This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Going Car-Less

After 16 years and 300,000 miles, my Miata said, "That's it!" So, no more car for me. What's it like to be without motorized wheels making 1/10th the environmental footprint I had a month ago?

I have given up my car. I am car-less. I did this about seven years ago for 30 days and learned a lot, but slipped back into it. This time I feel certain it’s for good. With the Arctic ice melting five times faster than scientists predicted. With water rising in Bangladesh five feet a year. With so many of my friends sick to death from air, water, food pollution. With the incessant wars to protect my right to drive – how can I go on commanding this death trap?

How indeed!

This is how it happened. Mine was the cutest Mazda Miata Convertible Special Edition.  Special because it was maroon with a tan top and leather seats and all sorts of lovely extras. They only made 2,500 of them in this country. I bought it 16 years ago and it got about 40 miles per gallon on the highway. It trundled along for almost 300,000 miles. Lately she had made some ominous, but still quavering complaints. A week ago she failed her smog test. That was it. To fix her up, to get her spiffy, I would have to put thousands of dollars into her. And I am not going to do it. In all conscience, I will not do it. I brought her home from the mechanic, said a prayer and said good-bye. That was a month ago.

Find out what's happening in San Anselmo-Fairfaxwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

You would think this last month would have been a hardship. But no. It has actually been more satisfying than I ever would have thought. Consider:

1) I am getting an incredible amount of exercise. I walk, I bicycle, I take the bus. I am out and about every day. My clothes fit loose and easy. I sleep easily and soundly at night.

Find out what's happening in San Anselmo-Fairfaxwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

2) I am way more calm. My stress level is way down. I come and go at a human pace. I don’t over extend. Meetings that are too complicated to get to, I call and offer my regrets. I cannot get anywhere of import in less than half an hour so I am forced (!) to take my time. It’s marvelous what slowing down can do. How much more time there is for reflection and reason instead of speed and reaction. 

3) I am spending much less money. Aside from the fact that I didn’t blow the money on the car repairs, there is the fact that I have had several days where I did not spend one cent! The reason is simple. I am not out being tempted. I am puttering in my yard. I am not nervously stopping to get a treat to reward myself for rushing around miserably in my car. I grocery shop only once a week. Faced with the prospect of carrying a huge amount of groceries on my bike or in my backpack is very unappealing. So, I am learning to make do with much less and I am consuming what is already sitting on my shelves. What a concept!

4) I have the social life I have long dreamed of. People want to give me a lift, take me with them, be in touch. After years and years of devoted public service, I find that many people wanted to be around me, help me out, share their largesse, but I was too busy and inattentive dashing about in my car to notice them. Now all these riches are returning to me. And I think they can return to anyone. We only have to ask. 

Think of this: Yesterday, I took two buses from Fairfax to a reception in Greenbrae. It took less than an hour and I had two lovely rides. It took a minute early in the day to figure out the schedule but I was well rewarded.  The buses were each on time and there only a few minutes between each of them. 

When I got to the reception, I saw there were two or three people there who lived in Fairfax and several who lived near the San Rafael Transit Center. I figured, if none of the Fairfax people could take me, I could get a lift to San Rafael and take a bus to Fairfax.  If the bus to San Anselmo was the only bus close to Fairfax, I could get out at San Anselmo and walk the rest of the way home – it’s hardly more than a mile. I thought: If no one had been there to give me a lift, who cares. The bus comes through Greenbrae in an hour and I haven’t read today’s paper yet! As it happened yesterday a number of people were happy to help. I got to ride home with a retired kindergarten teacher. The stories she told made me wish the trip were longer.

The conversations, the contact, the human interaction that you enjoy when you are outside of the cage of your car, is indescribable. Why are we still attached to these stupid things? I understand they can be useful. But really, how often is that? We’ve clogged our roads, ruined half the nature of the world and made traveling horribly unsafe for children and other living things all so we don’t have to get off our duffs and walk to the post office! It’s ridiculous. We should be ashamed of ourselves. 

Let’s rethink this mess. Let’s take some real responsibility. You can increase the miles per gallon in all the hybrids you like. You’re still driving. You’re still polluting. 

Let’s not “get with the program.” Let’s create a new program. Let’s share cars, and resources and time and support. The only way to do that is to face the facts – we’ve made the world into an insecure mess and there’s not much time to turn it around. Let’s each of us consider our own responsibility and treat this terrible, imminent threat to our planet as a state of emergency. Let’s start now.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from San Anselmo-Fairfax