wahoonc

It is very hard to get past the autocentric thinking.

Depending on the age of the children it could be; A) a learning experience B) an adventure or C) a marriage breaker.

I am an out of the box thinker for the most part. I am always looking at alternative ways of doing things. We travel to Boston from central North Carolina a couple of times a year to visit and enjoy. I have never driven all the way. A car is a major PITA in Boston. We have driven to the local Amtrak station (~20 miles) and taken the train, took about 16 hours. We drive to the small local airport (~20 miles) and take a commuter flight to a larger airport then if the stars align a direct flight to Boston, takes about 6-7 hours total. The other option which is the cheapest discounting car ownership is to drive to a large city airport (~60 miles) and take a direct flight to Boston takes ~4 hours total. Once in Boston it is walking or mass transit 100% of the time.

I use google maps with the different overlays to plan my trips, if they are flaky, and usually are, I look up the local transit websites and see what to do. I realize traveling with children is a whole different game, when I was young we used to take a long bus trip from wherever we happened to be living at the time to my grandparents' farm in NW Iowa. IIRC the closest we could get was ~25 miles, then someone had to come and get us. But even at that young age it opened my eyes to alternate transportation, I spent most of my jr high and sr high years on a bicycle, bought my first car right out of high school, that lasted about 2 years then went back to the bicycle for the next 6 years.

The more you can expose your children to alternate forms of transport the better off they will be. My son lives car free in Boston and has no intentions of ever buying one. My daughter lives extremely car light in Keene, NH, just came off of a 3 year span with no car. She will sell the one she has as soon as she determines that it is not needed. He won't live in any small towns, she won't live in any large towns...go figure.


Aaron

Roody

The biggest upside is that you're not paying a lot of money to own a car all year that you only "need" for a few days of the year. Statistically, bus travel is MUCH safer than driving (but avoid some of the cut-rate unregulated "Chinatown" buses.) The bus can be very relaxing, and the train even more so.

Also, on balance, I'm not convinced that taking the bus is more of a hassle. The points you make are valid, but you should weigh in the inconveniences of the car. Mainly, somebody has to drive the car, which can be a hassle--especially in NJ traffic and in bad weather. Also, you have the stress of the possibility that the car could break down out on the highway somewhere. (Yes, the bus could break down also, but this doesn't happen often, and if it does, it's not any added responsibility or expense for you.)

You know, the bus might not be a perfect solution for you and your family. But it just might be the best option youhave available to you. I think a better solution would be to co-own a car with a couple other families. But that can pose its ownh difficulties.

chandltp

I think I'm gonna run it by her to see if we can't try a trip that way this summer.. via train or bus.

Zaneluke

yup we work in different directions and different times.
She drives 15 miles one way I go 8 the other. I work 0500-1500 and she works 0800-1700.

As a side note my 17 y/o son was car free when he had a job working 5 days a week. He walked a mile to the bus transfer station, took the bus to the subway station to go 4 stops up the line. Took him about an hour on a good day, 90 minutes when he missed his bus. Bus was easy with a pass for the whole month running $40.00. The subway was 6 bucks a day. $160.00 a month to take public transportation to and from work.

Roody

What a rip-off! Here a monthly bus pass costs only $18 for students, or $54 for an entire semester..

Did your son ever think about riding his bike to work?

Artkansas 

So did he walk the whole way when he missed his bus? If so, then it appears it was about a 4 1/2 mile trip, which would have been an ideal bicycling distance.

Zaneluke

Dc Metro area is not too safe for a 17 y/o to ride 18 miles to work.
Bus stop is only a mile away and if he misses it another comes along in 30 minutes.

gerv 

That is pretty sad. People should complain about this. Why are the streets so unsafe?

I head people say the same thing all the time. Yet they never come to the conclusion that this is an outrage.

Roody

You're right--people should be outraged. If your streets are unsafe, you're pretty much forced to either move or keep on driving a car you don't particularly like. People shouldn't be put in that position, and they shouldn't just accept it graciously: "Oh that's just the way it is--streets are for the convienience of motorists, not for the safety of cyclists and pedestrians."

Zaneluke

Plenty of bike lanes and bike paths. It is the population here that is bike unfriendly , and it will never change. People here are outright hostile to runner and bikers. Every time I run or bike I almost get waxed.

People in the DC area are the meanest people I have ever encountered.

Newspaperguy

Zaneluke, you raise a good point. The way motorists treat cyclists can vary widely from one community to the next. That can't be changed with bike lanes and cycle-friendly infrastructure.

dynodonn 

Ain't that the truth, our neighboring community, a few miles away, is what I would consider a cyclist paradise when it comes to motorist cooperation and cycling infrastructure. Sometimes I am amused to read some of the comments on what that community considers extremely dangerous cycling infrastructure, and I can see that many of the locals there have not ridden our "sanctioned" cycling infrastructure or dealt with our motorists.

Roody

Yes it can. If all traffic moves more smoothly, there will be less "friction" between road users. If you get more people on bikes, there will also be fewer cars causing congestion.

With gas prices going sky-high, this is a golden moment for bicycle advocacy. It's a good time to persuade motorists to either join us, or at least realize that we don't pose a threat to their precious cars.

Newspaperguy

I live in a place where cycling is great. We have few bike lanes and bike paths, but almost all the motorists are respectful of cyclists. We also have people on the highway training for the Ironman Canada triathlon, especially in the warmer months.

That said, I remember someone with an anti-bike rant in fall. The guy talked about how he hates cyclists and how he enjoys running us off the road. This had nothing to do with congestion or traffic flow and everything to do with a negative attitude. Even if we were to get the best cycling infrastructure in the world, this guy and others like him would continue to gripe. Where I live, his views are a bit extreme, but there are other parts of the country where he would be considered a lot more mainstream. There are places where bikes are still seen as toys for little children or as part of a socialist or hippie lifestyle rather than practical transportation for adults.

gerv 

When you run into these types, you need to bring up the argument that a cyclist heading to work frees up a good bit of space on the street that can be used by cars. Get enough bikes and motor traffic is greatly reduced.... and enabled! Your griping anti-cyclist can get to work quicker.

Isn't this a win-win?

Some people just enjoy complaining though...

wahoonc

Some people are not going to listen to reason, regardless of how reasonable the argument is... I have some teetotalers on my wife's side of the family, that is religion driven, they will not frequent any restaurant that serves alcohol, period. While I admire their convictions I wonder how they manage to grocery shop...

Aaron

dynodonn 

It's like arguing with a drunk, and I'd rather talk about the weather.

Artkansas 

You can also extol how you are helping to keep the price of gasoline down, keep our air and water cleaner, and fight obesity.

But, that's trying to win an emotional argument logically. All they see is that you slowed them down, caused them to have pull over, forced them to check their mirror and deal with the car on the other side of them and interrupted their texting and/or phone call. Did I mention that their coffee got colder?

Artkansas 

Good point. There has recently been a pronounced upturn in how frequently, when I am parking and locking my bike, that someone comments about how much money I am saving by riding my bike.

enigmaT120

People like that make my knuckles itch. It's difficult for me to not go right down to their level. I try to avoid them.

Suburban

You know, before I really thought about riding, I don't ever remember being annoyed my cyclists. It's like going around a parked car on a narrow road. I didn't stop and think about it. It's not my road.

I had no idea there was such much anti-cyclist sentiment.

tornado60

My list

Bicycle
Microwave
Computer
High speed Internet/Cable
Cell Phone
Car No transit where I live. You may not drive but you will transport yourself.
Clothes Dryer Do Not Need Hang them to dry, or laundramat
Air Conditioning Do Not Need Never had it.
Dishwasher Do Not Need Never had it.
Flat Screen TV Do Not Need Can watch TV on my Computer
Landline Do Not Need.

Suburban

Cellphone I don't use a lot, but it's my main phone and main point of communication.
Computer banking, work, researching etc...
High speed internet
Bicycle, could take the bus or a taxi.
Car Sometimes, that's why we car share.
Clothes Dryer, I hang to dry when it's nice out, but I use the dryer all winter. I don't want to hang to dry indoors.
Air Conditioning We don't put on very often in the summer, can't say that we strictly need it.
Dishwasher came with the house. Handwash as often as I use the dishwasher. I'm not convinced it's saving me time.
Flat Screen TV We have but don't need.
Microwave. We have one. I don't need it. I rarely use it.
Landline Don't have one.

dingster1

Totally agree with Zaneluke!

gerv 

I don't think there's that much. But they tend to be pretty vocal, especially when they are in their Ford F-250s and drafting on your wheel.