I live in an ideal part of the suburbs. I’m close to my work, school, the swimming pool, the grocery store, etc.,. In many instances, the scooter is more consistently faster than driving and finding parking.
Commute times (door to door):
: Work : School : Grocery : Swimming Pool
Walk : 40 min : 15 min : 25 min : 15 min
Bike : 15-20 : 5-10 : 15 min : 5 min
Scooter: 10-15 : 5 min : 10 min : 3 min
Car : 5-10 : 5-10 : 5-10 : 5 min
My problem is, I really need to make changes in life, like go to the swimming pool more often even in winter; get a better job which will be farther away. I think I’m putting these off because I don’t want to drive.
All of these will be easier if I just embrace driving my car more. I can take groceries more easily. I can carry more swim equipment and I won’t get so cold coming home from the pool. But I don’t like driving because I feel like I’m a greater danger to myself and others, even though I’m a pretty careful driver.
Do any of you face similar challenges; do you just drive when it makes the most sense to drive?
Yes. But it’s more than this for me.
I got my license years ago but it expired because I didn’t want to drive a car. I have none and don’t really need one where I live. I really really didn’t want to drive a car so I moved in a city where it’s not needed. My whole life is organized around avoiding cars.
However my family still lives in the countryside and there is no public transit to go there. In summer I cycle the 130km ride to go there, and back. But in winter, it’s a problem and I just stop going to see them. It’s unfortunately too much of a hassle. I will not get a license back, rent a car and drive there. They have to come and get me at the closest bus station. If they don’t want to, I’m not going.
I also mainly refuse to take taxis because it’s also perpetuating car dependency.
Also, if I want to go to a national park, I cycle there. Not in winter, but I plan a trip in summer and just cycle to some of the closest parks. It makes me pass through villages and towns that I would never have seen by taking a car.
In fact, I left the fuckcars subreddit two years ago because people there were telling me that I was too much against cars.
Sometimes my “choice” of not wanting to drive is obviously limiting, but it pushes me to find other ways and in the end, it makes me glad I did.
I’m in southwestern England, and it’s possible to do a lot with a bike, since the climate is mild (for the UK), there are some roads aren’t too busy most of the time, there are dedicated bike routes, and the countryside is densely populated, so you’re never more than a couple of miles from a village. Tired? Stop at a pub. Too much rain? Stop at a pub. Flat tyre? Pub. Etc.
And there are ways of extending your range. With some planning and inconvenience, it’s generally possible to bring the bike on a train. Once you get to a good port, ferries are much easier than trains. So I’ve been able to go to Brittany, Normandy and the Low Countries with little cost, and I have done itineraries like taking the train to Penzance and cycling back along the coastal path, stopping here and there and taking my sweet time. It can be quite idyllic.
Having said all that, I still own a car. There are times when I still find it useful. But for me, plan A is always to take the bike. My way of implementing fuckcars is steady reduction rather than cold turkey, but I respect your commitment. Both approaches are directionally correct. I think I’ll reach the point of jettisoning the car in another year or two.
Depending on where you are, a valid driver’s license is usually the simplest and most accepted form of ID, which goes beyond just driving. If you need to rent tools, check out a hotel room, buy alcohol, etc. then having a driver’s license for ID makes things much easier. Driver’s licenses are usually more recognized abroad as well for ID purposes.
Except for the US, passports are accepted pretty much everywhere.
And when I had a New Mexico driver’s license, you wouldn’t believe the number of ignoramuses who thought it was foreign ID.
I have a health card with my picture and it’s official ID where I live. I can buy alcohol, cannabis (legal here), rent bikes, whatever. I can even vote without a driver’s license, imagine that!
And for everything else, I have a passport. I have been in multiple countries, booked hotels, bought booze, et al., without the need of a driver’s license.
Would it sometimes have saved me trouble with stubborn people thinking it’s the only valid form of ID? Yes. But they’re in the wrong.
I will gladly insist that my health card is a valid ID where I live, and use my passport elsewhere.
I am glad to hear your perspective. When I was younger I did everything without owning a car. I would take 3 hour bus/train trips that would be 40 minutes driving (infrequently). I carpooled, borrowed my parents’ car. I used Zipcar when I really needed one. Finally I ended up getting a car for a job out in the countryside where I didn’t want to depend on my co-workers again for going into town.
Part of me keeps wanting to structure my life around the car-free lifestyle, or at least car-lite. But I guess I’m balancing how much and how far I will go.
I can understand. I could have stayed in a small town and just accepted it, and try to just use it as sparingly as possible, but stubborn me decided that I wouldn’t cave to this.
That’s why choice was in quotes. As much as I could drive, it scares me and makes me anxious. And the easiest way to avoid that was to move.
Obviously I can only encourage you to continue finding ways to avoid drive a big metal box around!