Living Car Free - How Often Do You Ride In A Motor Vehicle?

Car free people, how often do you ride in a motor vehicle? By motor vehicle I mean private car, taxi, city bus, Greyhound bus, etc. Please include where you live; ie big metropolitan area, small city, rural, etc.

I live in Riga, Latvia (big city), I own a car and I ride in a motor vehicle about three times a month. This is the summer/winter average.

I live in Frankfurt and ride in a motor vehicle twice a year.

Interesting, I hopped a ride in a motor vehicle at least once a month over the last few months of being car free, I should keep track because it's been like 1-2 times a month I think. And in the winter months I'm looking at renting a car once a month, for those four months.

Los Angeles here. Once a month to let the engine run and change the space on the parking lot. :D

Montreal, Quebec, Canada (big city)

I'd say once a week at least. My gf doesn't rely on the bike for transport and I often get around town with her. Mostly we use busses and the metro, but we do use our share of cabs.

I'm in Sacramento, and ride the bus once a week to an appt. across town that is reachable by bike but to which I don't want to arrive hot and sweaty; this works out well because it gives me a built-in rest day, since I bike everywhere on the other six days.

I occasionally have to take the bus somewhere for work during work, but I still go to and from work by bike.

My daughter who lives with me has a car, but I very rarely ride in it and even more rarely borrow it. I strongly dislike being in cars--even as a passenger--and driving. If I have to go motor for some reason, I actually prefer the bus.

I use a combination of taxis for my elderly mother, buses 2-3 times a week for business, light rail train for some trips, and of course my faithful bikes for almost everthing else.

I live in a midsized city. I drive a couple times a month during my five day visit to my dad 200 miles away. I take the Greyhound bus to get to his house and back home. When home, I ride in a friend's car an average of once a week or less. Taxis are for emergencies only. I take a city bus rarely -- usually only if I'm injured, or my bike is. In very icy weather I usually walk. Sometimes I use a rowboat for a little ride.

I take about 6 motor vehicle trips per week. A couple of them being inter-city bus trips, because on the weekends I stay with my girlfriend who's a 90 minute bus ride away, and on weekdays I stay in Philadelphia for school. The rest are generally for laundry, groceries, or recreational trips, usually half a mile to 3 miles each way. (my 6 trips are counting a trip to the grocery store as 2 trips.) I very rarely drive anywhere alone. But my girlfriend, who owns the car we use, definitely influences me towards car-usage from time to time. However, she's talking about moving to Philly and selling her car, as it would be easier for her to do without a car here.

i try to avoid anything that isn't human powered. i'm not some hardcore environmentalist. i just love the feeling of getting myself from point A to point B. i am in control. i am the power. i am the human 'outside' of the machine... there is no "humanpower" classification... as far as i know. horses are strong... so to receive a horsepower classification... well, you had better be worth your oats!

don't hate a 'newbie', please? i am just new here. i would love to talk about anything bicycle related. i have ridden bikes since i was able to do so, and i have been working in the industry for a fourth of my life. i may not know everything, but i like to know, and i like to learn.

contact me... or whatever.

A couple times a week. I date someone with a car and they prefer to drive. If we go out, he drives us. Also, if I have an appointment I can't ride to or an errand that's farther away, I take public transit.

Actually if you count the train, fairly often. At least once a week but I think on average more than that.

Fairly often, if trains count. For some reason I got addicted to delivering my self and my bike to somewhere out of Vilnius (up to two train hours) and then finding a path home on two wheels. Unlike busses, trains are pretty much bike-friendly here. Should be similar up North in Latvia (as far as I remember, our countries are neighboring).

My driver's license is over 10 years old, I have no idea if it is still valid or it needs to be renewed. I never owned a car, but still happen to become a passenger. Two times a month. Max.

Madison WI, maybe once or twice a month.

Maybe a couple times a month... and, each time, it's a carpool trip!

once a week, to visit a friend who lives further than I can ride easily (for now, I hope to get in better shape over time)

Car free people, how often do you ride in a motor vehicle? By motor vehicle I mean private car, taxi, city bus, Greyhound bus, etc. Please include where you live; ie big metropolitan area, small city, rural, etc.

I live in Riga, Latvia (big city), I own a car and I ride in a motor vehicle about three times a month. This is the summer/winter average.
I live in Toronto. I drive a car usually only once a year, when I borrow a car at Christmas since its the only way to visit both my boyfriend's family in the country and my family in a short time frame. I might take a taxi 3 times a year. Going somewhere via carpool (about 4 people in the car) may be about a once a month occurence. I've probably taken public transit (subway/streetcar/bus) less than 5 times in the last 6 months, I'm more inclined when there's a crappy snowstorm.

197 days(give or take) and I live in the mountains miles from the city. Riding in a car makes me feel sick.

Why in the hell do I keep paying for car insurance?

I live in a city of around 500,000. I take a bus maybe once every three months, and the occasional train ride to Brisbane, but that's about it. The rest of the time I just ride -- over 17,000km so far this year.

I live in a city of 100,000 people. The metro area including the surrounding county is about double that. The downtown and inner neighborhoods are great places for bicycling. The city edges and the surrounding county are nauseating sprawl. I am virtually car free but my family is not. I use use a motor vehicle on average about three or four times a month. That's usually when
1. I have to carry something I can't manage on a bike (borrowed pickup to get stable bedding from a local college for my garden, for example).
2. I carpool with someone from work to go out to lunch.
3. I not feeling well enough to bike to work but not sick enough to stay home so I ride the bus.
4. I go to visit my mom who lives out in the country 60 miles away.

Including the train, probably on average once a week. Without the train I'd say an average of twice a month. I ride the bus or take a taxi a few on rare occasions. I'll be going on a vacation in November using a car for 5 days straight. My wife keeps telling me a I better not bring my bike. We'll see about that. ;)

For about 5 years, I drove 2 hours a day, minimum.

For the past 6 months, I've either worked at my home office or at an office downtown where I can bus faster than I can drive during rush hour.

These days, the car gets out of the garage - maybe once a month? I'm thinking of ditching it but a bit apprehensive...

I'm a car-free wannabe and used my car about once a week to get to the band practice. My car broke down in july and haven't fixed it yet so I used public transport. I even carried my bass and amplifier head on my bike once but I won't anymore because I'm scared of breaking the amp head. During winter, the car is main mode of transportation. Despite living in a large city (Montreal), the office is located at an odd place with no public transport so it's the bike or car and I'm not quite ready to commute by bike all winter.

hi, i live in a very small southern town...maybe 30-40,000 people in the whole county. i ride my bike every day to and from work and errands. i have two cars. one my wife uses to haul our kids, and the other is in a million pieces in my garage suffering from a blown cylinder head. its been that way for ever because i just cannot get up the effort to sinking all that money in parts for that car when i can use it on my bikes. if we ever go anywhere i ride in the car with the family and she drives. so i can say that i have divorced the car since i ride only like once a week or so in one.

I live in Boston, MA (big city). I get into a motor vehicle. maybe once week, usually the bus.

like a lot of people on here, it seems, i rely on the bike for everything and use public transit if it's far or if i'm tired or feeling like crap (hangovers....yeah...), but i'm with someone who prefers a car for most errands, so if we go someplace together, i'll get in the car with her. not often, and i try to avoid the usage of cars altogether, but it seems like a few of us are with evil car drivers! damn them and their habits of fuel consumption and good taste in partners (cyclists)!

I ride the bus/train multiple times per month. If youre only counting cars, it could be from 0-10 round trips if friends take me places. I never ask for rides places though.

Los Angeles here. Once a month to let the engine run and change the space on the parking lot. :D

change the space nice

Two or three times a day... but that's a rack-equipped bus, and I use it only to get over the Pali (climbing a 2000ft hill full of insane drivers twice a day is not my idea of fun). Sometimes other routes -- parts of Honolulu and the surrounds are extremely dangerous for bicyclists due to the utter incompetence of drivers here.

Ride the bus/train 1-2 days a week.

Get a ride out to my parents' place once a week in their motor car...

Greater Seattle, own a car. I drive it to the mountains about once a month or less.

For next year I'm putting together a 26" touring bike with solid axles and a BOB trailer for ski trips to the mountains. It will only take an extra day or two to get to the good snow in the spring/summer North Cascades backcountry.

I have developed an adversion to driving and have a guilty complex about operating a motor vehicle. It blends elements of global inequities, american squalor, trying to live with a small footprint and a hatred of pollution and global demise.

I used to be able to drive alone to take day trips in the mountains, but now find solo trips to recreate in a motor vehicle wasteful.

I used to love old cars too, would spend hours wrenching on the Volvo out in the driveway.

i've been in a car about 4 times in the last 3 months.

although i will be in a car again this weekend because i cant ride my bike 800 miles for a day trip.

anyways, i try to avoid any motor vehical transport whatsoever.

witch makes it seems strange that i have a drivers license

I live in Orange County (where Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm are) and use public transportation when I need to but most of the time I'm riding unless it's raining. Also, my father takes me around town when it's feasible.

I have been living in Philadelphia for a little over a year now. The last time I traveled by bus/car must have been six months ago. It doesn't really make sense to take busses around here. Especially if you live relatively close to center city. In some cases, the bus takes just as long as walking does. I still haven't received my drivers license, and I plan on holding off as long as possible. My bike has made living in this city so much fun.