Commuting - In need of some serious advice

Originally posted by jatkins679
Just so long as you feel you have thought it all through. Bicycle commuting isn't for everyone, no matter how attractive others might paint it.

Would hate to see you decide that bicycle commuting is not for you and then have to try to get your car/insurance back. Dunno how it works up there in AL. But down here in California, once you aren't covered by insurance, it can be difficult/impossible to get it back and if you do, it's often at much higher rates than previously.


Originally posted by quefire
I have commuted a few times already and have seriously thought it through a lot. It's ironic that I was discussing this plan with my sister today and she suggested that I should hold on to my car for 6 months to see if I will like commuting. I will have theft/fire insurance on my car until I do decide to sell it and it's not hard to get it back here in Alberta. You see I am also going to be going back to school for probably 5 years and won't be able to afford a car anyways.
Are you speaking from experience here?

I need any input on this matter from anybody who wants to speak up and give me advice - Of course I don't want anyone to say I told you so.

I am only 24 and maybe someone who is wise beyond my years can help out.


Hopefully someone anyone can help me here???? I don't want to doubt what I am doing.......

Originally posted by quefire
Hopefully someone anyone can help me here???? I don't want to doubt what I am doing.......

I think you're reading a bit too much into what I've suggested.

I don't think you should have any doubts about giving bicycle commuting a go. You will probably like it and chances are that you'll probably stick with it willingly.

But you're also talking about selling your car because you'll be bicycle commuting. That's just a big decision that commits you to bicycle commuting at least until you can buy another car and get insurance and all that if you end up not wanting to do the bike thing anymore, that's all. It isn't a dire situation, just one that could be moderately- to very-inconvenient if it comes down to that.

Just be sure that you want to commit yourself to your bicycle that much before you decide to sell your car. That's just some common-sense advice.

Quefire, I have to agree with jatkins, I also think you should hold onto your car, what happens say that your bike should get stolen or else it get ruined, by let's say an accident, or something, then how do you get around? JMO :beer:

hmm I have been care free for 2 yrs now and have had 2 bikes stolen. It was a big hassle both times cause i had to take a cab or bum a ride or whatever but i got thru so.... its not impossible by any stretch of the imagination.

Of course I am reading too much into it - I am a girl and that's what I do! ;)

Thanks for all your advice though - I really do appreciate it, and have decided to commit to 3 months of commuting before making a decision about selling my car. It eases my mother's mind too!

Crazy Cyclist - If my bike got stolen I could take the bus - cars and bikes aren't the only modes of transportation. Also I have two bikes so I could just ride the other one :)

Thanks for your input!!

Just take weather into it because its not always nice.

I am carfree and have been for all of my 26 years. However, I don't believe this is quite the same as having one and then getting rid of it. The question you need to ask yourself is how much do you use your car right now? As the others have said, hang onto it for the time being. If you find it just sitting there taking up space in a few months time, then think about getting rid of it if that's what you want to do.

And don't always rely on buses. In Brisbane, 50% of all timetabled bus services fail to show up at all.

Originally posted by Chris L
And don't always rely on buses. In Brisbane, 50% of all timetabled bus services fail to show up at all.

Wow, that's an incredibly poor record. How do people tolerate that down there?

I have ridden my bicycles more than driven my car over the last few years. That isn't because I have used the bus instead: I simply refuse to use it here in Silicon Valley anymore because it's such a dog. Yet I can't imagine Valley Transit Authority's record even being THAT poor.

Taking the bus instead of a car/bike sounds like a good plan in many places that have a bus system. But until you've actually had to use the system to get here or there on time, it's all just times and stops printed on a piece of paper. I think most people end up very disappointed in how well their bus system actually runs and how unreliable it really is.

Originally posted by jatkins679
Wow, that's an incredibly poor record. How do people tolerate that down there?

This is only based on my limited experience. It probably isn't really that bad overall, but my point is that it's still pretty unreliable. It isn't really safe to say "oh I can catch the bus" without first making sure the service is a reliable one.

I have more experience with the bus system here on the Gold Coast and it has similar problems. If you're catching a bus anywhere you need to be at a specific time, you have to allow for the possibility that one or more scheduled services won't show up, which means basically allowing an extra hour or so. It can be done, but I, for one, would rather not sacrifice that time.

Originally posted by quefire

I have commuted a few times already and have seriously thought it through a lot. It's ironic that I was discussing this plan with my sister today and she suggested that I should hold on to my car for 6 months to see if I will like commuting. .... You see I am also going to be going back to school for probably 5 years and won't be able to afford a car anyways.....

You have many factors to consider, but the idea of commuting by bike/bus/foot/whatever for 2-3 months before selling the car is wise.

Here are a few factors to consider:

- HAve you commuted by bike in Winter? If not, how long does it take to reach University by bus? Realistic, even on a day by day basis?

- Are you presently a student and if so, are you looking for a Summer job this Summer? If so, it might be wise to know where will be your job before you sell the car.

- Are there car-sharing programmes in your town? Something like http://www.communauto.com where you can "subscribe" to a car and use it once in a while?

- You talked of you mother. Are you living at home? Is it possible to borrow (or even rent) your parent's car on an occasional basis?

- Would one of them be interested to buy your car? Good price?


In terms of market, cars in good shape tend to be attractive in the spring. But many students look for "junk" cars (cheap cars) in September.

Regards,

I tried going without a car here in New England for a few years. Winters of course made it a challenge. When I did go carless, I called my Car Insurance and asked them to "Suspend" my insurance, NOT cancel it. It reduces the payment to almost nothing. I think maybe it just covers vandalism, I forget now. I had even sold the car and still kept the supspended insurance on it for a while. Check with your insurance company to see what your options are for suspending it. When I was carless I did the bike/bus combo allot here, all the public buses have bike racks in front of them. We are lucky here in Rhode Island to have a State Wide bus service, okay, I guess we are that small, LOL. Check with your transit service and/or employer to find out if you can participate in federal programs to help pay for your monthly public transit pass. There is are programs that will pay for your monthly pass!! Sadly, my employer did not want any part of it =( I found with the Winters here in New England that I could not go completely carless, I got a used vehicle that is relatively cheap-to-keep. It stays in the driveway most of the summer. When I am not driving it much, I cancel the collision and comprehensive for a while and save a chunk-o-ching. GOODLUCK!!

If my bike got stolen I could take the bus - cars and bikes aren't the only modes of transportation. Also I have two bikes so I could just ride the other one

i think the things mgagnonlv posted above are what to consider:

mainly:: what happens when you can't or don't want to ride? (sick, too far, bad weather, "nice occaison", etc)
- borrowing from friends or parents (even once a month makes a HUGE difference for that day you're sick or need to go shopping and haul something big)
- car-sharing
- public transit

lastly -- especially for students, you could maybe share a car privately. this can be dangerous as often 1 person uses it a lot and the others little and then the first tries to get the others to pay for all maintenance. 3 friends of mine in grad school shared a car, then added another and had 2 cars for 4 people. it worked out well as they split the insurance and divided repairs based on who drove how much. IF you have friends you trust this can work great! then you have a car IF you really need it, but save a lot! if you do, make up a clear written plan for costs --- mainly what happens in an accident or if there is need for a costly repair, plus how you decide who gets to use it when (think xmas break or thanksgiving)

i personally now live in Munich and have been car free for 2 years and it's great. public transit is excellent and i belong to Car-Sharing (which i've used only once in over 1 year, but it's nice to have the possiblity), so it works great!

i grew up car-dependent (got first car at 16 in Texas), then had a taste of no car at the University and then got a car again and slowly transitioned to limited car use in the US and then to car free here in Germany...

in my transition, first i was in Houston Texas so full car-free is VERY difficult. i bike commuted but kept the car and the only money i saved was gas and reduced insurance as it was listed as "recreational vehicle" b/c i didn't use it as my primary transportation (i.e. to get to work).

in Portland OR, being car-free is more possible and there is a car-sharing group, but i again decided i wouldn't save a lot AND for my vacations a car was still necessary.

other things:::

you said you're probably going back to school, so based on cost and lifestyle, being car-free makes a lot of sense --- at the university you usually don't need a car and have lots of possibilities to get rides if you do go somewhere via car.

-- i think giving it a 1 to 3 month trial with the car still on hand is not a bad idea. bike commuting is wonderful and liberating, but does take an adjustment if you're just used to always having a car at hand. if you can't do it completely w/o a car, look for a way to share a car with someone - family or friends or car-sharing organization

** lastly: in relation to bike theft, in the US at least you can buy a rental insurance policy that will usually cover bikes. reduce the max payout and the deductable (to say $250). i paid $105/yr for a policy like this where if my bike had gotten stolen i would have been out $250 - never happened, so i don't know how generous they are in the settlement, but something to check into.