Choosing not to use car (a challenge to myself)

[RivkahChaya]

@epbrown01

I moved to Chicago in 1985 and in 1986 my beloved Honda Prelude was stolen. Having a car in town was a much bigger hassle in Chicago than it was in Lexington, KY where I grew up, so I didn’t replace it. I was without a car until 2000. It was doable in large part because I don’t mind walking- work was 3 miles from home and I walked it everyday for about five years, when a schedule change would have had me walking home around 1 a.m.; at that point I switched to the train.

I have never owned a car in New York. In fact, I’ve never had a New York driver’s license. I always carried my voter ID card, & sometimes my passport since my driver’s license never had my NY address on it. I did get a non-driver’s state ID once (much cheaper) in order to have an NY ID with my current address. All I needed was my valid Indiana license and my NY lease.

Anyway, Indy really should be more like New York. It’s the 16th largest city in the US, and the third largest capital city, but has the public transport of a middle-sized town in 1975 (by which I mean it still operates as though businesses close at 6pm and on Sundays).

[appleaday]

Needed to restock on some bulky items, so used the car; drove to the local warehouse store and loaded the trunk with cat food, paper towels, toilet paper and a few other items. So, not car-free today, but I did make the trip count.

[LSLGuy]

Believe it or not, many carless or strongly car-less urbanites are having Amazon deliver their TP & paper towels.

Sounds insane at first blush, and I’m neither endorsing nor condemning it. But I thought you might want to know the option exists and that other people are using it.

[appleaday]

Amazon sells toilet paper? :eek:

I’ll have to look into that.

[appleaday]

Update: Stayed car free Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Sunday: Needed car to get to a place without adequate bus service (and too far to walk)
Today: Will have to consider this day a failure. Drove to a dentist appointment, even though it was easily walkable.

Tally so far:

Car free days: 6
Car use days (necessary): 3
Car use days (unnecessary): 1

Tomorrow, I will need to use the car again, as I need to bring one of my cats to the vet. Even if I could carry that heavy cage to the bus stop and back, my fellow bus riders wouldn’t appreciate the loud complaints of an indignant feline.

[kopek]

Terrific!

(And as a bus rider, good call on the cat. I’ve been on buses with such pets and it isn’t fun for any of the animals involved. )

[Mama_Zappa]

@RivkahChaya

…

Anyway, Indy really should be more like New York. It’s the 16th largest city in the US, and the third largest capital city, but has the public transport of a middle-sized town in 1975 (by which I mean it still operates as though businesses close at 6pm and on Sundays).

Heh - yeah, I was there for about 6 weeks on business in the late 1980s and had an apartment far enough away from work and grocery stores that I relied on transit a fair bit - and it was a real challenge.

On the other hand, the city is so flat that a bike would be a PERFECT way to get around without huffing and puffing too much. Well, not for getting to work back then - women at my firm simply didn’t wear slacks to work, it was all about the skirtsuit.

[LSLGuy]

The deep snow several months a year also reduces the attractiveness of biking.