Commodus

Being car-free is not just a transportation choice for most, unfortunately it's a little more complicated than that.

It's really a 'lifestyle'. I chose my career and living arrangement based on a desire for simplicity and comfort, for me that includes having a choice of transportation. I don't like driving cars and I don't like paying for the insurance and gas on my motorbikes, so I live a lifestyle that allows me to ride my bicycle instead. I'm close enough to everything I need, I have various bike for various purposes, and I just pay to have extremely bulky things delivered.

You just have to make choices about what's important to you.

Roody

If an interviewer pressed on the car question, do y'all think this response from an applicant would work?

"It would be irresponsible of me to get a car before I have a job that pays enough for me to afford it. At this stage of my career, I think it's wiser to use other forms of reliable transportation, like cycling and public transit."

kmv2

its ~$50 here in Canada depending on your coverage, then insurance will pay it back if you claim it.

Sorry, forgot you guys were in the 3rd world as far as medical access goes.

is it safe to assume you have at one point had small children and hired a baby sitter while you went out to dinner or a movie with your wife?
Is it safe to assume that maybe it was a neighborhood kid who wasn't old enough to even drive yet?

kmv2

discrimination is discrimination as far as I see it.
That's the same reason why they can't ask you if you're married, or have kids or if you're gay or bisexual or whatever.

Roody

How about you? Have you hired a babysitter from a website or service in this century? Or do you have any other claim to expertise?

Or are you, like most of the rest of us, just spouting off on an Internet forum?

Roody

Unfortunately, the actual laws aren't based on how you see it.

I-Like-To-Bike

Not in the last 25 years have we needed babysitting service and never used a "service" to find one for our 3 children.
And yes I, or the insurance company, have paid the cost of an ambulance service both in Germany and the U.S. Anyone who thinks the cost is in the ballpark of paying for parking a couple of hours ANYWHERE is blowing smoke.

Roody

But if the situation was urgent enough to call for an ambulance, would you want to be driving around looking for a parking space? In less urgent circumstances, the sitter might want to call a cab, or follow whatever instructions were left by the parents.

kmv2

It's like $20+ to park at any hospital in this city. You usually end up paying the day rate because you're there for over a couple of hours.
From the inner city its actually cheaper to take a taxi to the hospital.

$30 premium to have an ambulance with paramedic come to your doorstep is peanuts.

Plus, insurance won't pay for your parking.

kmv2

nope, based on precedents set by past cases. Any lawyers on here that can look up some employment discrimination case law?

cerewa

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. If you want to confirm whether you should file a case, do ask a lawyer.

The answer you seek is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_class

In the USA, if you are not making a claim in regards to membership in a protected class, you generally do not have a case.

I-Like-To-Bike

Of course not, a driver would head right to the hospital emergency entrance and deliver the child to the ER staff who would take the child then and there; then go park the car and walk back to the emergency room.

I-Like-To-Bike

In your method of accounting, if someone's insurance company pays the cost for a service, the cost doesn't exist; and if someone doesn't have the same insurance plan as you, too dang bad. Nor does every health issue that needs prompt care requires an ambulance with paramedic, examples are broken bones, cuts requiring a few stitches, etc.

Obviously time to get to the ER is no factor in your equation at all.

BTW, what is the name of "this city"?

kmv2

Take a taxi.
Ottawa.

I-Like-To-Bike

Perhaps Ottawa is blessed with a taxi service that arrives at any caller's residence no matter what the address within minutes, any time of day or night. That's wonderful, most places that ain't so, and many minutes, if not an hour or so, of frightening waiting time with a very unhappy child can be more likely.

cycleobsidian

Yes of course, this is stating the obvious.

Many posts are about taking kids to hospital. One would assume that if one has made the decision to live car free for one reason or another, that that person would also likely have made arrangements with neighbours of what to do in case of emergency. This problem would not be my primary concern.

My primary concern with children would have much more to do with day to day problems, like getting them to their weekly lessons, after school commitments, or to their friends' homes. While I'm happy to do without a car for my own purposes, such as getting to work and running errands, I think I'd cave in and get one if I had young kids to cart around.

Regarding the OP, it just shows how much not having a car impacts your life at various stages. For the OP, it obviously limits his employment opportunities.

For me, earlier in life, a car was a necessity to be gainfullly employed because of where I lived. Thankfully, I could get rid of my car when I moved to a new city because I live close to work and don't need it for work.

phillybill

How you get to work is your problem.... and yours alone. It should not be an issue unless you are doing some sort of sales out of your car that requires you to cover a large territory.

Ekdog

I agree. The car culture can wreak havoc on family life.

In 2003, there were more than 60 million children under 15 years old in the
United States. This age group (0-14 years) made up 21 percent of the total U.S.
resident population in 2003.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children of every age
from 2 to 14 years old (based on 2001 figures, which are the latest mortality data
currently available from the National Center for Health Statistics).
In 2003, there were a total of 42,643 traffic fatalities in the United States. The 0-14
age group accounted for 5 percent (2,136) of those traffic fatalities. In addition,
children under 15 years old accounted for 4 percent (1,591) of all vehicle occupant
fatalities, 9 percent (253,000) of all the people injured in motor vehicle crashes,
and 8 percent (220,000) of all the vehicle occupants injured in crashes.
In the United States, an average of 6 children 0-14 years old were killed and 694
were injured every day in motor vehicle crashes during 2003.

https://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/809762.pdf

I-Like-To-Bike

Not to some of the LCF ideologues.

cycleobsidian

The question in my mind becomes then, are these children safer when they are walking around as pedestrians? Unfortunately the auto dominated society makes it dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists too.

Cars can wreak havoc on kids whether or not they are in a car or just walking in front of one.

There's lots we have to do in Canada and the US to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists, including lowering the speed limit and increasing driver liability.

Dahon.Steve

Good post.

If the delivery men/women are only doing one trip an hour, they are making much in tip money at all! There are tons of sales jobs like this where they want you to go door to door selling their products. No milage reimbursment either!

Artkansas 

You have to remember that the OP does not live in Canada. It costs much more to get an ambulance in the U.S. 20 years ago, I recall it was over $200.00.

Just doing a random check, I come up with a figure of up to $325 - $800.00

https://www.ci.livonia.mi.us/Departm...ationFees.aspx

Newspaperguy

If the employer has two or more locations, in different communities or in different parts of a large city, the car question makes sense. He or she may need an employee to fill in at another work location on short notice.

If an applicant does not have a car, it is not necessarily going to be a disadvantage. An employer who believes in a car-free applicant may work the schedule and responsibilities for that person. However, for that to happen, the applicant has to be stellar enough to compensate for what some may see as a transportation liability.

gerv 

My last trip was around $600. Hospital was about 1 mile away.

Artkansas 

I used to work at Hughes Aircraft. I worked at the airport site, but sometimes had to take parts to the El Segundo site on the opposite side of LAX. My bosses loved that I rode my bike. I could get parts point to point faster on my bike than someone in a car because they had to deal with enormous packed parking lots on both ends.