One month ago, we made a family decision to downsize to one vehicle. We took inventory of our needs and our expenses, and it made sense to get rid of one car. I am glad to be free of life’s most inconvenient convenience.

We’re not disadvantaged with the lack of one car due to our circumstances. One parent stays at home with the baby and home-schools the older child. I’ve learned how to use public transit and I ride my bike whenever I can.

The prevailing attitude in South Florida is that a car is a necessity. The lack of a car would be a hindrance. I have not felt that hindrance. Did I miss the meeting? Did I not get that email? I’m supposed to feel stuck! Why has an overwhelming sense of liberation come over me?

• I’m not a believer in multi-tasking, but this is as close as it gets. I’m getting recreation, exercise, and transportation at the same time.
• Riding the bus gives me opportunities unavailable to me if I’m driving. Try reading or watching a video podcast while driving. Oh wait, this is South Florida. I wouldn’t be surprised if people did just that.
• Riding the bus insulates me from the bad drivers. Everyone thinks the drivers in their city are the worst. South Florida drivers really are among the worst in the nation.
• Riding my bike is a much more intimate interaction with the aforementioned bad drivers. I choose my bike routes accordingly. I’ve discovered some great scenery because I’ve had to find alternates to major thoroughfares.
• I eliminated $600 of monthly expenditures.

My current work situation allows me to carpool with a friend of mine. Beer is cheaper than gas now, so I buy him a 12-pack once a week, and I even get to drink 2 or 3 of them.

Sarah Palin is keeping all you fact checkers very busy, so I’m going to save you some time. A 12-pack of Heineken works out to be about $9.70/gallon. Okay, so in Europe, I’d be right. However, the amount of gas I’d burn in one week commuting costs significantly more than the beer used to fuel our friendship.

The point is, (I find myself saying this a LOT to the resident teenager) there are alternatives to the automobile. My bitter and contested divorce from conventional wisdom has allowed me to explore the options I am currently using.

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Public transit provides relief from high gas prices. It also gives mom and dad’s taxi service a break. I’ve always lobbied for Au-Teen to learn how to ride the bus, and now he’s on board.

The usual response was a look of indifference. This is the default smokescreen for adolescent insecurities. What he doesn’t understand is, I’m not here to exploit the insecurities for a cheap ego boost. My goal is to help him overcome them. He doesn’t always like my methods. Depending on the circumstances, I have R. Lee Ermey, Wayne Dyer, Mr. Miyagi, or any combination of the 3 rain down on his ass.

Learning how to read the route map and timetables would address some developmental needs. An understanding of time is one of those needs. I thought I had the perfect package to wrap this lesson in.

Read the rest of this entry »

The last time I filled up my tank was April 15th. It was so long ago, I had to dig in my bank statement to find out. I spent $37.02. That tank of gas would cost me $43 $45 today. That’s why I have been riding my bike and using public transit.

I admit, my results are skewed. I was without the full-time employment portion of my income strategy for 2 weeks. My current gig gets me out the door at a reasonable hour and guarantees that I can leave work promptly at the “official” end of office hours.

I’m pretty handy with the most of the Adobe Creative Suite (hint hint hint to anyone looking for freelance graphic designers). PDFs of the bus timetables and maps can be easily sliced up, organized in iPhoto, and imported to my iPod. An essential piece of public transit warrior gear can become even more useful.

Reducing one’s reliance on an expensive resource is always a smart move. Commuting by car would represent a monthly fuel cost of $64. That’s not inclusive of the total cost of driving or the personal driving that I do. I am clearly coming out ahead by riding the bus. Reducing my gas consumption to 1 tank of gas per month is a realistic goal. Taking the bus to work costs me $40/month.

Driving less also translates into higher resale or trade-in value on my car when it’s time to phase it out.

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UPDATE 29 April 2008: After some reflection, Renee and I realized one car sat in the driveway for 2 days, and another is almost through day 4. Last night, I went to the post office, picked up some small items at Walgreens, and did some grocery shopping all on the bike.

I started this series on Earth Day last week. This is installment #2 of “Crunchy on the Inside With a Soft Suburban Outer Coating.”

Your Navigator on a Suburban Expedition

Living in the suburbs almost requires a car. Public transit spread thinner and eventually disappears as you venture further from the downtown area. This is painfully obvious in South Florida. The infrastructure was built without public transit in mind. However, I do my best to use public transit and ride my bicycle whenever I can. Two bus lines stop within a short walk from my front door. Others are accessible via transfer, a longer walk or bike ride.

Fortunately, we live in a neighborhood where a few local stores and restaurants are within walking distance. Even more businesses are within biking distance. I feel the guilt when I drive to places I could walk or bike to.

One of my top criteria for an automobile is fuel economy. I wanted a hybrid, but I just didn’t have the budget for one. If you do the math, the savings aren’t significant. You won’t recoup the difference in price at the pump over the life of the vehicle, even as prices go up.

You can’t win. The hybrid will get you halfway from New York to Boston before a Hummer gets you around the block. A conventional car may burn more fuel, but what happens to the toxic chemicals in the batteries when these cars make it to the junk yard?

Some people have a legitimate need for a large automobile. What grosses me out are the people who drive SUVs and full-sized pickup trucks as status symbols. Their sheer size requires more resources to build, maintain, and outfit with humongous tires. Ever notice that no one in a full size pickup truck drives like an old lady? How badly do you need to beat me to the red light? Do you really need to get there first? Bad driving habits burn even more fuel.

Improving Fuel Economy

Is this still linkbait or is the topic played out? Gas prices show no signs of returning to sane levels. Just do a Google search and you’ll find tons of great tips. My number one tip is to just drive less. Every day I take the bus is one more day I can put off filling up the tank.

Mike at FromMike.com is doing the “60 MPH challenge.” As you increase speed, your fuel economy goes down. At speeds in excess of 60 MPH, it drops off precipitously. I commend Mike for his efforts. It can’t be easy in a car like his. If I had a Dodge Charger, I’d be tempted to be heavy on the foot too

We’re Still Not All That Crunchy

How are we “not quite crunchy” in the car department? One of our vehicles is a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport. Yes, it’s a big honkin’ SUV. I was surprised to find out how well it does considering the size of the vehicle. We’re averaging about 18-20mpg overall. Our other car (a Pontiac Vibe) does noticeably better at 25-28mpg overall. We do a great deal of suburban driving. On our recent roadtrip to Daytona Beach, we fared much better.

We all know that idling the engine burns fuel. South Florida is a brutal place to live if you don’t have air conditioning. If we’re running errands on the go, one parent and the baby stay in the car with the engine running. Why go through the ordeal of unbuckling the baby from the child seat only to strap her back in 5 minutes later?

Further Reading

• Riding My Bike To Save Money
• My Experience With Public Transit in South Florida
• Buying a New Car to Save on Gas Mileage - Frugal Dad
• How to Improve Your Fuel Economy: 23 Top Tips for Better Gas Mileage - Get Rich Slowly
  

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I get up at seven, yeah
And I go to work at nine
I got no time for livin’
Yes, I’m workin’ all the time It seems to me
I could live my life
A lot better than I think I am
I guess that’s why they call me
They call me the working man

-Rush “Working Man”

I have received an overwhelming show of support in my new venture as a 9-5 dad (actually an 8-5 dad). Thank you all!
The “50-50-50 Plan” has caused a stir. I will definitely be fleshing that concept out more and writing about it soon. In theory, it’s brilliant. In practice, one of the “50’s” has expanded. Unfortunately, it’s not the 50 I want to see expand.

I’ve elected to use public transit for my commute. There are many great reasons to do so. Frugal Dad is tossing around the idea of riding his bike to work to save money and lose weight. The buses here have bike racks, so I do a combination of both. 12 miles each way is a little ambitious in my current state of fitness.
Unlike the hero in the tale penned by a trio of Canadian rockers, I don’t get up at 7. It’s more like 5:15. The bus comes at 6:40. Hence, the expansion of one of the “50’s.” Fortunately, that time is spent catching up with my favorite bloggers, reading a good old fashioned book, or taking a cat nap. Try those activities while driving!

I haven’t ruled out driving to work a couple days a week. I win back some time, but I can’t double dip.

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