Tag Archives: carfree

Speaking of strollers…

For a variety of reasons, Bus Nerd and I are not especially big on baby gear. Most of what we do have we either borrowed from friends or purchased used. So it is particularly ironic that the one piece of baby gear we bought brand, spanking new–and paid a small fortune for, I might add–is the one we almost never use: Chicklet’s car seat.

Like all parents, we wanted our kid’s seat to be safe, and we were concerned about buying a used one. (When an environmentalist tells you it’s not a good idea, it gives you pause.) But here’s the thing: In order to use the seat, which weighs 15 pounds and is big enough for me to fit in, I have to get it–and Chicket–to an actual car. Let’s just say that renting a Zipcar (the nearest one’s a quarter of a mile from our house) without the help of Bus Nerd is less than enjoyable.

Ah, but if I’d done my homework, I would have known that there is a better option. Car-free parents, behold:

A car seat with wheels
A car seat/stroller combo

A car seat with wheels?! Who knew?

I learned about this fabulous invention from fellow TAC member–and fellow parent–Tina, who uses it on those occasions when her family takes a cab to the airport, and when they travel to places where they’ll need a car. Tina says the seat’s not especially comfortable, but, given that Chicklet rides in a car an average of once a month, that’s hardly a deal breaker. Did I mention that both of the brands I researched got high marks in the safety department?

Anyone in the market for a (gently) used Britax?

Another transit paradox: car-free = car-“full”

I have chosen to live without a car for many reasons. Some that are most important to me: cars’ detrimental impact on human health and on both the built and natural environments. And yet, because I am car-free (and therefore require convenient access to transit and useful services), I live at the intersection of two very busy–and not in a good way–streets. Don’t get me wrong, I love living in the city–specifically, this one–and I don’t mind dealing with the associated activity/chaos. I just wish it was a city with more (better) transit, more bikes, more foot traffic, and a lot fewer cars. If the noise isn’t enough of a reminder that my family is contaminated with the exhaust (et cetera) of thousands of SOVs on the daily, the soot that regularly accumulates on our windowsills is.

It’s true that we Chick-Nerds could have a comparable level of access and convenience (with less noise and exhaust) if we lived a block in either direction, but: 1) since busing involves walking–sometimes after dark– it’s safer (especially for Chicklet, when she’s old enough to ride alone) to live as close as possible to stops and streetlights, and 2) I happen to love my home.

Of course, the details of my particular situation aren’t as important as the point I started out trying to make (y’all know how I get sidetracked): that living car-free usually requires one to be surrounded by cars.

And I thought my name was ironic.

Busing (and biking) with baby(ies) in Boston

For those of you who are interested in car-free parenting stories, I highly, highly recommend Car Free with Kids, a blog written by Angela and Dorea Vierling-Claassen, two mathematicians and bike/bus/T chicks who are raising a child (soon to be two!) without a car. In a recent post about surviving car-free babyhood, they almost perfectly described my feelings on the subject.

So if it really is this hard, why do it? Why do the work of navigating pregnancy, babyhood and toddlerhood (perhaps several times) without a car? What, exactly, is the payoff? The payoff is a life in which your entire family is firmly integrated in your local neighborhood and your child isn’t made to sit still, strapped in, as you drive endless mindless miles from one thing to the next. The neighbors you meet as you are out walking or regularly frequenting the local park (because it is so close, and you can’t really drive to the nicer one a little farther away), become the friends that you call when your whole family is throwing up, but you are out of pedialyte and soda crackers. And if you are already a person who loves the freedom and independence of biking and minimal dependence on a car, isn’t that something you want to share with your kid(s)? Life changes when kids come into the picture, but you don’t have to leave what matters to you behind. Better to keep the things you love and are proud of, and include your children, even if it’s a little inconvenient at first.

I couldn’t have said it better–except that I don’t think it’s that hard. Well, maybe sometimes. There are days when I come home and complain to Bus Nerd about particular struggles, which generally involve errands with Chicklet or attempts to visit far-flung friends.* I tend to start my rants by saying something like, “I don’t regret our choice to live this way and don’t want to change it, but … daaaaaaaaaaang!” Nerd usually gives me his “What’s the big deal?” look (sometimes he even says, “So what’s the big deal?”), and I eventually get over it.

From now on, I’ll just check in with Angela and Dorea when I need some encouragement.

* An example: My friend Sundee, a fellow biracial, left-handed, writer, mom, and Good Shepherd member, lives in unincorporated King County, also known as Land of No Buses–or sidewalks, for that matter. I have to rent a Zipcar (which involves reserving the one car that’s within walking distance–assuming it’s available–and then schlepping Chicklet and her car seat the three plus blocks to pick it up) every time I want to visit her, so it doesn’t happen very often. I’m all for sticking with what’s in your neighborhood, but–unlike dry cleaners and video stores–friends aren’t interchangeable.

Ho, ho, ho

In the spirit of the season (and in the spirit of recycling–you know how we bus chicks do), some of my bus-friendly shopping tips, circa 2006:

Tip 1: Buy less. The simplest and most effective way to avoid the hassle of shopping without a car is to stop shopping so doggone much. Your decision to try life as a bus chick means you’re probably interested in conserving — your money, the world’s resources, or both — and spending less time at the mall will surely help you accomplish this.

Tip 2: Use a different kind of highway. If you don’t need a particular item immediately, consider ordering it online. If it’s a gift that has to be shipped, you save two trips: the first, to the store to buy the gift, and the second to the post office to mail it. In cases where you want to see an item before you buy it (or you don’t want to pay shipping costs), you can still use the Internet to research products and prices. That way, when you’re ready to buy, you’ll only have to make one stop.

Tip 3: Concentrate! The bus-based life is not well-suited to the “running around” that has become the norm in our consumer-oriented, car-centric culture. (And who says that’s a bad thing?) Shop in places that have a wide variety of stores concentrated in a small area, so you can take care of several purchases each time you make a trip. I tend to shop downtown, mostly because it’s the concentrated shopping area that is most easily accessible to me. And speaking of downtown…

Tip 4: Shop on your way. The next time you’re in the center of our fair city waiting for a transfer, try using that time to take care of business. When I’m downtown and in need of a particular item, I decide how much time I’ll need, check the schedule of the bus I’m waiting to catch, and then head to the nearest store that has what I need. If I’m not in the market for anything in particular but the wait between buses is especially long, I’ll use the down time “pre-shop” for stuff (greeting cards, vacuum-cleaner bags, printer cartridges — whatever I’m closest to) that I know I’ll need in the future.

Tip 5: Be Flexible. Most of the items people regularly shop for can be easily reached and carried home on the bus. (Note: If it’s big enough to take up a seat of its own, consider traveling during off-peak times.) For those times when you want to purchase an item that is outside the bus’s coverage area or that exceeds your carrying capacity (and the limits of your fellow riders’ patience), rent a Flexcar [er, Zipcar–doesn’t quite go as well with the heading, eh?]. For all you Craig’s Listers and garage salers: They even have pickup trucks.

I’m not that into shopping (OK, I hate it), so this is hardly expert advice, and–given that I try to think about this issue as little as possible–I haven’t come up with many new tips in the last two years. But, here are a few updates:

• If you’re fortunate enough to live in a neighborhood with a variety of shops within walking distance, take advantage of them.
• Follow the advice of the waste-free holiday folks and buy experiences (tickets to concerts, plays, etc.) as gifts; they’re easy to carry home.
• When in doubt, buy the smaller one.

“Mom”ing, bus chick style

Since Bus Nerd and I announced we were expecting a baby, folks have been taking bets on how long it would be before we bought a car. Most are shocked that we are even attempting car-free parenthood and see our choice either as some sort of noble sacrifice or stubborn attempt to prove a point. Either way, they consider raising a child without a car to be difficult and limiting.

So far, we haven’t found it to be so. If anything, busing with Chicklet has expanded our options and freed us from many of the encumbrances of conventional American parenthood. Case in point:

Way back in April, I wrote about my rather calamitous first post-Chicklet ride home from work. If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard any equally insane commuting stories since, it’s because my return to work was short-lived. When Bus Nerd’s parental leave ended in May, I left my job, with the intention of returning to paid work after Chicklet’s first birthday. I’ve spent the past several months bonding with my daughter, making progress on several personal and volunteer projects, and generally enjoying the summer.

I was able to make the choice to leave work temporarily because of our family’s low expenses and high savings rate, both of which we can attribute (at least in part) to our bus-based lifestyle. With annual transportation costs roughly $16,000 lower than the average two-car family’s, we are able direct more of our resources toward what’s important to us.

Thanks to Metro, Chicklet and I got to spend her first summer together. And thanks to Metro (and our neighborhood), we’ve had a great time. Using nothing more than our bus pass, the Ergo, and my two feet, we’ve been to the beach (Did I mention she loves the Water Taxi?), the lake (on Ye Olde 27), the pool, the Market, cookouts and celebrations with family and friends, tons of parks and libraries, and more “storytimes” than I care to admit.

Of the countless benefits of riding the bus, this just might be the sweetest.

Speaking of bus drivers…

Remember Rene, the car-free bus driver from the class I took in February of ’07? Just in case you don’t:

Irony of the day: The class instructor, Jeffrey…included an article about the high cost of car ownership in the class materials. One of the students, Rene, who has been car-free for 15 years, said that his job as a bus driver makes this choice extremely difficult. After all, someone has to get to (or from) the base when the buses aren’t running.

Rene went on to say that, according to his calculations, if he took a $10 cab ride to work every day and rented a car for two months out of the year, the total cost would be less than half the cost of a year of owning the two-year old vehicle he was considering purchasing. “I’m going to try that,” he said. “I’d really like to avoid buying a car if I can.”

Now that’s my kind of driver.

I ran into Rene at Busfather’s retirement party, and I am happy to report that he is still car-free. His solution was to move downtown, where he has easy access to almost unlimited buses, and the base is a straight shot from his place. The increased rent doesn’t come close to matching what it would have cost him to own a car (even before gas cost a grip)–or even the cab-and-rental solution he was considering.

Rene the car-free bus driver

All that and he likes driving the 48? Too bad I don’t get to vote for Operator of the Year.

How to make a great place even greater

Looks like it’s time for some major renovations at the Market:

City politicians hope to ask voters in November 2008 to approve a tax increase for the Market and the Seattle Center. City officials don’t yet have an estimate for the project.

“It’s recognized nationally and internationally as the heart and soul of the city,” Mayor Greg Nickels said Monday. “So it’s time, I think, for another generation to renew that commitment, renovate the physical (infrastructure) that keeps it running and put a new coat of paint on it.”

[…]

The Market also is exploring ways to ease crowding, she said — for example, whether it’s possible to add a sidewalk along the eastern edge of the Market arcade.

Here’s an “option to ease crowding”:

Remove (or severely limit) automobile traffic! The sidewalks along Pike Place are extremely narrow and usually blocked by tourists (not that there’s anything wrong with that) or street performers. I’m sure there are arguments for allowing commercial vehicles on that street, but I can’t think of a single good reason to allow through traffic. Imagine: No of weaving between parked cars or dodging traffic to get to those delectable black Russians at Three Sisters–just a leisurely stroll on a cobblestone street reserved for pedestrians.

Photo credit: Myla Kent

 

Speaking of bus drivers…

Yesterday I attended the first day of a two-week class for bus drivers who are converting from part time to full time. (The part-time class, during which they actually learn to drive a bus, is six-weeks.) It was cool to learn a little bit about how Metro operates from the inside, and it was really cool to spend the day with 24 bus drivers.

What I learned (the condensed version):

• You have to be a part-time driver before you can be a full-time driver. Part-time drivers have set hours and tend to be assigned to the straightforward (and relatively drama free) commuter routes. Full-time drivers get benefits.
• The coordinators (those people the drivers talk to over their radios about reroutes, breakdowns. emergencies, etc.) receive 450,000 calls per year.
• During morning and afternoon rush hours, there are over 1100 buses in operation.
• Bus drivers (and the people who love them) pack a mean lunch: po’ boys and sliced grapefruit and cut veggies and fancy chips…all arranged neatly in a mini Igloo cooler. Those of us spoiled by easy access to restaurants and cafeterias (and who barely managed to throw a pb ‘n j and an apple in a bag) did our best not to be jealous.
• Drivers don’t like the 174, either.

More on all the statistics and stuff later.

Bus driver class
Bus driving, 201

At lunch, I talked to a woman who, after over ten years as a beautician, has decided to make bus driving a career. Her father is a bus driver as well and has been driving buses in Seattle for 32 years. Right now he drives the 8. She showed me his picture, so I’m on the lookout.

I talked to another Seattle OG, Alan Brooks, who told me that one of his passengers on the 255 actually ate a transfer. Something about Alan makes me think he’ll have many equally insane stories for me in the future. Another thing about Alan: His goal as a driver is to educate passengers not to stop a bus that with a sign that says “University District” and ask if it’s going to Federal Way. Good luck on that, my friend.

Irony of the day: The class instructor, Jeffrey (aka, “the man who brought me Busfather“), included an article about the high cost of car ownership in the class materials. One of the students, Rene, who has been car-free for 15 years, said that his job as a bus driver makes this choice extremely difficult. After all, someone has to get to (or from) the base when the buses aren’t running.

Rene went on to say that, according to his calculations, if he took a $10 cab ride to work every day and rented a car for two months out of the year, the total cost would be less than half the cost of a year of owning the two-year old vehicle he was considering purchasing. “I’m going to try that,” he said. “I’d really like to avoid buying a car if I can.”

Now that’s my kind of driver.