BlogHer - Ditching the Second Car? - Comments

one car here

AmandaA — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:42:30 -0500

We only have one car in our family. I drop hubby off at work so I can do anything that needs to be done during the day, he then gets a ride home from a co-worker

I wish

littleerca — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:18:18 -0500

It would be WONDERFUL if I thought it was possible for my family to get by with one vehicle, but with my husband being in the Army he sometimes needs to travel and keep a vehicle with him for weeks at a time. I also have 2 little kids that would not enjoy a 2 mile walkt o and then from the grocery store.

With gas prices being almost $4 a gallon I would love to rely on public transportation and my own 2 feet instead of my van, but where I live that is not an option. We sure don't go places like we used to though!

Using the car more often

Stevenbrycesmom — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 10:29:26 -0500

We have an SUV that I would love to get rid of right now. I think it was the dumbest purchase we ever made. 6 yrs ago it sounded like the only solution for kids, sporting equipment and hauling stuff. Within the next 3 yrs we will have to replace DH's car and we are thinking of going with a Prius. He travels about 30 miles a day for work and this would be a God send for us.

Jess Mom to Thing 1 and Thing 2 CEO of Knight INC.

Key is fewer kids

nadiarl — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:39:59 -0500

It seems like the biggest factor in a family's ability to downsize to just one car is the number of kids they have. My husband and I are currently on our own and are contemplating the 1 car/1 scooter deal. It helps that southern California has pretty nice weather for non-car transport. I am confident this will work because San Luis Obispo is so damn small, about 3.5 miles from the farthest reach of town to the other end. Kudos to the poster in Wisconsin who is considering ditching the second car, that is brave. Now if Amtrak can get their act together and make the trains run within an hour of the schedule.

no car family

washwords — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:21:20 -0500

okay, granted, I'm single, no kids, live in the city (walking distance of work) so it may be lots easier for me than most ... but I loVE not having a car . It's one of the real things I will miss, if and when the BF and I take the "next step", something I'm SO excited about but... I will miss this life, walking /busing / 'troing everywhere and never needing or missing the car, really ever!

When I was dating, I ran across so many people to whom this was a completely foreign concept and they baffled me. And I grew up where there was essentially ONE bus (no public transport mecca). One fellow asked me "what do you do when it rains?" he was serious.

washy || http://washwords.wordpress.com || washwords.dc@gmail.com

When my husband and I first

Emilyanne — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:17:27 -0500

When my husband and I first got married, we had two cars. Both of us had communtes of more than an hour, and they were in opposite directions. Hey, when you're fresh out of college you take what you can get! :)

We downsized to one car when I had my first son and decided to stay home. My husband drove it to work four days a week and telecommuted the fifth day, which allowed me to do errands. We also live close enough to the post office and a park to walk there, so we did get out of the house! This worked well for us for three years.

Now, with a third baby on the way (three car seats won't fit in the Corolla!) and my husband changing jobs (no telecommuting option) we did buy a second car - a minivan. It is strange to suddenly have the option of driving on any day, and yet not want to drive EVER because it costs me $75 to fill the gas tank!

Ideally I'd love to just do all the errands on one day (along with the trip to the park/library/Mom's group!) but with two toddlers who need morning and afternoon naps, that just isn't possible. I think the best I can do at this point is make sure that I group my errands by location and try to keep driving as much to a minimum as possible.

Oh, and about public transportation? My husband is a HUGE fan of it and if possible would take it to work every day. Sadly, we live in an area with very poor coverage, and taking a bus would mean over two hours of commute time EACH WAY. Which just isn't feasible since he wants to actually see us occasionally. :) We hope that our city planners will add better public transit in the near future.

Does a 20 yr. old car count?

nikkik — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:31:00 -0500

We used to own 2 SUVs until our lease was up on the Trailblazer and were given my Mom's 20 year old Volvo Station Wagon. We drive it back and forth to the dump and church (3.5 mls. each way) where my husband is a Pastor. Sometimes it goes a little further, but it really likes to drive around town. It's a great car and I feel SO safe in it. But it does make things more convenient.

This February we had a 100 year RAIN storm up here in New England and our driveway was washed away. Our friends called it the "Grand Canyon," and wanted to bring their kids over to see the power of water. During that time, "Black Beauty" (that's what my Mom called the car) was stuck at the top of the driveway until the Grand Canyon was filled in. During winter we are stuck inside more and so having one car only seemed to present a problem a few times.

But, now that it's summer, I don't think we could go back (nor do I want to give up Black Beauty)! We are 35 minutes from any major town so if one of us needs to make a trip, the other is stuck.

So that's my answer - we're sticking with 2. The gas-guzzling SUV and the tank.

~Nikki

http://www.techietutor.wordpress.com

We've discussed it...

Ewokgirl — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:02:09 -0500

Last night as we were driving into Dallas, we were talking about this very subject. We agreed that it just wouldn't make sense for us right now to go down to one car. Our cars are both paid for, and they're both fuel efficient. The money saved on insurance would be made up for with extra gas costs. As a SAHW, I would want the car 1-2 days a week so I can run errands and such. That would mean driving my husband to work in Dallas, then driving home, then repeating it all when it's time for him to come home. That's just as wasteful as using 2 cars.

While our town is pedestrian and biker friendly, it would still be difficult to do. For one, the heat here is unbearable during the day. Walking or bike riding in it would be an instant migraine. The second reason is that no place has bike racks. You can ride to the library or the grocery store, but then you risk having your bike stolen without a rack to lock it to.

My husband has looked into public transportation, but he learned that it would take him 2 hours to get to work, then another 2 to come home. That's 4 extra hours out of his day just to travel by bus and/or light rail. Our public transport system isn't big enough to deal with all the suburbs. What's more, most suburbs vote against having it in the first place when the opportunity for expansion is presented. People are still too in love with their SUVs and wealthy-image lifestyles to convert to using public transportation.

In theory, one car sounds great. Very socially conscious. But the reality is that most American cities aren't set up for people to be without cars.

http://www.marriedtotheempire.blogspot.com/

Down To 1

worldsgreatestmommy — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:28:57 -0500

We've got only 1 car that I, as personal chauffeur, use to haul everyone around. My husband hitches a ride or uses public transit to get to the school where he teaches about 15 miles away.

It takes coordinating things on the weekend, and I'll admit there are times it's annoying, but when we looked at buying another car we were way turned off by the thought of a car payment, extra insurance, and most of all...gas. As it is now, my husband just chips in on gas money. We save a ton.

Sarah

World's Greatest Mommy?

http://worldsgreatestmommy.blogspot.com

Biking more often/access to good trails and roads is key

Susan Doherty — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:06:07 -0500

I just got off my bike after running errands so really enjoyed reading this sequence. I'm trying to pull my bike out more often as a means of getting exercise and reducing my carbon footprint. I agree that access to biking trails and lanes is the key to encouraging more cycling. My town has done a fairly good job of including bike lanes on many of the roadways, but they don't always keep them clear of rocks, dirt and other debris. Not so bad when I'm on my mountain bike, but a bit sketchy when I'm on my road bike with super skinny tires.

We do have two vehicles, but one is quite old (a '92) and long-ago paid off. We just purchased a new car (to replace my husband's which was totaled this winter) and it was definitely the first time we bought one with both of us in mind, as opposed to this is my car - that is your car. My husband is a carpenter so we needed something big enough for his tools and powerful enough to pull his work trailer. We are also waiting on an adoption, so wanted something that would be kid and family-friendly. The '92 has no airbags so this was critical. We settled on the Toyota Hylander Hybrid and absolutely love it.

I work out of the house, so don't have a great need for a car. For a while, i was hung up on needing the car to drive to client meetings, simply so I could dress professionally. I got over that pretty quickly and decided that the clients who didn't support cycling might not be clients I wanted to count among my own. My wardrobe may be a bit more casual as a result, but I'm willing to suck up a few wayward glances at my helmet head and rolled up pant leg. After reading the comments here, i realized that we are (consciously or not) slowly moving toward becoming a one car family. It will be interesting to see how this plays out when our child arrives. Sounds like many of you with kids are making it work.

Susan Doherty

Six Minute Style

www.sixminutestyle.com

I have shared a single car

invisibleinc — Sat, 10 May 2008 08:27:20 -0500

I have shared a single car with my husband for our entire marriage.

It is an absolute frickcin nightmare, and I cannot say that strongly enough.

I NEVER get out of the house. EVER. He works very long hours, 7 days a week, and his office is too far to justify driving back and forth to drop him off. If I need to go grocery shopping, I have to do so before dawn. Sometimes I can get my mom to make the drive down to me to drive me somewhere, but not often. I live in a very poor, crime ridden neighborhood where it is not safe to let the kids play in the yard, much less walk to a bus stop, much less ride a bus.

Don't do it unless you're prepared to have no kind of life whatsoever.

Thanks a lot for interesting

petta1 — Sat, 10 May 2008 04:31:36 -0500

Thanks a lot for interesting article.

Soooo thankful for public transportation

Madridmom — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:59:06 -0500

I have a family of 6 living in Spain. We had to leave the car in the body shop on April 30 and I don't foresee getting it back for another week or two. In the States we would never be able to be without wheels for such a long time but my husband takes the bus, train and metro to work daily as it is and we just had to stock up on bus passes to get the kids to school each day. All of our NEEDS can be taken care of within walking distance. I wouldn't like to be permanently without a car, because there are some things we cannot get to by public transportation (ie: the boys' baseball practice today) but fortunately we have good friends that are stepping up to the plate to help us out temporarily with rides.

Once we get the car back we will continue being selective about our use. With gas at $7.80 a gallon here, we try and make a tank last as long as possible, however bus/train/subway rides times 6 adds up too.

Great post, Shannon!

Madridmom

blogging at: One Bite At A Time http://madridmom.blogspot.com/

Great Post!

photochick — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:19:17 -0500

I love the concept of only having one car... We only own one car, but my husband's company provides him with one for his job with gas paid for and unlimited personal miiles. It's amazing. I can't even remember we used 'our' car; we use the company one as much as possible. To be perfectly honest, it's about the only way we're able to make it on one income - notice I didn't say 'one job!' I'm a full time Mommy, and it's the best job I've ever had in my life :o)

Although come to think of it, I wouldn't mind doing photography or photo editing as a carreer! Hey, someday I just may!

Hoping To Break the Van Habit Over Summer Break

Writer-Mommy — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:24:14 -0500

Both of my two oldest are in two different private schools (first grade and preschool). I am the school bus.

Luckily, we live in a relatively small town/city so the distance isn't too bad.

But still - I'd like to drive less and walk more.

Your post is timely; I've been thinking a lot about ways I could get all three of my kids(youngest is two) hither and yon this summer on foot. It's just near impossible during the school year.

Glad the tornadoes skipped over you, Shannon!

Ditching the Second Car?

rocksinmydryer — Fri, 09 May 2008 08:36:39 -0500

A dear friend of mine is from England, now living in the U.S. She sat in my living room recently, telling me that one of the hardest things to get used to in America has been the way that people spend so much time in their cars.

In England, she told me, life was centered around smaller villages. Mothers walked their children to school, because they lived close enough. They walked to the market, and to church. And it would be nearly unheard of to drive for 15 minutes to go shopping.

Her conversation came back to me as I read this article from MSN money: Could you get by with just one car? The article reports that, remarkably, the U.S. has more cars than we have drivers. With the economy slumping and gas prices soaring, families are beginning to wonder if the extra car payment, insurance and gas are worth it:

Soaring gas prices are increasingly squeezing middle-class families. And that's just part of the cost of vehicle ownership: According to the public-transport association, it costs an average of $8,580 per year to own, maintain and drive a car.

This might not sound like a radical idea to many people, particularly those living in large cities. My own family lived in downtown Chicago years ago, and we ditched our second car right away. With public transportation at our doorstep, we hardly needed the one we had. Escape Brooklyn writes:

All the cities we're considering relocating to must have good public transit and biking infrastructures, since we're going to try to stay car-free.

That's sound planning, but it won't work for everyone. We specifically chose to take our kids out of the big city for greener pastures (literally), and I wouldn't go back. We now live in a mid-sized city that is nice and compact--long commutes are a rarity here. But public transportation is clunky at best, and most of the streets, believe it or not, don't even have sidewalks (which makes walking places with children a safety hazard). According to the MSN article, communities are beginning to wisen up:

Cities and states have real incentive to invest in trains and buses. Studies show that property values -- read tax bases -- grow rapidly when public rail systems are built. One report found that the value of homes in one Dallas neighborhood doubled when a light-rail system was built nearby.

"City after city is finding that good public transit is good economic strategy," Millar says, adding that there is a 6:1 return on federal dollars invested in public rail systems.

Local governments around the country are encouraging residents to ditch their unneeded vehicles. Arlington, Va., Denver and Dayton, Ohio, are all starting programs designed to take cars off their roads. Under Seattle's "One Less Car Challenge," residents who successfully go on a monthlong car diet get discounted memberships to bicycle clubs and -- for those who actually get rid of a vehicle -- up to $600 in credit to a car-sharing program.

I'll be the first to agree that the idea has great merit. I filled up my mini-van at the gas station for (*gulp*) $60 last week, and I live in the part of the country where gas is cheapest. The idea of a slower-paced lifestyle with less time in the car is very appealing. Walking more would certainly be healthier for both my children and for me.

But the question I've turned over and over in my head since reading this article is, is it an idea worth considering for those of us who live in communities not geared for pedestrian traffic or public transport? I wonder if the increase in stress over logistics would outweigh the stress over gas prices? Green SAHM has done it, and she admits it's been hard:

As gas prices go up, this has been more and more a benefit to us. I work at home, and drive much less now that I don’t have my own car. Frivolous trips are much harder to make. But it’s still not easy.

For example, my son has speech therapy on the other side of town. I used Google’s transit website to check the bus schedule. The buses here would get me about halfway there; the rest I’d have to walk. You can see where there’s a bit of a problem. The walk is very long for a 3 year old.

Sara Schaefer Munoz of the Wall Street Journal blogged about her own experience:

It does require better coordination — mapping out the weekend to coincide errands with my husband’s squash games or birthday parties. If my husband has a meeting in the city, it means staying later or leaving work earlier to catch the same train so we can take the one car home from the station.

I'm game to investigate the options. Even better than saving money or reducing fumes is the notion of simplifying life for my family. I am most certainly making overt efforts to drive less. But ditching my second car doesn't look like a hopeful option for me any time soon--at least until my city planner catch up with the idea.

Shannon Lowe is a BlogHer Contributing Editor (Mommy/Family), and she also writes at Rocks In My Dryer.