Living Without a Car: My New American Responsibility

[marmar]

via AlterNet:



Living Without a Car: My New American Responsibility

By Andrew Lam, New America Media. Posted July 24, 2008.

Giving up a car isn't easy -- even amid the gas crisis. But the covetous American way of life has become unsustainable.



SAN FRANCISCO -- For the first time in nearly two decades, I am no longer a driver. A few months ago, facing spiking gas prices and much-needed repairs, I donated my car to an organization that takes care of foster kids.

It's an odd feeling to be on this side of being green. Without a car, my sense of time and space have been immediately altered. What was once a matter of expediency is now an effortful navigation.

"I'll be there in 15 minutes!" I used to tell a good friend who once lived nearby but who now resides, without a car, at an inconvenient distance. Going to my favorite Asian food market suddenly has turned into another arduous chore: Once a 30 minute event, it has become a two-hour ordeal, with bags in hands, and bus transfers.

Owning a car has always been a luxury in the Third World, something beyond the pale of the middle class. In countries like Vietnam, Peru and Bangladesh, just to name a few, only the very rich owned cars. When I came here from Vietnam with my family at the end of the war, I remember such delight when my older brother bought his first car. We were still sharing an apartment with my aunt and her children, but as we cruised the streets at night, it felt as if we were becoming Americans.

The automobile, after all, is intrinsically American, and owning one largely determines how we Americans arrange our daily lives -- it is as essential to us as the train and metro are to Japanese or Europeans. Indeed, a car is the first thing a teenager of driving age desires; to drive away from home is an established American rite of passage. Even the working poor are drivers here.

For immigrants, the car is the first thing we buy before the house. Vietnamese in Vietnam marvel at the BMWs and Mercedez Benzes that their relatives drive in America, and no doubt the sleek photos sent home cause many to dream of a life of luxury in the United States. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/environment/92528/living_without_a_car%3A_my_new_american_responsibility/

[PDJane]

1. I have never owned a car.

I realize that's almost incomprehensible to most Americans, but I've not had one, not wanted one, and certainly don't want one now, in spite of my mobility issues. It's just money and noise and fumes!

Of course, I moved to Toronto in 1964, and the people movers have been growing with the city; GO trains, subways, LRT's, streetcars and buses, thank you very much.

[GliderGuider]

2. My love affair with cars is on and off.

I got my driver's license when I was in my early twenties, and then only because I needed a car for my business (commercial photography). When that folded I was car-free from 1976 until 1988, when I bought an old beater to get to work -- the buses ran out there, but spending 3 hours a day on a bus wasn't appealing to me. When I started work in downtown Ottawa five years ago I switched to the bus, but kept my car. I did downsize from a V-8 BMW to a used Jetta TDI, but even that now stays parked most of the week. My latest estimate is that I drive about 5000 miles a year.

Given our current North American cultural, social and infrastructure organization it's hard to get by without a car if you have a family (either at home or one that needs visiting) or a job or home in an inaccessible area. For most people that will change gradually as the economic and ethical pressures increase. I have noticed a hell of a lot more small cars on the road these days.

[The2ndWheel]

3. "Without a car, my sense of time and space have been immediately altered."

It does do that.

[ChazII]

4. This is great for those who can live without a car or

who live in cities with great transportation systems. My 78 year old, diabetic dad, my son and I are the family unit. Between the doctors for my son and my dad, I need the Independence a car gives me. BTW -- I live in Phx, AZ. Walkers and wheelchairs would not be 'fun' on a bus or train. Just me in my cynical state.

[PDJane]

5. I've been to Phoenix.

It's not my idea of a congenial atmosphere. Too hot, too dry, and though they swore there was a bus system, I didn't see it in two weeks there. Had several near-misses in the car, was the first time I realized that living without a license would be impossible. Also was the first time I realized that there was a language difference between here and there.