Kicking the petroleum habit

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Dennis and I have made the decision to no longer own an automotive vehicle. Our little truck has it's own ad in the "Maui Bulletin" and it is all cleaned up, ready to belong to someone else.

We have always wanted to be car free, but once we moved over here, we found it difficult to do so. There was bus service, but it was limited and geared toward getting Tutu to the grocery store, rather than working people to their jobs. We have also tried biking, but this does not work out for Dennis, who must smell like a gentleman in the office. Recently, Maui County mayor Charmaine Tavares, doubled the number of bus routes serving the Kahului-Wailuku area. Oh, and did I mention that the bus is eff are double e FREE!

Another nice thing is that some of my clothes are feeling not so tight these days and I noticed Dennis has a smaller "opu" as well. We both feel so positive about this change.

I am somewhat more fortunate than some people who go without a car in that I have unlimited access to my company work truck and I am completely unsupervised, so I can dash into any store to run errands. Yes. I know that's cheating but Oh, well!

There are so many reasons this is a good move for us. We really both hate driving around here as everyone on the road is either a visitor or insane or both. Maui County's method for controlling growth is to simply not update the roads. Gas here is at $3.25/gal and I get my fill of playing bumpercars with these flip Titas in their blingmobiles while I work. Oh and just wait until the superferry starts spewing an additional 250 cars at the port every day. Nope, driving on Maui is not for the fainthearted.

This should help fatten our wallets too.

I share this with you not because I think everybody should get rid of their cars, as not everyone can. I think we all need to try to think of better ways...and this might promote some discussion.

My name is David and I am a petro-holic
 
T

tolivac

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I used to live in the big city-Wash DC-and for a long time did not own a car.I got around there for work or pleasure by the buses,subway,trains,and taxicabs.these worked just fine for a "carless" person.At present I no longer live in WashDC-don't want to go back at this point due to their high crime-cost of living,etc.Now I have a car-A Toyota Highlander Hybrid-like this car very much.I have to have a car here-the city bus system in Greenville just serves town-the taxicabs here(unlike DC were VERY relable)give VERY POOR service.So-for me to get to work at my present job I have to have a car-the cabs don't or won't go out here.
 
Good for you guys AND the environment!

Whne I lived in NYC (for the first 40 yrs of life), There was no car required. One could easily get to work, shopping and recreation/entertainment using public transportation.

As a matter of fact, I finally got my drivers' license in my late 20's and a car even later than that. It took me a few years to actually get into the mode of using it/ relying upon it. To compensate and ensure I became a "good driver"** I learned how to use a manual transmission (stick-shift) and go by-the-book when driving, turn-signals and all.

**Everyone thinks they are the GOOD driver, the OTHER guy has NO IDEA what (s)he is doing!

Of course here on Long Island it is pretty much a necessity. Here, life is geared for one to stay in their little village. Prior to coming here life was three counties "wide".
Work in Manhattan (New York County) NYC
Residence in Borough of Queens /Queens County (NYC)
Shopping/restaurants/beaches in Nassau County (Long Island)

Today I stay off the subways, generally, in that so many people take car-services in rough neighborhoods. This creates a vacuum, leaving behind the poorest and most crime-prone in the trains and perhaps the busses. Similarly standing under someone's bare stinky underarm in the summer, or watching someones stand in their own spittle (Read: hacking up a lung resulting in spitting out a "clam") is just beyond what I am willing to handle anymore. Oh so many don't have their shots, haven't bathed in at least a week, are mentally unstable/dangerous. Many barely have an education nor cna they communicate clearly in their own language, nevermind English.

I commuted to the city by public trnasportation for 20 years between high-school, colleger and my former accounting career. NO MAS.

But I applaud you guys for giving up your addiction to petroleum. I am too jaded to be able to any more :-)
I paid my dues, did my time and don't have a tropical climate here, either! *LOL* I don't LIKE freezing my petunias off anymore!

(Coffee, petroleum, internet and electricity will be enjoyed by me till they shove me or my ashes in a box 2 meters / 6t ft under! ) I'll keep my little put-put four-cylinder Saturn, thank you very much.

To do my part I shut lights off, try to conserve water, don't buy too much "stuff", don't waste food or refuse leftovers. Mostly I try to keep the little devilish elitist princess instinct inside of me completely shut down and incarcerated! (Doesn't always work ....*LOL*)

How does the joke go? With all these anti-pollution measures, I'd still rather have a car that doesn't drink instead of one that doesn't smoke!
 
I've been thinking about this a lot recently, in regards to my mom. She doesn't want to leave her house, but she has gotten so frail that driving is problematic, and the neighborhood (like so many in the country) is not geared towards, or even really friendly to, pedestrians. The nearest grocery is three miles away, and there's not even a sidewalk on her street!

When I get old, I definitely want to live someplace where a car will not be necessary, and not being able to drive won't impact my life. I will *not* be one of those seniors who thinks giving up the car means waiting for the grave.

Where we live right now is pretty good in terms of groceries and entertainment nearby, and close to downtown. The only problem with the bus service here is that it is SO popular that sometimes the buses have to drive by because they are full. The new light rail system should fix that, however, as there will be a stop just a few blocks away.

As it stands, I could probably go without a car (saving me about $200/month) but John would have a conniption fit. He's nutty about cars, and the thought of getting rid of ANY of them sets his teeth on edge.

Toggle, do you drive when you go to Manhattan? That would make me bonkers! Is the Long Island Railroad nasty too? I've never ridden it.
 
I very rarely use my car. I have a 1999 Chevy Prism. I just hit 15,000 miles. (That's not a typo -- I just hit fifteen thousand miles.) The only time that I drive is: to visit family or friends in the suburbs; to the supermarket (once a month); to the mall (when I can't avoid it); to take my father to the doctor; or to see the two doctors -- my dermatologist and my rheumatologist (arthritis specialist) -- who are in the suburbs. My primary care physician is in the City. I walk to the dentist. I sometimes even walk to Target. (It's limits the amount of "stuff" I can buy. If I can't carry it, I don't buy it!) I take public transportation -- either the subway, bus or New Jersey Transit train to get everywhere else.

As Toggle said, using public transportion -- especially in the New York area -- is not for the faint hearted. It's not for everyone. In addition to the problems that he described, it can be very time consuming. (I actually missed my allergist appointment the other day, because the bus showed up late and then got stuck in traffic.) You can't come and go as you please. You have to assume that the train/subway/bus is on schedule and that you have the current schedule. You have to be prepared that an unforeseen and unrelated problem is going to disrupt service. (I went to a lecture on Tuesday. The subways were running with delays and disruptions because of a building collapse.) Despite these problems, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Just my $0.02.

Mike
 
I didn't have a car until I was 24. Family didn't have one either. I used a bicycle and public transport and hitchhiking to get around (hitchhiking was more the norm for young people back then, and IMHO safe). Now I have too many cars but I still like to ride a bicycle.

The biggest problem with bicycling is that so many areas have roads that are not bicycle friendly. Additionally, many shops don't provide any way to secure a bicycle safely when one is shopping.

For a few years, to get to my job in Silicon Valley, traffic was so bad on the Nimitz that I would bicycle five miles in the morning to the nearest Amtrak station, take the train to Santa Clara, and then bicycle another three miles to my job. I had to take all sorts of detours due to the bike-unfriendly nature of the streets (underpasses with no room for a bike next to traffic, for example). The other problem is that the train was often quite late, and the conductors could be quite rude. But it was great exercise - 16 miles a day.
 
I'm definitely a gas addict....

I drive everywhere. I know it's a bad thing. I could take the subway, cabs, or buses anywhere. (though the last time I got on a bus, I felt like calling Americas Most Wanted and telling them that I thought I'd found everybody.) I digress. The subway is ok, and I try to take it to work whenever I can. I usually can't. Little bodies don't like it when big bodies fall on them, and most times DC's subway system is akin to being trapped in a sardine can. Cabs in DC? Plenty. But I'm sure if I tried I could find much more fun ways to spend time feeling scared to death. DC cab drivers tend to speed and weave. Yikes is my word du jour. I love my car. I can listen to what I want, have the temperature air that I want, and I wont worry over missing my stop because I cant get to the door. I hate to contribute to the demise of the environment, but I feel I need my car.
 
LoL. Johnny and I have four cars. He has a 1986 GMC Sonoma V8 Conversion (corvette v8), and just bought a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am GT V6 to replace a really crappy 03 Dodge Neon. I have my 2005 4 cyl Corolla and my good ol 4 cyl Ranger is back (it never got sold). Between our 4 cars we drive the Corolla the most, mainly cause it gets 35 mpgs, the grand am and the truck get about 25 overall, but Johnny drives the Grand Am daily so it sees almost as much use as the Corolla. We use both trucks on an as needed basis. SO... I drive 25K a year and he drives 20K a year. We have to have vehicles as we both Go to Duke Medical Center in Durham NC, which is 45 miles away and his job is 10 miles away (i can't work right now due to my health). So... We drive, we drive alot. Gas is $2.51 a gallon at costco, where we always get gas. I wish you all luck. I couldn't do it. Had my licsence since i was 15 years old and haven't looked back...
 
I haven't driven since 2002,

haven't owned a car since 2003, haven't even had a license since 2004.

Here, it can be deeply frustrating to be without a car.

There is a bus, but it's expensive, does not always go where/when a person wants it to, and yes, there is the question of dubvious companions. So far, no major crimes. I am on a bus route, but it's a short one, and making connections can be a challenge.

Experienced PARTA riders have called the schedule "the suggestion."

There are few shelters. Fewer benches. Not all of the stops have lighting at night.

The campus bus was merged with the county bus, to the detriment (I believe) of both.

There is no cab here in Kent, which is dismaying, and to call the nearest cab is ridiculously expensive..from here to the nearest mall is 30.00, one way. Without tip.

I am very lucky...friends from church are generally willing and able to take me to various doctors appointments, but I have to be very careful not to call the same people all the time.

Bicycling is out, because I have a fairly severe balance thing going on, and I am not about to get an adult tricycle.

I wish public transit were better here. I really do.
That's why I love to visit Boston and take the T. I lived in Boston for part of the year in 1981, and got very good at the T. Of course, the T of 1981 and the T of 2005 (my most recent visit) are not quite the same, but I never felt seriously unsafe on it.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
The Long Island Rail Road is a nice, quick pleaseant ride.

There are a few thugs and a few beer-chugging blue-collar types that get loaded & loud on their way home to be able to deal with their suburban lives/wives. But they really don't bother anyone, in general. There are also the yuppies, the guppies and the buppies, all nicely co-existing.

Actually Dan, I try not take the car into Midtown. It ain't pretty. Parking is expensive. One can drive to Astoria, Queens (right across the river from Manhattan) gettign as clos as you can get to the island of Manhattan and grab the subway there; or take the Long Island Rail Road from home and go in directly.
 
I really hate to drive

There are so many idiot soccer moms in their huge suvs on their cell phones trying to run you over,I have my little tank (Volvo 240)so I'm not too afraid of them,I learned to drive in a VW bug,and in those days thought that was a pretty safe car since it was all metal, but it seems the older I get the more afraid I get, so its pretty much volvo or mercedes for me,IF I'm going out of town about an hour away to visit friends I will get on the bus,rather than fight that freeway traffic,and I'M much more relaxed when I get there,everybody thinks I'm crazy for taking the bus,it just makes sense with the price of gas, parking,and my sanity with all the idiots on the road. Mark
 
I wish I could actually live without a car but not possible in the suburban area I live. But I do drive a 10 year old car and since I work from home I don't use it every day and just have to locally so I try not to make too much pollution. It does make me sick to spend 20 dollars to find the tank only 1/3 full. Even though this car has "issues" at that age, I would just hate to have a car payment.

I do have a bike but we have hills around here and the roads are not friendly for bikes. But you can ride to places near my house.

Good thing some people here have good public transit because Port Authority Transit here is going to do at least a 15% service cut, including the bus that would take me downtown. People who have used the bus are now buying clunkers. Kind of sad when we should be trying to get off foreign oil.
 
Volvo 240 (Well, 245) Here Too

I also have a Volvo- a 1988 245 wagon that turns about 28-29 mpg on the road. I can carry every bit as much stuff as the Behemoth Lovers (SUV owners) can.

I bought it specifically for the mileage, the strength, and the mechanical simplicity and reliability.
 
volvo 240

we had our '88 sedan for 12 years,finally had to part it out due to rust, the drivers door was about to fall off,it still ran perfect with 300,000 miles,original water pump, my"new" one is an '89 sedan,great body,not as good mechanically as the '88, Had quite a few volvo wagons and yes you can fit almost anything in there,even an antique wardrobe one time. That car seems to fit you perfect,my first volvo came from my best friends that lived down the street and their house was done in danish modern,pre-ikea,I bought my first volvo wagon from them,it was hunter green with tan interior '70, they had a agua colored 164e but by the time they decided to sell it it was kinda worn out. talk to you later. Mark
 
some day

I know that some day I will quit driving. I hope that I decide this on my own, and that my license is not taken away from me because I have become a terrible driver, I won't say too old.

I hope that at that time I live within a mile of a grocery store, so that I can walk. Actually where I live right now in a Sacramento suburb, Trader Joe and Albertson are both about a mile away. Of course I drive there. I have always loved cars and love to drive. I have taken our local transit to work and it takes about 20 minutes more each way to work. But that's not too bad. It is reliable and pretty clean and safe. (Bus and Light Rail)

As time goes on and the price of gas gets expensive, and $3 or $4 is not expensive, most of us will change our vehicles and/or how much we drive. Certainly we would all be much healthier if we walked several more miles than we do. I think it's too bad that the typical pattern of building new residential developments has not included a walkable solution. Maybe most people wouldn't use it, but it should have been included. By that I mean, street patterns that would allow most people to be within a mile of a grocery store and other retail ammenities.

We have allowed developers to dictate the street patterns, instead of planning that well and allowing the developers to build the homes.

And I am not saying that you can't live however and where ever you want! I just think that a lot of what has been built in the last 50 years has not been thought out very well, and requires people to drive huge distances whether they want to or not.

Martin
 
Zoning and Planning . . .

The reason that residential (especially single family residential) neighborhoods are often isolated from large retail facilities is not due to haphazard development, but rather to the whole concept of zoning and how it is applied in various neighborhoods. Most homeowners don’t want to live adjacent to a shopping center, and through the years planners have obliged and kept major non-residential uses out of those neighborhoods through restrictive zoning. This keeps shopping centers on major streets.

Sometimes this concept is taken to extremes, such as in Irvine in Orange County. That city was carefully master planned in the ‘60s to absolutely separate residential development from any retail and commercial uses, and to also isolate residential streets from major streets. Irvine ended out full of cul-de-sacs with huge areas underserved by convenient retail. Some people hate it and feel that the city is creepy and lifeless and makes residents drive to everything, others love it because side streets are very quiet with little traffic and property values are uniformly high. It is a great place for those who really want to leave the city behind when they go home but not for those who want a feeling of urban vitality.

A lot of urban planning is really short-sighted in my view, but ultimately both that and developing are based on people’s perceived needs. It’s the gap between perception and reality that is the devil.

As for me, I live on a small street just off Ventura Boulevard. That means I can hear traffic if I listen for it, but overall it doesn’t bother me. What is nice is that there is a big supermarket about a quarter mile away so I almost never have to take the car . . . great for impulse shoppers like me who don’t make grocery lists! My bank is also walkable and I usually try to visit there on Saturday mornings when I have time to walk. I guess it’s good I don’t live in Irvine!
 
Now that YOU'VE said it!

It's ALWAYS been my dream to be car free as well. I HATE cars. I HATE driving. I HATE the interstates. I HATE rude drivers. Unfortunately, living in the mountains, nothings close! Mark
 

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