Thanks to all who have shared their experiences and contributed remarks.
I know in my day my parents never drove me to any activities. I either biked, walked or took a bus everywhere, no matter how far afield the activity was. Today it seems that there are just so many more expectations for our kids.
Starting this fall, my son and I will be riding to his soccer practice. That takes some of our car commuting load off each week. I still can't convince my 16-year-old daughter to try riding to her part-time job. She thinks the cuff straps to keep her pants from getting chain oil on them are "dorky," and she doesn't like the way she looks in shorts. Never mind that riding will eventually make her legs look more shapely. According to her teenage credo, "It's not how you feel, it's how you look," and she wants to look cool, right now -- just like everybody else. Sigh.
As far as dance lessons and Cub Scouts, we're rescheduling them so that they both fall on the same day, thereby keeping the car commuting down to just one day each week. Luckily we have a bit of flexibility in our schedule there. Weekends will still be busy, though, with far afield Scouting activities dominating most of that time. They're fun and worthwhile, so we just bite the bullet.