I didn’t know until a very short while ago that today is World Carfree Day.
We’re all supposed to be ditching our cars today in favour of public transport, walking or cycling.
I guess I’ve done my bit by cycling to work as I usually do.
The organisers are very keen for people to get out of their cars not just for the day but forever. I must say that while I love cycling and truly believe that we could use our cars a lot less, I’m not convinced that abandoning all cars is the answer. I think it’s like so many things, we need to find some kind of balance.
I agree that we rely way too much on cars and that a lot of trips would be better suited to walking, cycling or public transport, but cars can make our lives easier if we use them correctly.
I was interested to read some of the information on the World Carfree Network website about the amount of time the average American male pours into his vehicle.
The typical American male devotes more than 1,600 hours a year to his car. He sits in it while it goes and while it stands idling. He parks it and searches for it. He earns the money to put down on it and to meet the monthly installments. He works to pay for petrol, tolls, insurance, taxes and tickets. He spends four of his sixteen waking hours on the road or gathering resources for it. And this figure does not take account of the time consumed by other activities dictated by transport: time spent in hospitals, traffic courts and garages: time spent watching automobile commercials or attending consumer education meetings to improve quality of the next buy. The model American puts in 1,600 hours to get 7,500 miles: less than five miles an hour.
Do you find that you’ve become a slave to your car? Do you use other methods of transport when it makes more sense or do you just jump in your car every time?
As for me, I’m happy to stay healthier, reduce pollution, save money, feel more energised and enjoy my daily commute more by staying on my bike.
Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading World Carfree Day? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.
When Rebecca and I were looking for a house (just before we were married), we made the choice to move into a place that was walking distance to the train station, with the expectation that we could survive with one car. It’s been a really positive move for us – and while there can be a bit of extra hassle with needing to co-ordinate with one another at times, it has been a great move financially as well as environmentally for us to survive with only one vehicle.
We’re a one car family too. There are times that it would be nice to have an extra car but those times are so few and far between that we certainly wouldn’t want all the extra expense of buying another car then paying for registration, insurance, maintenance and all that goes along with it.
It would take me 1 1/2 hours to get the 40 km to work by bus. 30 minutes by car. So, it´s outta question.
For anything else I take the push-bike (well, ok, I take the car, too, to get to my family some 100 km away ;-)…)
I think it´s really sad there is no proper way to take public transport – heaps and heaps of people from my town come to get to work where I am.
My customer Volkswagen just is a big one. Well. And sure he wants you to come in a car …