What does "being car free" mean to you?
 

When you proclaiming you are "car free", what are you personally proclaiming? Simply you don't own a car? That you have a smaller carbon footprint? That you are more energy independent? That you pollute less? That buy into consumer culture less?

I'm curious because everyone seems to have a different meaning for the proclamation which seems to cause some confusion here.

In my case, it means I cannot afford to own and operate a car.

Well, start with the definition of "car." In the past we've defined it here as a motor vehicle that's privately owned and used for the personal transport of individuals and their goods.

If you don't have a car, you're carfree.

It means that I do not own a car and that my daily life does not require me to use a car. Car usage is strictly on option for special or unusual circumstances, such as vacations or having to see a medical/dental specialist for something. Work, errands, regular recreations, and such are accomplished without using a car.

To me it means not owning a car even when/if we can afford too. Since my husband has liberal use of a work van it also means making conscious decision when/if to use it. I try to limit it to major grocery trips to one of my favorite stores that is too far to bike too (heavy road traffic/no MUP close by)

Of course my husband has a different definition as he has had a more vehicle-centric background that I do:)

I never wanted a drivers license in the 1st place but my dad made me at 16 as he was tired of driving my non-driving mom around town

Ok, let me ask this. So why be car free? What is it doing for you? Saving you money? Are you saving the environment? Are you living more simply?

I don't enjoy driving, so it was easy to adjust my lifestyle to not needing a car. I am trying to minimize my environmental impact by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, particulates, and other pollutants and by conserving resources. I am not trying to 'save' the environment. I am trying to maintain an environment that is amenable to human comfort. Not needing a car is small part of a larger plan.

Being car-free to me means my car broke down and I can't afford to fix it at the moment.

I sold my car a year ago. I don't need it, and even though I could probably afford to service the debt that would be required to buy another one, I won't, as a matter of principle. It's about reducing my impact; reducing pollution, congestion, and oil wars. I owned a car for nearly half my life, ever since I was old enough to get a licence. I always felt a little guilt, I finally got fed up with trying to kid myself that I could justify such greed. I'm also in the process of moving from a 2-bed house to a 1-bed flat, for many of the same reasons. I'm saving money, but that isn't the main motivation. I get to look at myself in the mirror, without feeling shame. I'm trying to live up to my sig.

Your not car-free your car-less. Car-free implies, to me, that you made a decision not to own a car. Car-less means that you really want to own a car but you cant for one reason or another. Car-free by choice, car-less by force.

Oops, I guess I can't afford to be car-free. Car-less. OK.

Everybody who can't afford a car wants one, of course.

Sorry for posting in your forum. Redirect me to the Car-
less discussions please.

I chose to be car-free in Feb '09 to show my children and my family (and mainly myself) that you dont need a car to survive and get around from point a to point b.

I have a new found self respect for myself as well as other fellow cyclists.

Not really saving money spending it else where

It is one less car right? But I heard its like this for every one person who choses to be car free 100 teens get there license and a SUV

I think I am living more simply maybe? Takes longer to get around to get out of the house things to prepare, pressure to check and other things. But the feel of the wind and rain running across me is worth it. gives me a reason to go faster and push myself harder.

Untrue, m'friend; car-free here, after the car broke down nearly 5 years ago. Couldn't afford to replace, said, "F it", jumped on the bike I'd been riding 90% of the time anyway, and kept going.

Can't afford one now, and don't want to try. I'd rather ride.

Carfree is what I have always been I've never had a drvers license and I'm 52 why start now? I must say that a music career is totally out of the question for me the bus just doesn't where I need to go when I need to. So carfree means sacrifice for my principles over my profit. And I get to feel good about the environment.

Lol kinda touchy aint ya? I was just saying how I define car-free. There are lots of people who post on this forum, probably the majority, that do not fit that profile. When did I say that you shouldnt be here? Lighten up, its just one mans point of view.

You have made an assumption about me based solely on my economic situation. Sorry, but I find that offensive. Lighten up, just because your point of view is based on ignorance doesn't mean you can't express it here.

Sorry, that was pretty stupid of me to suggest that because you can't afford a car, you must desire one. You aren't truly car-free though. Only wealthy people can make that claim.

Two main reasons:

1. To save money. Not that I couldn't afford a car, but if you spend money on one, you now don't have that money to spend on something you enjoy much more. I don't want to spend money on things I don't particularly like or need.

2. While I think a modern car is a great machine, I have an aesthetic objection to the dramatic car overuse in our society. I hate what the car has done to cities, towns, and the countryside. I hate the way they manage to bring out the worst even in otherwise nice people: impatience, rage, laziness, inconsideration towards fellow beings... I hate what cars - their manufacture and operation - do to air, water and the rest of our environment. I find it sad to see flattened animals by the road side. I consider many thousands of human deaths a year in North America alone to be way too high a price to pay for the illusion of mobility. I don't want to take part in a social phenomenon (car overuse) that I find so ugly in just about every respect, even if it might have some practical benefits for me on occasion. That doesn't mean I wouldn't use a car, but I'd only use it only for trips I would consider car-appropriate to take in one. Moreover, I'll try to live in a place where most trips I need to take are not car-appropriate by my definition. This means I don't need to own a car - indeed it would be a foolish and costly thing to do if you only need to make a handful of car trips per year.

And really I just like riding my bike so much better.

First of all, anyone can make any claim. Whether it would be truthful is another matter.

Secondly, you surely have a very odd definition of "car-free". I don't think it's widely accepted. What matters is whether you'd still not own a car even if you could afford it. Not whether you can afford it now or not.

I read quite an extreme definition of car-free a few years ago. The person, angered at the Gulf Wars, refused to drive or ride in any vehicle powered by fossil fuels. Personal car ownership was out. So was accepting a ride from a neighbour. So was transit. This was someone living in an area where the temperatures got cold in winter.

Personally, I like the definition where private car use is out but using an employer's vehicle for work-related transportation or hauling goods is acceptable. Such an approach becomes much more workable or practical than the extreme position of shunning the internal combustion engine entirely.

I agree, but in many cases the employer's vehicles are over used. I know our company is constantly monitoring gas use and miles driven and harping on the people that have company vehicles to cut back. Until we have a societal shift in overall automobile usage the small percentage that live car free/car light are only a small drop in a very leaky bucket.

I admire people that have taken the time to make car free a working solution for themselves, they are the leaders and can show others the advantages of it.

I also realize that not everyone, everywhere can be car free but if we have people thinking about it and considering it we are moving in the right direction! I also believe that as the economy continues to stumble we will see more and more people making choices that will lead them to car free, they won't have much of a choice in the matter.

Aaron:)

Being car free is easiest when you've never had a parent/relative/friend teach you how to drive. This might be difficult to visualize in the USA but that's how a lot of us grew up in the 3rd world. :thumb:

Even in this bad economy, a lot of people in the US will still want to own a car, most will cut back on driving their vehicle than get rid of it all together, and I see this happening today, if I plan my commute an half hour later, the traffic volume is vastly different than in the past at the same time of day

Cash For Clunkers has shown that people are not ready to give up their cars, and the last few weeks have seen the highest auto sales in 3 years. There will be some sort of vehicle that will be driven, it's just that in the future it may not be powered by fossil fuels.

Yes, people will want to keep their vehicles. In a bad economy, quite a few people will drive their vehicle until they can't afford to fix it or replace it. Then it will sit in the driveway until the tires go flat, the stickers expire and the insurance lapses. At some point it will be sold as junk. Cash for Clunkers will mitigate this phenomenon at the margins, but I doubt it's a solution that can be sustained for long.