April Fools Bring May Jewels

Wednesday, April 1, 2015, was a beautiful sunny day. I was on my way to yoga class in my 1986 Ford Escort, and as I was driving along, I started thinking to myself, "I should really be riding my bike to yoga on a day like this!" About two minutes after that thought, I heard a minor popping sound, my engine cut out, and I could no longer accelerate. All attempts to restart the engine failed, and I had no choice but to flip on the hazard lights and go get some help.

Fortunately, I did not have my five-year-old son with me, and I happened to break down right in front of the restaurant that I work at. It couldn't have happened in a more convenient place--it was quick and easy for a couple of the kitchen guys to push my car out of the street and into a legal parking space.

After having a car-savvy friend and a greasy old mobile mechanic (who, ironically, since this was April Fool's Day, uses a joker for his business card logo!) diagnose the problem, it was determined that it was beyond what was reasonable to repair for such an old jalopy. (Timing belt, interference engine, busted valves, say no more.) That Saturday I had my beloved little five-speed, moss-covered wagon towed away by a salvage dealer, who gave me $60 for it. It was a $500 car that I got two years of use out of, with a few minor repairs. Easy come, easy go.

Surely the Universe was trying to tell me something. But now what to do? Getting to work was no problem; I live within walking/biking distance of the restaurant, and my other job, freelance proofreading and editing, I do from home. But I also have a kid who gets transported back and forth between my house and his dad's every couple days, goes to preschool two days per week, plays t-ball and other extra-curricular activities, and is still required by law to ride in a booster seat. That was the challenging part.

I have always had it in the back of my head to be prepared for being car-less. That's why I moved back into the walkable Wallingford neighborhood two and a half years ago. I had even checked the bus schedule to my son's preschool long before my car departed, in preparation for such an event, but was discouraged by the route: four buses and two hours of travel time to get him to and from a two-hour class!

My first thought was to buy a new car. I was approved for a loan from my credit union with a great interest rate, and my boyfriend was really gung ho on the idea. We went out and test drove some cars and both fell in love with a Subaru Legacy wagon that would have been perfect for all our camping and other outdoorsy activities. Unfortunately (or luckily, depending on how you look at it), the car had a rebuilt title, which my loan would not cover. So, back to the drawing board. I continued to scour the internet for used cars and read countless reviews and Carfax reports. The more I read, the more disenchanted I became with the idea of owning a new(er) car. I could certainly afford to purchase one, but the routine maintenance, repair costs, and insurance rates would add tremendously to my monthly expenses.

In the meantime, I looked into the two main car-sharing options available in Seattle--Zipcar** and Car2Go--to see if it would be cost effective to use either of these services, rather than spend two hours riding and waiting for Metro buses twice a week. The answer: it depended on the day and what else I would be doing during preschool time. (See future posts for details on our car-sharing trips.) There are two Zipcars** parked about four blocks from my house, which, so far, have always been available when I needed one. I also discovered that it wasn't that much of a hardship to do the bus thing since preschool is done at the end of the school year. I could live with that, at least for now.

Before I knew it, the entire month had gone by, and I was actually enjoying being car-free. The best day was when I called my insurance company to cancel my policy--so satisfying! I started thinking about how much money I could save by not owning a car--no more insurance, no more gas, no more maintenance or repair expenses--and it was an easy decision to continue life without owning a car.

I finalized my decision on the last day of the month, April 30, 2015, by purchasing a new cell phone. In order to take full advantage of the many transportation alternatives, especially while I am on the go, it was necessary to upgrade my tiny, out-dated phone to one that could support the apps that all of these high-tech services offer and require. I am no longer the last Luddite in Seattle!

So that is how Shifting Gears came about. All I had to do was start shifting my thinking first (with a little nudge from the Universe), and I discovered that being car-free is surprisingly liberating! With a little creative and prior planning, it is possible to get around using a variety of transportation options, even with a five-year-old and his booster seat in tow! I look at each trip as a fun, creative challenge to figure out the best way to get from point A to point B using all of the many modes of travel at my disposal: biking, walking, busing, car sharing, and cabbing.

I hope you will join me on my journey by checking back often or following my blog.  I would love to hear from others who are also using alternative transportation, and I welcome any questions from those that are considering making the shift to a car-free lifestyle!

**Signing up through these links will get you free driving credit!