thinking about getting rid of my car...
i've been looking for ways to cut down my monthly costs and my ecological footprint lately, and one idea is to get rid of my car. living in a city affords me the possibility of using public transportation exclusively, which would save me money on gas and car insurance, and has much less of an ecological impact. as i think about what it would be like to not have a car, i get a little bit uncomfortable - i won't be able to run out to go shopping any time i want, and when i do go shopping, i'll have to buy less so that i can carry it on the bus with me. i won't be easily mobile - trips will take longer. i'll have to get up earlier in the morning to make it to work on time. basically, i'll lose a lot of the conveniences of having a car.
however, i've done a little bit of research, and seattle has a lot of incentives towards getting rid of a car. one less car is an incentive program in seattle which is connected to flexcar. basically, i can take a month to see what it would be like to not have a car - ride the bus, get rides from friends, etc. if i decide that i want to sell my car, they will give me a credit towards becoming a member of flexcar, which means i can essentially borrow a car, for hours, or days, for cheaper than renting one. the fee covers the cost of gas, insurance, and the car. since i'm going out of town for a week and a half in june, and two weeks in july, i think i'll wait until august to do my trial period - i spose i could technically do it now, but it sort of feels like cheating, and i'd like to get a good feel for not having a car in my daily life.
the really cool thing is that i could not only save a couple hundred dollars a month, but i could reduce my ecological footprint. and those seem like good reasons to stretch myself, move out of what has been comfortable and familiar to me.
however, i've done a little bit of research, and seattle has a lot of incentives towards getting rid of a car. one less car is an incentive program in seattle which is connected to flexcar. basically, i can take a month to see what it would be like to not have a car - ride the bus, get rides from friends, etc. if i decide that i want to sell my car, they will give me a credit towards becoming a member of flexcar, which means i can essentially borrow a car, for hours, or days, for cheaper than renting one. the fee covers the cost of gas, insurance, and the car. since i'm going out of town for a week and a half in june, and two weeks in july, i think i'll wait until august to do my trial period - i spose i could technically do it now, but it sort of feels like cheating, and i'd like to get a good feel for not having a car in my daily life.
the really cool thing is that i could not only save a couple hundred dollars a month, but i could reduce my ecological footprint. and those seem like good reasons to stretch myself, move out of what has been comfortable and familiar to me.
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on Thursday, June 07, 2007 at 10:33 AM.
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