Do I Need a Car to Live in Austin

With a Master's degree in Sustainable Development, Susette has taught herself, and now teaches others, how to live a sustainable lifestyle.

I've been reading a lot of pros and cons about living without a car lately and, I have to say, had I thought about the cons before making my decision, I might not have done it. I might have kept wondering about it instead. But I had already seen how western society was destroying the environment in many ways, and had already made up my mind to be part of the solution, not the problem. Getting rid of my car was one thing I could do to be part of the solution. Then the Universe provided me with a job in the city and a car accident (not my fault) to push the decision.

The Toyota Corolla you see here was mine. It used to be my father's too, which made it harder to let go of. I didn't want to give up driving in the mountains, but then realized I could rent a car for that.

Susette Horspool, CC-BY-SA 3.0

Giving Up Your Car

All people are not environmentally committed like I am. Some want to go car free for a different reason––like to save money, simplify their lives, or make themselves healthier. All of those you can also do by not owning a car.

Others see owning a car as an expression of success and wouldn't even consider giving it up. For me it was easy to get past the "need" to own a car, given the commitment I already had, the lifestyle I currently lead, and the adjustments I was willing to make.

This article is for those who are still questioning. It provides personal examples, tools, and thought-provoking concepts to help you decide if going carless is possible for you. First let's look at the transportation options, so the consideration of letting go is not such a trauma.

Alternative (Non-Car) Transportation Options

Before embarking on the decision-making process, it helps to briefly consider your options. In the United States people drive to their destinations 84% of the time, which is why road construction currently caters to cars. They don't need to, but the fact that roads cater to cars, in some ways requires it. (Yes, it's a circular push.)

Cities are changing their perspectives, though, so if you should decide to get rid of your car how might you get around?

• Bicycling––According to Statistica, in 2016 there were more than 66 million people riding bicycles in the U.S, most of them in western states. That's 12.5% of the population, a much higher figure than I'd expected. With the advent of folding bikes and electric bikes, that figure is climbing.
• Walking––According to the Government Accountability Office, nearly 1.5 million Americans are walking to work these days. There would be more, if everyone living within a couple of miles of work were to walk. Unfortunately, the average commute from home to work is currently 26.5 miles, which is a little far for cycling or walking.
• Public transit––In 2017 Americans took more than 10 billion trips using public transportation. This included bus and light rail. New York is the best city for that, of course, but other cities are now revamping their mass transit systems to make them more passenger-friendly. I personally use the bus more than any other mode, except walking.
• Carpooling––Accurate carpooling statistics are almost impossible to obtain, since going somewhere with a friend is counted. There are car sharing apps appearing that help you find someone to travel with, if no one you know can carpool with you.
• Car rental/Zipcar––For special or more difficult trips you can rent a car for a few hours (Zipcar) or a few days or weeks (rental agency like Enterprise). Some give discounts for weekends. I rent about once every couple of months for a weekend from a small, local rental car company.
• Taxi/Uber/Lyft––All three of these are essentially taxis. They're a great way to get to an airport, if there's no shuttle available, or to go somewhere late at night, especially to an unfamiliar location.

My two main modes of transportation are walking and riding buses. With them I can get almost anywhere I need to in Pasadena CA. To go to downtown Los Angeles I take the bus and then light rail.

Susette Horspool, CC-BY-SA 3.0

Why You Wouldn't Want to Give Up Your Car

The reasons people drive in the first place are also the reasons for not giving up your car. Let's look at them:

• To get to where we want to go in a timely fashion: This is counteracted by how crowded the freeways and streets are these days, but the illusion is there that you'll always get there faster in a car than any other way.
• To go unusual places: There's something adventurous about going to unusual places and we all need adventure in our lives, don't we? Carpooling, renting a car, and taking a taxi are all viable options for going someplace out of the way on the rare occasions that we do it. I recently carpooled with two strangers from neighboring cities to get to an annual weekend retreat in the mountains.
• To gratify our need for impulsive action: It feels great to just jump in the car and go when we need something or when a friend calls unexpectedly for coffee. The downside is that we spend our time running back and forth in several trips when, if we stopped to think about it, we could combine trips and use less gas instead.
• To take others places who can't get there on their own: Someone has to own a car to carpool, right? In addition, most families have cars to take their kids and pets places. Sometimes they're necessary, other times the trip could be handled a different way.
• To carry equipment somewhere or purchases back from shopping: This is viable, depending on how much you have to carry and how often. I carry groceries on my back and laundry in my arms. But I don't often have to carry heavy equipment anywhere, like some people do.
• To go many places in a short period of time: If those places are also close together, you could take a bus to the first place and walk to the rest, but sometimes that's not feasible. When I was marketing, I needed a car for same-day meetings in different parts of the city.
• To be a successful part of the American Dream: This includes impressing friends and family. I suspect some of my siblings look down on me a little because I don't own a car, but others don't. And I remember going car shopping once (when I didn't have the money to purchase) to take photographs of myself in a Toyota Camry to post on my dream board. That felt good, but didn't go anywhere.

Why It's a Good Idea to Give Up Your Car

In Europe and other places in the world there are even more travel options than I listed above, but now that you know what they are in the U.S., let's talk about why you might want to live without a car.

• To save money: Cars are incredibly expensive, when you sit down and look at it. You need to buy them and license them. You need to maintain them, gas 'em up, and keep them clean. You've got monthly insurance costs. You need to watch your driving, so you don't get tickets. You've got other fees like toll costs and parking fees, plus towing fees if your car breaks down. Without a car I pay just over $1,000 per year for transportation (including insurance). According to Money Under 30, most people pay closer to $6,000 per year if they own a car outright, and more than $8,000 if they're still making car payments. That's without any tickets, fines, or fees included.

• To lower stress: How do you like driving on crowded or blocked roadways and freeways? Dealing with rude drivers, emergency vehicles, and road blocks is really stressful. If you're in a rush it's worse, so you counteract it by texting friends. Then you get honked at when the light turns, you get a ticket, or you crash into someone.
• To connect with your surroundings: Have you ever noticed how cut off from the rest of the world you are in a car? When you walk, bike, or take the bus there are other walkers, bikers, and riders you can greet and talk to. You can look around in town more and see stores and restaurants you might have missed before. You connect better with nature––seeing beauty, hearing wildlife, feeling the rain and wind. You're not cut off from the world like you are in a car.
• To improve your health: Walking and bicycling keep you physically active, and help reverse the deterioration of age. They also help lose weight, tone muscles, improve eyesight, and increase stamina. And there are no trainer or gym costs. For older people, losing the car and building up to walking a couple miles a day can extend your lifetime.
• To help the environment: This is my favorite reason. Not only are you giving up more space to relieve road traffic, but you're also helping to prevent air pollution and reduce global warming. I could write a whole article on this alone. Did you know that some years back, when China was having serious problems with city air pollution, they sent a delegation to California to find out how that state had reduced theirs? There were three main things California did: Reduce vehicle traffic (that's us), improve fuel quality, and improve the quality of vehicles.
• Because you hate driving: If you hate driving, and I know someone who does, you will be an erratic and dangerous (to others) driver. You'll get tickets and cause near accidents. You'll scare your passengers (he laughs at me). You'll be late everywhere, because some part of you doesn't want to get in the car. If you hate driving, give it up. You'll love your life much more, if you do.
• Because you're getting into trouble: There are lots of ways to get in trouble, but driving is especially prone to it. You get tickets for driving too fast, not stopping properly, running red lights, parking in the wrong place, hitting people or cars, using your cell phone, drinking while driving, and more. If this happens to you a lot, you can save a lot of money and your reputation (and maybe a stint in jail) by giving up your car.

Airports are some of the worst, most frustrating places to drive. They're crowded, drivers are rude, and parking costs are high. You almost always have to have someone drive you, so you might as well take public transportation.

Susette Horspool, CC-BY-SA 3.0

Who Should Not Go Car Free?

Not everyone's life can be reshaped to live without a car. Here are some types of lives that would be difficult without a car:

• Construction workers of all types, most of whom transport lots of tools
• Landscape workers with lawn equipment
• Traveling salespeople
• Housekeepers with many customers
• Musicians with heavy instruments
• Home care nurses with several patients
• Film crews who meet on location
• People who live where there's no public transit system, roads are too rough for bicycles, and shops are far away.

There are a few things that typify these types of jobs: Most of them travel from location to location during the day. Most of them have a lot of equipment or very heavy equipment that would be awkward or impossible to carry on a bus. Those who are members of work crews can carpool to locations, but those who work solo cannot.

You may have expected me to include families with kids, but that can be worked out. I just read of a family with six kids who gave up their car and energized the family as a result. You can utilize school buses for younger kids and regular buses for older ones. There are sports activities at nearby parks. The kids' friends could take them places in exchange for overnighting at your house. You can go on daily or weekly family walks. And you can always rent a car for occasional special trips, like camping.

Read More From Toughnickel

This landscaper is NOT a candidate for living car free (note the equipment), although he could do it for the non-work portion of his life.

Susette Horspool, BY-CC-SA 3.0

Who Could Live Without a Car?

On the other end of the road, there are people whose lives so obviously don't need a car, that one can hardly believe they still have one.

• People who work at home
• Students with no kids
• Older folks who are mobile and live near public transit stops
• Single-job employees working within a couple of miles from home or right next to a light rail station
• People who live, work, and shop close to public transit lines

You might be surprised at how many people in these situations are commuting, and probably equally surprised at how many could, but aren't. In downtown Denver, according to one recent study, 37% of those who worked within 1/2 mile of a rail station took the commute. Of those who both lived and worked within 1/2 mile, 50% commuted. But that means that 63% who worked close to a rail station did not commute, and 50% who lived AND worked close to a station did not commute.

I wonder how many of those could adapt to living their lives completely car free? If your circumstances are listed, but you're still not sure whether going carless would work for you or not, here are some considerations to help you decide.

Questions to See if Your Lifestyle Is Conducive

1. Family size (incl. pets)––How big is your family and what ages are they? Are any of their current activities accessible by bus or train? Are they close enough to walk or cycle? Could you sign up for activities that are closer?
2. Type of work––Is the work you and/or your partner do steady, i.e. always at the same location and pretty much the same time each day? Is it close enough to walk or bike? If not, could you bike to the nearest bus or train stop, take your bike on board and, when you get off, bike the rest of the way?
3. Night activities––Do you often go out at night? Could you carpool with friends in exchange for treating them to drinks? Would going out earlier make it easier to use public transport?
4. Weekends––What do you do on weekends? Could you spend weekends working on the house or yard as a family, then rent a car once a month to go somewhere cool? Is there a park, public swimming pool, tennis court, or an active church or school nearby?
5. Routes and road conditions––Do an online search to find the routes of buses and trains that go near you. How many of them stop near places you go (or could go)? What are the roads like for walking or bicycling? Are they safe? Do you see others walking or riding on them? What does your city say about it?
6. Relocation options––For those routine activities that look like they're hard to get to without a car, can you find a place nearer instead? Or even one that's further away, but better accessible to public transportation?

To help you get a visual of alternate ways you can get to various destinations, I've included a table below. Try listing all the routine places you drive to, then look to see how else you could get there.

Kids are a definite consideration when deciding whether to give up a car. Even so, I've read of a family with six kids who made it work. Everyone was healthier and the kids were more social and had more adventures.

CCO Creative Commons

If I Gave Up My Car, How Could I Get There?

Use this chart to help you plan your life post-car ownership.

Activities Needing Transport	Walk	Bicycle	Public Transit	Carpool	Zip Car	Taxi	Car Rental
Going to work	x		x
Shopping	x		x	x
Taking the kids places
Other trip/s:

Analysis––Putting it all Together

Now that you can see the alternatives, it might be interesting to do a cost comparison. You should be able to estimate your current driving costs from bank statements, receipts, and memory. Try adding up the following to get an average annual total: Car payments, interest, licensing costs, gasoline/electric costs, repair costs, car washes, insurance, parking and toll fees, fines for tickets, etc.

Then use your chart to estimate how much it would cost to take public transportation, walk, bicycle, etc. for most of your activities. Add any rental car or taxi fees. Then translate it into a total annual cost. Now you can compare the two.

Another exercise you can do is to reorganize your activities. Look at your chart again. How many of these activities can you organize into one trip? Can you go to the movies, have a late lunch out, then go food shopping afterward on the same trip? Can you ride the public bus with your kids to school, then meet a friend at a coffeeshop or gym near the school? Or go from there straight to work?

What isn't taken care of yet? Hopefully you've been engaging the family (if you have one) in this exploration. Maybe you could brainstorm together to see how to handle whatever is left. If it looks feasible to live without a car, then try it out for a month, before actually ditching the car. That should also give you enough experience to decided whether to get rid of the car completely or keep it on hand for emergencies.

Talk to friends too, especially those who have already considered or actually gone through with it. Leave comments below for other readers still questioning––they might need the questions you ask or the tips you leave.

Miebakagh Fiberesima from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, NIGERIA. on July 18, 2018:

Thank you all for the feedback.

Sustainable Sue (author) from Altadena CA, USA on July 16, 2018:

It does, but we don't have to let it drive us. For example, how often do you buy gardening equipment? On that particular day, can you go with a friend? Can you save up all your odd shopping trips to run in one day with a rental car (that's what I do). I go out to eat a lot. I keep myself healthy, so I don't need a doctor, but that would be something you'd want a friend for. I have a friend who's older who gets me to drive her to the doctor in her car. Then I use the car for errands on the way home. There are ways to work if you really want to.

Fin from Barstow on July 13, 2018:

Good idea. I considered this once when I lived closer to my work in a previous life.

I could get along with shopping because I could walk and of course you buy less or go out less and therefore spend less when you don't have a car.

However, there are too many conveniences - buying gardening equipment and plants, going to the doctor, going out to eat when you want, etc.

It's a nice concept but unfortunately our society caters to car ownership

Sustainable Sue (author) from Altadena CA, USA on June 18, 2018:

Thanks Cynthia––I have another article he might he interested in too, where I share the ways in which not having a car has changed my lifestyle and how I get different places. https://toughnickel.com/frugal-living/How-to-Live-...

Cynthia Zirkwitz from Vancouver Island, Canada on June 17, 2018:

I love this article and will share it with my husband. My younger brother always drove a sporty little car so we were amazed to learn that he 'gave up' his car as a retiree. He lives in downtown Vancouver and says he walks a lot but plans to get back into biking again to strengthen his legs. He travels a lot, often on whim, and i imagine he rents a car from time to time. Your article and his example are food for thought. Thank you.

Miebakagh Fiberesima from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, NIGERIA. on May 30, 2018:

Hello Sustainable Sue, thanks for your feedback. I am a friend of the earth. I regard the earth and its surrounding as very sustainable to my well being and to other people.

Sustainable Sue (author) from Altadena CA, USA on May 30, 2018:

@Miebakagh––In California the biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions (pollution) is transportation, so every little bit we can do to lighten our transportation load is important.

https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/background/co2...

By cutting back on your own vehicle transport in Nigeria, you are helping to reduce carbon dioxide pollution there as well. Good for you!

Miebakagh Fiberesima from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, NIGERIA. on May 29, 2018:

Hi sustainable Sue, this is a nice article. The decision to own or dispose of a personal car can be hard with most people.

I am a middle-class person and I own a Nissan Primera. But I used it to go to work when I am an Administrative Officer. But now that I am retired, I make less use of it. I mostly work to places exception a mile away. Though I slow jog (slow jogging) for a mile as an exercise.

Air pollution is the number one problem militating against the environment. So, whether one owns a car or not, or gives it up, the environment will still be polluted with carbon monoxide from the home and other sources.

Thank you and have a nice time.

Sustainable Sue (author) from Altadena CA, USA on May 29, 2018:

Good for you. It all starts with the little ways. You do what you can with transportation in the city, and bit by bit you see other ways you can help support a healthy earth as well. Thank you.

Mary Norton from Ontario, Canada on May 29, 2018:

We do have a car because we don't live in the city and we need to drive to get groceries or to go to doctors. There are no public transport that go to our place, only expensive taxis. No uber as well. But when we are in the city, we seldom use the car. We walk everywhere or use public transport. I admire you for the lifestyle you commit yourself to. I try in little ways.

Do I Need a Car to Live in Austin

Source: https://toughnickel.com/frugal-living/Deciding-Whether-or-Not-to-Live-Without-a-Car

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