Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Tammy Strobel of Rowdy Kittens.
Americans have a love affair with cars. Cars symbolize freedom, wealth, and a carefree lifestyle. Consumer culture has created an illusion that we “need” cars. Rather that giving people freedom, cars saddle us with incredible debt, constrain life choices and hamper good health.
Going car-lite is one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. Below are a few options to get you started.
1. Start small.
Selling our cars was part of our downsizing process and it was one of the best financial and health related decisions we’ve ever made. It took over two years to shed our cars and downsize our debt. So if you’re thinking of going car-lite, start small.
Micro-action: Leave your car in the garage for a week and do all your local errands by foot, bike or via public transit. Go for a test ride and see how you do.
2. Do a cost-benefit analysis.
Even if you’ve paid off your car, do you really know the true cost? According to “How to Live Well Without Owning a Car”:
- Americans spend 1/5 of their income on cars.
- An American Automobile Association study pointed out that the average American spends $8,410 per year to own a vehicle. That’s $700 per month.
- The figure includes car payments, insurance, gas, oil, car washes, registration fees, taxes, parking, tools and repairs.
Car ownership is the second largest household expense in the U.S. According to Bikes at Work, Inc. “the average household spends almost as much on their cars as they do on food and health care combined for their entire family.” One of the best money saving strategies available to you is going car-lite.
Micro-action: Add up the true cost of your car(s). How much do you spend every year on car payments, maintenance, gas, insurance, etc.?
3. Consider your health.
The rates of active transportation have declined significantly in the U.S. People are more likely to jump into their car and drive 2 miles to the store, rather than walking or biking. As active transportation rates have declined “we’ve seen a dramatic increase in childhood obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other health risks. In fact, our children may be the first generation to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.”
Micro-action: Think about how much time you spend sitting everyday. Can you change this behavior by biking or walking more?
4. Going car-lite with kids.
Going car-lite with kids is challenging. But don’t let that stop you. There are many people who have gone car-free or car-lite with kids and rave about the benefits.
- You don’t have to spend $5,000 on a bike to get around safely. There is an abundance of family cargo bikes, child seats, and trailer options to consider. Totcycle.com is a great place to start poking around and exploring options.
- Don’t forget to connect with parents who have gone car-lite or car-free. Ask questions about bikes, gear, challenges and successes.
Micro-action: Read What is this thing we call safe? and In Praise of Car-Light Families.
5. Go multi-modal.
Biking isn’t the only way to get around without a car. Consider taking the bus, train, or walking to your destination. Taking a multi-modal approach to transportation is a great solution and will make your life a lot easier. For instance, on days when it’s pouring rain or snowing you can take the bus.
Micro-action: Research the types of public transportation options in your home town.
6. Truly experience your city by walking and biking.
You don’t have to travel the world to go on an adventure. There are adventure opportunities waiting in your backyard. Going car-lite is an amazing way to see your city in a new light.
For instance, as a result of selling my car(s) my world view has shifted. Rather than rushing from place to place, I slow down and observe my surroundings, patronize local business and say hi to my neighbors.
By biking and walking your city, you can truly experience it.
Micro-action: Tour your city by foot or by bike.
7. Get connected to your local community.
The U.S. has seen a resurgence in cycling. As gas prices continue to rise, new community groups have been founded in cities across the U.S. So get plugged into your local community. If your community doesn’t have an organization devoted to cycling, maybe you should start one?
Closing thoughts…
Going car-lite or car-free is possible. Changing my transportation choices has been large part of my simple living journey and it’s improved my life for the better. I’m happier, healthier and finally have a savings account.
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Tammy Strobel blogs at RowdyKittens about social change through simple living and is the author of You Can Buy Happiness (and It’s Cheap).
I know this article was written a while ago, but the title caught my attention and the reasons/opportunities to Go Car Lite have only increased. I started a small business in 2009 with the website of http://www.GoCarLite.com and many of my customers now use electric bicycles to commute 20 or more miles each way. Electric bikes are catching on slowly in the U.S., but it is a growing segment; albeit, a far far cry from what it is in Asia or Europe. I have also seen people that are moderately disabled or sedentary change their entire life with the use of this up and coming mode of transportation. Some of the replies I have read above mention that it is just “not doable” where they live…electric bicycles are really helping to change that in a lot of areas.
Electric bikes with room for 3 kids and groceries for the week in the snow? When you live on the outskirts of the burbs just not doable. I like the idea of being car free but in the stage of life and location it’s not possible to walk or bike and we don’t have access to public transit. In a city sure.
Tammy does a great job in her article at stating that if car free doesn’t work for you can you look into the car lite lifestyle. This is where you cut back on your car use and use other forms of transportation when possible.
Hello. I enjoyed reading this article about being car lite/car free. I have been car free for all of my life, mainly due to economics. I work as a data entry operator, so I do not have the income to afford a car payment, plus rent, food, etc, especially since I am a single woman. I live in Columbus, Ohio, until recently, has not always been friendly to people like me who don’t drive. I was always considered an “oddball” because I did not own a car. I have even had people refuse to speak to me because I use the city bus system. Our bus system has improved over the past decade, with more frequent routes and better service hours. I live very close to 2 bus lines, within a 5 to 10 minute walk. I enjoy walking and using transit because it saves me a lot of money and stress. It does take me longer to get to places on the bus, but since I don’t have any kids, I can manage OK. In order for me to afford a car, I would need a 2nd full time job making at least $15-$20 an hour. Our city bus system plans to implement a BRT route (bus rapid transit) in 2016. I also hope that Columbus will finally get some light rail in the near future. I can do most of my errands using one bus route, or by walking. Columbus has also become a good city for bicycling. We have many bike lanes. The city buses have the bike racks in front of them, which many people use. I think that it is great that more people are trying to simplify their lives.
I also wanted to add that here in Columbus, we have the car sharing program called Car2Go, and we also have the bike sharing program. It has become very popular here. Our bus system had the biggest increase in ridership in 2011-2012.
We have gone down to 1 car now for the past 3 years, and it has helped us tremendously on scheduling our errands very carefully. It has been a challenge for the 8 of us to get to all the places that our lives require with the one car, but nice not to have a car payment anymore!
For the first two years, we literally lived beside our dentist, across the street (3 min. walk) from a shopping plaza with almost every kind of store we could need (Starbucks, grocery, Dollar Tree, Walgreens, Post Office, Bank), down the street from our gym, and our doctor was a 10 min. walk. It was very easy to live with one car there. My husband’s work was only a 7 min. drive, so if I ever needed the car, I would drive him in.
Now our situation is so different, with an hour commute both ways,so we could live within walking distance to our extended family. It has been a new challenge for the past year, to work out all the rides we need. We do find ourselves walking to our relatives, taking advantage of the local parks, and getting out more around the neighborhood just because we don’t have the car there all week. Our biggest obstacle has been the doctor. But even that, we have just used urgent care when we had to, to work around the schedule.
I have a love for challenges, and I definitely like the thought of being less dependent on a vehicle again. When we get a chance to move, we are looking forward to the chance to use the car less!
Thanks for the challenge, Joshua.
And thanks for the post, Tammy!
Because of this post (and seeing a guy in a suit walking to work yesterday), I walked the 3/4 of a mile to work this morning in my suburban town. Only took 12 minutes and a short “cool-down” time, and I ended up enjoying a brief conversation with my neighbor for the first time ever (though we’ve lived 2 doors apart for 5 years).
Instead of calling unknown situations “impossible,” perhaps we should try them out before coming to our own conclusions.
We are 5 miles from town….and over a hour drive to the city…would you suggest my 2 and 6 year old walk all day to get to appointments? Public transportation isn’t reliable this far out.
Sold my car two weeks ago. I currently live within walking distance of any shopping I need to do and this weekend I’m moving to a smaller apartment (720 s.f. down to 440 s.f.) that also has shopping nearby and is within 3 blocks of my office. I travel most weeks for work, so I was rarely using my car anyway. I’m saving over $500/month with the change, so even if I occasionally need to take a cab or rent a car, I’m still way ahead. This is definitely outside the norm for Phoenix, so a lot of people think I’ve lost my mind, but I’m excited about the savings and additional exercise I’ll get. I do think I’ll get a bike, though, once it gets really hot again – a two mile walk in 110 degree weather is brutal! =)
I’m starting the car lite life in Phoenix! Not looking forward to the heat but will def use the light rail and city bus!
Impossible for us to go car-less….we live in a small community of 410 people and you travel to get anywhere. All rural, closest hospital/clinic 1/2 hour away, by car. Easier to limit use of vehicle or own only one.
Thanks for all your posts. They offer encouragement on my journey toward minimalism. Over the last year I have decluttered my whole house. And just recently made the decision to be car-free. It feels great. I do get weird looks from friends when they find out I have sold my car. While it would not work for everyone, for me it does. I am within short walking distances of most l places I need to go. Thank you for all your encouragement on this journey.
On our quest to change our lives, my wife and I decided to go car-less. We opted for scooters since places seem to be spread out more in Florida. At first we thought we were going to miss owning a car, but we don’t miss it at all. Of course, some people think we are crazy, but that’s OK. The cost savings is enormous: I spend only $5 a week on gas and the cost of the scooters is only a fraction of what a car would cost. Sometimes when we really need one, we rent a car and we are still saving a ton of $. I know some of the older scooters pollute the air and have been banned for sale in the US like the Vespa PX 150, but there are newer strict emissions guidelines and the makers have had to make improvements. In the end, the most important thing is that we are much happier and somehow has brought us closer together.
Car-free is a total impossibility for many people. Even car-lite can be highly impractical, time-wasting, and even expensive. When you live in a city with terrible public transport (some suburbs do not have any public transport, plus it is expensive and the time-table terrible!) and have several children, you need to use your car every day. My husband and I are relatively car-lite, mostly because I don’t have my licence yet (I’ve been lazy :P) but we are fortunate enough to live near a bus route so I can get to and from work (it still takes an hour to get to my workplace which is a 7 minute car drive away). But in the family I grew up in (4 kids) it would have been impossible. We always owned one car and my father always had a work vehicle too. Our city has such bad public transport, and everything is so spread out, it takes about 5 times as long (at least) to get anywhere on the bus or by bike. Probably the only way our family could have feasibly cut down car usage would have been making us kids get the bus to school, or ride bikes. But for things like getting to work (and work itself – my dad needed a car FOR work), church, doing groceries, going out as a family (to the beach, picnics, etc) a car is really a requirement here, as unfortunate as that might be.
This is a point of contention at the university where I work, actually. Everyone is constantly complaining about the shortage of carparking space and the vice-chancellor really digs her heels in when it comes to creating more carparks. She says the university already has more carparks per head of population than universities in our state’s capital and that we (staff and students) should use public transport more. Of course she has her own personal carpark and obviously doesn’t realise that in our capital down south, they have multiple public transport options (buses, ferries, trains) which service convenient stops in a wide network all over the city, regularly, and normally relatively on-time. Whereas we only have a bus service which has a poor network, totally missing entire suburbs and only running once every half-hour or once an hour in other suburbs, and often runs late (which often makes you miss a connecting bus). Our buses are also a lot more expensive than public transport in the bigger cities – we would probably actually save money if I could drive our car to work instead of take the bus. It’s absurd. It is not practical to expect people in our city to rely as much on public transport as people in the bigger cities can.
Even walking/cycling is not a great option for people here, especially families. Our bike path network isn’t great and we have a spread-out city. In Summer it is frequently 30 degrees C (86degF) with 70%+ humidity by 7am. That’s ok for kids cycling to a local school, and even uni students who often live on-campus or near the campus. Some workplaces encourage this and have the infrastructure for it (bike racks, showers etc) but some don’t. And it’s not a practical mode of transport for families. It’s a fun activity to do on an afternoon but it’s not practical. The inconvenience and time wasted doesn’t make it worth it.
This would be a great article for people who live in places where things are close together or who have frequent, cheap and reliable public transport, and where the weather isn’t trying to kill you whenever you walk/ride somewhere. But unfortunately a lot of the world’s population doesn’t fall into that category!
Car-free where I live isn’t doable. I do own the biggest SUV gas sucker out there though, and have been thinking of finally downsizing. I have a large family and needed it, but now the children are growing up & out.. Walking & biking really won’t work here because of distance, and function. Work and shopping are anywhere from 10 – 30 miles from my home. As far as function, I load my SUV up with all sorts of mess. It’s frequently full of items cleaned out of my home, groceries, and more. I also pull a trailer to scrap metal, move scenery for productions, and more. I’ll have to think some more before committing to this. My SUV is such a tool.
At this time I am still working the bugs out of the motorized bicycle which requires no license or insurance here. But, I live rural where there is no commuter service and occasionally has been down to -10f in the winter with often icy roads that I will not consider a 2 wheel form of transportation. I did walked from town one time and it took 2 hours. Insurance companies do not seem to like to insure you motor vehicle for less than 8 months either. However by buying a cheap good used car for winter, keeps the insurance rates down and no car payments.
Our family of 5 has been car-light for 5 years and car-free for the last 6 months. We’ve been using public transit, but I have a bike I need to learn how to repair. We have saved so much money. We are in a tight spot right now and keeping transportation costs down have really helped. The extra time is not that big of a deal, especially since my kids just scream in the car seat. Now I get to play with them during that time instead. My husband spends the most time commuting and uses the time to study. We just signed up for a car sharing program in case we need it over the winter, but I’m hoping the bike and trailer will be enough.
Sorry, that meant to be a rant about how public transportation sucks because no one uses it because it’s not an effective way to get around.
For us, car lite is one car. It didn’t have to be a station wagon, but I’ve hauled things that would have been problematic in anything smaller. I have problems with bringing myself to leave the house sometimes, so walking and public transportation are out. Trying to get around on a scooter that is topping out slower than traffic is not helping with the “what if I have a get-home-now moment” even though it puts huge limits on my range.
Plus, if I go too long without getting groceries, there is no way I can get all of that into my backpack. (I think I go twice roughly every 12 days, big trips and then gap-filling trips.)
Great post! Thx for writing! My hubs &I are actively going car-lite. He is bicycling everywhere on his days off. I have been scheduling as much of my work as possible either from home or the office 3 miles from home so I can bike there. I have also declared Sundays as “petro-free” days and anything we want to do needs to be accomplished by foot power – either walking or bikes. After my kids are grown, we plan to relocate to a small apartment near the light rail Here in Phoenix….maybe we can go Car-free depending on my job. Hoping everyone can finds at least a small way to use your vehicles less. Best wishes every one!!!
I would go with a “car-smart” vs a “car-lite” approach for most Americans, simply based on the extremity is poises to people. By car-smart (I refuse to say smart car), I mean selling what you may have and getting a car based on mpg. I am an avid traveller and outdoorsman. I needed 2 things out of my car:
1- to be able to carry a lot of gear (I am also a screen printer so I deliver 6-10 boxes to local clients at a time)
2-great gas mileage
Those are difficult things to find in 1 automobile. It took a lot of looking, but I did find exactly what I was looking for. In just gas alone, I went from spending $3000+/year to less than $1500. Cut it in half, and honestly I drive more now that I am able to. I am “freed” of the guilt of burning gas, and I get out in the world that much more. For anyone curious, I sold my Jeep Wrangler for a Honda Fit. You will be amazed by how much room is in a Fit – more than a Jeep – Easy!
Anyway, I love this post. I am not meaning to come off critical, just offering my 2 cents.
Great advice, but I find there is no advice for people who want to go down a car and have small children. I have two daughters (3 yrs and 4 mos) and I can hardly walk or bike with a trailer everywhere with them and actually accomplish anything, such as grocery shopping. If I was single or just married, it would be VERY easy for us to have just one vehicle.
Hi! I’ve just found the blog and I am loving it. I do have a question…
I live in Los Angeles and I would love to cycle… but in my area, I would never be able to enjoy the experience as I’d be terrified the entire time. I live in the most dangerous area as far as bad driving is concerned and many cyclists are hit. I also think about the amount of pollution I’d be inhaling the whole time. I wish our public transport was better but, as many people know, the system in LA leaves pretty much everything to be desired. I feel like going car-lite or car free would be impossible in my current situation. I guess, for now, I will keep looking for a smaller car (even though mine is much smaller than the average car already).
Does anyone have any LA advice for me?
Thanks!!
My car is more then most peoples house payment but I think we are still car light, because we have only 1 car when we could have two.
I am a sahm, my husband works from home and we home school so we really do not use it often. It is huge, safe, comfortable and easy for our oldest to get to the third row. After 2 car wrecks both totaling the cars, the most recent in a very safe SUV that my husband insisted on for safety reasons and not price wise we got hit by two different cars, my infant daughter, myself and my pregnant friend were ok, everyone else hauled off bloody on stretchers. Safety can be priority, and expenisve safe large car for use provides what makes us happy and to feel like we are keeping our kids safe the cost isnt the issue. We feel we still live simply based on having 1 car and our living situation when we could afford two cars its seems like a waste of money we dont each need our own cars to sit in the driveway when we are both home. We combine errands because we dont like wasting gas, time or money. I can afford gas thats not the point. Likely we are not as simplified as many but we are learning all the time and improving :) and I like this site hehehe
I think it depends on the public transportation available. In some places, it takes 3-4 times as long to get where you are going, and not all people have that type of time. If the public transportation was as efficient as NY or London (from what I heard), more people would rely less on their cars. Also, renting a car when needed was not mentioned. This option allows people to have cars on an as-needed basis, and drive cars they would not normally be able to afford- to make driving fun again and not just a burden. Moreover, many people in urban areas leave their cars parked for days, paying for something they only use part of the time–which makes a combo of renting, public transportation, car pooling, and perhaps motorscooters are more sensible alternative.