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lynnn | 9 Oct 2000 19:41
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help

hello everyone...

i have been in the process of weaning myself off the automobile for a
while now. my wife and i share a car, mostly for her use (i use the
bus and bicycle), although i must admit that i use it more than i
would be willing to admit. or perhaps i should say, used it, because
last week my wife was involved in an accident, and the insurance
company decided to total the car. thus we are suddenly and
unexpetedly carfree. although my wife's initial reaction was to start
the search for another car, somehow a combination of my anti-car
ideology, and the amazing expense and risk involved in car ownership
has convinced her (tentatively) not to replace the car. needless to
say i am thrilled, although i know that this position is tenuous. 
while i have been an avid "care-liter" for many many years, this is
all quite new to her. thus i am looking for help, suggestions, advice
that will help me to stay committed and not to waver from her
decision. i live in the car-free unfriendly environs of the triangle
area in north carolina (raleigh to be specific), and this will no
doubt present all sorts of challenges, etc.... the impending winter
will not help matters either. furthermore, she has to drive some
for her job (she is a social worker), although the county does have a
fleet of compnay cars, that are technically available to her (any help
on making this argument would be great) anyone else out there help a
friend, spouse, partner ease into car-freeness? any advice? any help
will be much appreciated, since i know that this will not be an easy
transition for her, and i do not want her to get discouraged...

thanks so much for your help
lynn owens
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Francyne Pelchar | 11 Oct 2000 02:48
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Re: help

Hi Lynn and Spouse,

My husband and I have been in Durham, N.C. for 3 years and 4 months. For
this time I've worked within a 5-6 mile(oneway) commute and at present
have a 1.5 mile commute(oneway); he works in RTP. I ride my bike to work;
he drives. I cycle to "minor" errands: hair,nails, minor shopping, etc.
Our vet is  <at>  two miles away. That is walkable, if it is an elective
visit: shots, heartworm check, etc. and the appointment is not in a "time
squeeze" time.

There is not decent full-service grocery shopping within convenient
biking distance. A Wellspring and a gourmet grocery are within biking
distance, but that does not do for full-shopping which must be
accomplished with a car. Ditto other sorts of shopping or visits to
entertainment venues. though I work in the so-called downtown, I'm like
errands nada at lunchtime. Get a watchstrap replaced? get a manicure? buy
a book? go to a veggie/fruit stand and get some salad fixings to
supplement dinner? Nada.

Back home in Chicago, we were "car-light" i.e., two to-the-job commuters
via bike/public (me) and public(him). Shopping 90% car free....walking or
public. Vet....walking, unless it were an emergency. Lots of stuff could
be done before work or at lunch just by walking to the shops.

Like you, I await the rail transport but don't see in it much in it for me
for stuff like errands, shopping, etc.; trips to Raleigh for museums and
such yes. Clubs, restaurants at night....a big maybe. Being able to do a
job such as your wife's sounds like....around here....never.

the way I look at it. Being car-light or car-free around here is
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Sharon Flesher | 9 Oct 2000 21:37

Re: help

Hi Lynn,

I must offer my advice to you with a disclaimer: my family is not car-free.
My husband's job requires that he have a car available to him 24/7; I have
tried unsuccessfully to convince him that CarSharing could fulfill his
needs. I never drive his car. That said, as a carfree individual, I do have
a few suggestions.

*Find a support group. This doesn't have to be anything formal. It may only
be one other person you know who doesn't drive, or doesn't ALWAYS drive.
*Add up all the expenses of car ownership and figure out what fun things you
can do with that money, then do some of them. Remind yourself that you're
able to do it BECAUSE you no longer own a car. Getting rid of our family car
enabled us to take a wonderful rail vacation in Canada this summer. Another
alternative is to invest the money it would cost you to buy another car. In
20 years, you could have quite a windfall!
*Figure out something interesting to do with the space that will be vacated
by the car. Our family car had been in our garage, and we always had to move
our bikes to get the car out. The bikes have plenty of room now, and we like
that. You may have space for "toy" storage, or if your car was outside, room
for a new garden.
*Read "Divorce Your Car" by Katie Alvord. We gave a copy to all of our
CarSharing Traverse members, and we've heard lots of comments from people
who have been inspired to reduce their car usage even more.

Please let me know how your new adventure progresses. Where in Raleigh are
you? I'm guessing you must be inside the Beltway since I can't imagine a
more inhospitable place to be carfree than the Raleigh burbs (except, of
course, the Traverse City burbs. At least you have warm weather most of the
year). My parents live in Cary, which you'll note you have to have a "Car"
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lynn owens | 10 Oct 2000 02:42
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Re: help

thanks for the helpful hints sharon...

unfortunately, my wife's boss did not meet the news of our carfree lifestyle
with such enthusiasm.... she works for the county mental health department,
working with developmentally disabled individuals. it is often necessary
that she does home visits, etc. although the majority of her job is done in
the office. her boss says that the county cars are not available for this
program, and that she must have her own car. needless to say, i am very
upset by this turn of events. it was so difficult for my wife to come to
the point to be willing to give up our car, and now "the system" demands
that she own one... even worse, is that her place of business is basically
demanding that we subsidize them by supplying our own car, maintaining it,
etc, just so that it will be there to do gov't work. disappointing and
discouraging to say the least

unfortunately my wife is not (yet) so strongly committed to the carfree
world that she is willing to look for a new job over this issue (after all,
just last week she was a typical car-owner, albeit one married to some sort
of anti-car fanatic). thus it seems that i must resign myself to replacing
the car for my wife's job. how then can we successfully balance her job
requirements with a carfree free time? i fear that as long as a car is
sitting outside of the house, it will be used more often than it should
be....

as for raleigh, it is a real nightmare if you are trying to live without a
car. luckily we live downtown and can walk to most of our favorite
restaurants, clubs, etc... but all the basic "necessities" (besides
groceries) have been banished to the edge of this ever-expanding city,
reachable only by 8-lane roads.... the light-rail system seems a faint
hope.... i am sure i will not be here long enough to see it.
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Sharon Flesher | 10 Oct 2000 04:09

Re: help

Hi Lynn,

Your wife and my husband have different employers, but the same problem. It
is infuriating! My opinion is that if an employer requires an employee to
drive on the job, the employer should provide the car. But because
*everyone* has a car anyway, no labor group that I'm aware of even bothers
to take this up anymore! My husband is covered by a labor union in his job,
but the union just negotiates mileage rates; it seems employee ownership of
cars is a given. One acquaintance here complains that her employer
reimburses her only 20 cents per mile!

I can tell you how we get around it a little bit. First, based on past
experience, we know my husband drives about 10,000 miles per year on the
job -- mostly on a few long-distance trips. He is reimbursed at 34 cents per
mile. So in January, when we sold our family stationwagon and donated our
old back-up clunker to Goodwill, we knew we needed to keep John's car costs
at or below $3,400 a year. He found a 96 Geo-Metro 4-door for $4,500 with
55,000 miles on it. We figured it would last at least 4 years; insurance for
it is $1,000 per year; so with gas and maintenance it comes in barely under
our target.

Your problem is that your wife likely does not drive enough for
reimbursement to even cover your annual insurance premium. You really will
be getting ripped off. You have my sympathy.

My response to my husband's car has been to ignore it. I don't drive it at
all. When I have to go somewhere, I pay to use a CarSharing car, even though
nearly every time my husband's car is sitting in our garage. (I only drive
about once a month). This won't work for you because you don't have
CarSharing and you'll already by paying an exorbitant sum to own a car for
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