

Amanda