Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Just out of curiosity, how many of you PPKers don't have cars? What reasons do you have behind not having one? Is it easy or difficult for you to get around? Are you thinking about getting a car soon?

I haven't had a car since 1998 and haven't driven at all since 2002 (and only extremely rarely between '99 and 2002). It's generally been easy for me to get around though because I've mostly lived in nyc and sf. Living in LA sucked though. Fortunately I was only there for a few months. Also, visiting my family in Dallas sucks.

I don't have a car because I haven't needed one and it would have been stupid to have one in nyc. Now I'm used to it but I'm thinking I might get a zipcar account since there are so many pretty spots in northern california that you can only easily get to by car.

I've used Zipcar a lot, especially during my recent move and for a drive up to Point Reyes. They are great! So great. So clean. And the gas/bridge tolls are free.

I don't have a car either. I've never had one and I can't afford or justify one right now. I get around pretty well between walking and the bus. The only time it has been an issue is when I'm tight on time and don't have a quick way other than a cab to get somewhere, or day trips where a car would be useful instead of bumming rides. Once I'm old enough to rent a car without massive fees (c'mon 25!), that problem will be solved. I like having the extra money each month that I'm not spending on parking, insurance, and car payments. And it is better for me and the environment to not have one. I had a bike for a while which was really helpful, but it got stolen. When it is spring time I will get another used bike...

I probably won't get a car until I absolutely 'need' one...for example, if I move to the suburbs and work in the city in a few years

I don't have a car. I live in the city, and I have never needed one. It's been long time since I've driven anywhere.

I tapered off my car usage about 3 years ago and gave my car away two years ago. Living in major cities makes getting around easy, and Zipcar fills the holes nicely.

At least that's what I thought before moving back to San Francisco, where I have become dependent upon MUNI's light rail system to get to work. Holy mother of Christ. I can't believe how unreliable and over-crowded those trains have become. I have called a few cabs when MUNI had failed me, and found that about 60% of them never show up. (I also discovered that if you call a second cab company after the first one blows you off, your phone number or address will get blacklisted from most major cab companies for an arbitrary period of time.)

So San Francisco might make me get a car again. But I still don't think it's worth: emitting carbon; burning fossil fuel; looking for parking; getting parking tickets; paying for vandalism; paying for maintenance; interacting with DMV.

(I'd consider a bike but I'm not into group activities with strangers.)

Car-free is pretty weighty, as it really depends on where you are. Us urban dwellers have it far easier.

I'm technically not car-free, as I still OWN a car, but it's in my dad's garage waiting for someone to buy it and it is not registered or insured.

Anyways, I find it to be easy, though sometimes I wish I had something (maybe a Vespa or something) like tonight when I'm supposed to go visit my friends in Quincy and without a car, it's over an hour each way and that is just UUUNNNNGGGGHHHH.

I had to get used to doing LOTS of little grocery shopping trips instead of stocking up on a ton of things rarely, because I can no longer carry four half gallon cartons, plus bread and yogurt and tons of tofu and so on and so forth, because everything has to fit in my messenger bag.

I bike, and I don't think I could be car-free if I didn't bike. In the month of October (including a projection based on my planned trips for the rest of the month), I will have spent $7 on public transit because I bike instead. If I were dependent on public transit, I think I'd go insane.

I have ZipCar also for when I want to go places that I can't get to otherwise, but for the most part, I've just changed my lifestyle to not include car trips or to always carpool, and I haven't found life to be all that lacking.

Although after this week, I'd really like to just go buy a couple cases of wine at Trader Joe's. I don't think my back would appreciate that, though, haha.

I don't have a car but it's just because I never learned how to drive, since I grew up in a place where you didn't need to, and then since then I've been lazy. Now I'm just used to never having driven anywhere, but I'm not anti-car or anything. I would like to get my license so that I can drive if I want to.

I don't have a car because I never learnt to drive and I cannot afford to right now. I just get around by walking, getting the bus/train or being that annoying friend, but it isn't too much bother. I will probably learn to drive in the new year, though.

I don't have a car as I've not yet been able to afford one, plus I live on a main bus route in a city that's well served by public transport and has good connections to the rest of the country. There's a middle-sized airport only a bus ride away too.

Having said that, I am considering saving for a small car. Its tough carting guitar amplifiers around on buses sometimes.

I am car-free, er, to be fair, car-lite since the Mister has one for commuting. But if I need to get anywhere, do errands, or whatnot, I am on my bike. I don't miss having to pay for insurance, upkeep and all that jazz for something I didn't use all that much. Selling my truck four years ago was the best thing I did.

I don't have a car because I'm terrified of driving. Life would probably be easier, the bus system in St.John's isn't great but I'm used to it now. I get a ride whenever I can though.

I don't have a car because I can't drive. I did have lessons, many years ago, because I was nagged into them by my family. I loathed driving, I never felt safe. I manage pretty well with walking and public transport. That said, I live in an urban area, it would probably be very different if I lived in the country.

I don't drive.
I never got a license.
Every now and then, it peas me off that I have to lug bags of cat litter or food or heavy bulk items home, but whatever.
And not to sound like an ad, but with google maps on my smartphone, I've found travelling via bus/transit so easy in other cities!

I will also add that A LOT of people I know who have cars yet talk about selling them/riding their bike/taking the bus drive their cars, A LOT.

i dont drive because i was in a car accident almost 6 years ago. it bothered me too much. it happened a few months after i first got my license. the injuries dont bother me anymore, but i still cant get over it mentally. it was such a haunting experience and i think driving died for me that day.

I can't drive, I took lessons once but found it way too terrifying. I couldn't afford/justify having a car anyway. Every so often it would be awesome to be able to drive as I wouldn't have to walk 20 mins back from the supermarket/would be able to go on random daytrips or holidays/could get some furniture for my flat/could avoid the scary awful people who ride the bus... but yeah, even if I could drive it wouldn't be feasible to actually own a car.

i never learned how to drive. i bum rides from friends or walk. i don't have a bike right now.

I never learned how to drive.

I did not have a car or drive until about a year ago.
I got around fine.
I have a car now and rarely use it, but I do find it convenient when its raining and/or I want to go visit family or friends that live farther away.

I don't drive. I've driven a car twice in my life, and that doesn't look likely to change anytime soon - driving scares me, I hate it for environmental reasons, and I really can't afford to buy and maintain a car right now.
I live in a pretty crepe city for public transport. It's built around cars, essentially. There are a series of joke bumper stickers out there that say "Perth: a city for cars". So sometimes it can be a pain to get around. There are certain places that I can't get to at all without a lift. I try to get everywhere I can on public transport, and occasionally catch a ride with a friend. I have an on-again, off-again relationship with my bike, and I'm trying to ride it more often, because it does make things like visiting friends in the next suburb much easier (rather than wait for the hourly bus that stops running at 9pm, I can just ride there and back, getting fitter in the process!)
Because I work in community arts, I'm assuming that if I ever want to do my own stuff outside of the group I work with now, I'll have to get a license and a van, most probably. Or else I'll just move to a city with better public transport and get a nanna-trolley.

This. Someday maybe I'll learn, but it all seems like a huge hassle to me.

I haven't had a car in about 4 years. My husband has one which I rarely use. We used to live in the city of Philadelphia so there was no real reason for one (neither of us had one for a time). But he needed one for school and now work but I used to just take the train to work so I never got one. However, now we're living in the suburbs and getting to school via public transport takes forever, so I might actually get one...

I don't usually need one. I get buy most of the time with walking and public transport.

It's far too expensive to justify me having one, plus I think it's a least more environmentally friendly not to anyway.

I'm car free. It's pretty easy to get around sf on bike and I take muni when I have to. It's a bit harder to get to work. I work in fremont so take bart, then I ride my bike, but if there's a problem and I have to take the bus it makes an already hour plus commute even longer. The bus service in fremont is really sparse - today it took 40 minutes to get from my work to the bart station. I make it there in less than 20 minutes on my bike.

Ohhh, I don't drive. I keep taking the test over and over again, but I'm all 'this is hard!!!'

:D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciIGcFeOy9c