Crazy Cyclist

I have a 2005 Pontiac and I will be car free at the end of this month. I have had my car for about 4 years, previously my sister owned it and before that, the original owner had it. The car is paid for.

The past year has been the worst for it, I have had a lot of problems with it, from constantly burning out headlights, to the power steering suddenly not working, to the price of gas. Last weekend while I was at the bank and sitting in my car, someone backed up into it and when got out to get there insurance info, they just drove away.

I have actually been thinking about getting rid of it sooner but at the end of the month, it will be gone. I am actually looking forward to April when I can start riding my bike again and not have to depend on my car to get around.

cooker

What will you do in March?

timsataurus

I'm happy for you. How much do your currently get around without the car? Just remember that you made a choice, and choices require dedication to transform them into habits. I personally enjoy the mindfulness which is used to complete errands without a car. For instance I need to remember my pannier when going to the bank and post office. Since I may have a package. Or, when going to work having clothing and food separated for convenience. I also learned to layer clothing which is not used when riding home in the afternoon and having it in the bottom of the pannier. This makes it so gloves and lights are on top.

Give it a go and try sooner even before you give up the car. Have fun riding

Roody

You're right about needing to make it a habit over time. All these small details require thought at first, but after a while it just gets to be routine and automatic. I don't know why it's hard to establish good habits, but pretty easy to acquire bad ones!

Rollfast

Hit and run is a felony or something...I hope you got the license and a good description for the authorities...

Did you ask your insurance company what to do about this?

It's been ten years now since I sold my 1994 Pontiac Grand Prix (Mom sold it to me) and while you live in one of the more populous areas of Manitoba, overall MB is a huge province, unlike my Treasure Valley of SW Idaho and SE Oregon. Sounds like you may get stifled getting about to work.

By the way, 2005 wasn't a great year for Pontiacs. Find a maxi scooter or road legal motorcycle if you can and go car light.

Machka 

I was car free in Winnipeg for several years. The city was pretty easy to get around by bus or bicycle. The countryside around Winnipeg was even easier to get around by bicycle.

Crazy Cyclist

I will be walking or public transit.

Crazy Cyclist

I currently use the car about 2 days per week. I do a lot of walking as well. Before I got the car, I was without a car for about 25 years without any problems. I only got the car because my sister was finished with it and she wanted to get another car so instead of selling it, she gave it to me.

Crazy Cyclist

I didn;t have a chance to get the plate number, they backed up and hit my bumper and when i got out of the car to get their info, they drove away. I tried to get their info but they were already down the street. 2005 was a bad year for Pontiacs, they had problems with the power steering and ignition problems but they never told the public.

Crazy Cyclist

P.S. my brother has a car and when I need a car for something, I can borrow his.

wolfchild

I did exactly the opposite this February and purchased an SUV on February 1st...My 3 year LCF experiment has come to an end. I am now car-light as I was before for many years. In my experience being car-light is a much better option then being car-free.

TuckertonRR

Depends on where you are & what provisions you've made. Also depends on your lifestyle. Do you need to get to places that are very difficult to get to without a car on a frequent basis? You can always rent a car if you need one for a day or two. (assuming you still keep your licence). I've learned a bit over my almost year being car free. Between walking, biking, and public transport, I've only run into a few difficulties, and then I called up a taxi. Bit expensive, but still cheaper than a car!

Walter S

It also depends on your motivation and goals. In my book car lite is still a huge negative impact on natural resources and our environment.

wolfchild

For every 1 car-free person who decides to live below his/her privileges in order to have the smallest carbon footprint possible with hopes of saving the world, there are 100 000 others who generate a much larger carbon footprint. So all your efforts to save the world mean absolutely nothing....I don't understand why anybody would punish themselves and practice self flagellation in order to save the planet...Look at it this way: using air conditioning and heating in your house also has a negative impact on environment.

Artkansas 

Talk to the bank officers. They may have a security video that shows the incident and the license plate of the car.

Walter S

To each his own. I'm living with respect for nature in my own little world. It's not costing me. I find my practices to be rewarding.

timsataurus

I'm not car free to save the planet. I'm car free because I enjoy to riding my bike. I also lack a willingness to pay so much just to for transportation. If you want to use a vehicle that's great. I just don't understand how you relate car free with "self flagellation".

Tim

B. Carfree

Meh. I see occasional surveys in which the number one reason given for not riding a bike is fear of the cars on the road. Somewhere there is a potential cyclist who would ride if there was one less car. After her, there's another who would ride if there were two fewer cars, and so on. Sure, this is likely just a happy fiction, but there is no doubt that there are indeed people who would exchange their driving habit for active transportation if there were fewer cars. Conversely, there are likely current cyclists who will return to their cars if more people do the same. Personally, I'm happier being part of the solution rather than apathetically being part of the problem. YMMV.

Also, there's the Schistosomiasis stories to bear in mind. When the Nile was dammed, this disease became a huge problem because the snail population exploded. When China created the same problem, they asked the people near the water to kill every snail they saw. As a result, they didn't have the same problem with Schistosomiasis as the Egyptians did. Each person just did a little, but the result saved many more people from disease.

I suppose if you think of walking, taking transit and cycling as huge chores, none of this has any meaning for you. Different strokes, I guess. For me, being in a car is extremely uncomfortable and even slightly stressful. If I can avoid it, I do. Cycling, on the other hand, is always a joy and walking is a close second.

Roody

So, the fact that I've never robbed a bank has had no meaningful impact on the thousands of robberies that were committed by other people. So I might as well goout and rob a bank.

Walter S

Yes, driving a car is a privilege granted to me by the society I live in. It's not one I think I'm living below. Jumping off a cliff is also a choice I might make.

I'll pass.

Rob_E

The worrying part is that you think you depend on your car now. If that's the case, where will you be when it's gone? Or do you not really depend on it?

I had a similar situation in that my car had some serious repair issues to be addressed, and I just decided to get rid of it. It was a fairly easy choice for me because the car would sit, undriven, for months at a time, so I looked at the cost of repair vs. the cost of booking air and/or train travel for my few out of town trips for the year, the figures were close, and once I factored in the aggravation of keeping a car running that I rarely used, it was an easy decision.

It's been great for me. I wish you luck.

cooker

Why three years then?

wolfchild

To be honest, it's because LCF is a huge PITA in this modern society. It's only exciting and fun at the beginning but after a while it just becomes an obstacle which makes life more difficult, I would never become voluntarily car-free. It feels really good to have that extra option of using private vehicle on some days... LCF is ok to do temporarily but I would never want to make a long term or permanent lifestyle out of it.

Ty0604

Kudos. I've never had my license and love it. Have owned a few cars and had my permit but decided it wasn't for me. My mom was the same way. Passed at 57 without ever having her license.

TuckertonRR

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