Weekly green topic: De-car-ing

This week's eco-topic: De-car-ing.

Tell fellow Angelenos you don't own a car, and you'll have them look back at you like you're 1) a strange hippie enviro-weirdo, or 2) really pitifully poor.

Actually, that's not true. I've been carless since the beginning of the year, and my social life hasn't suffered for it. Yet so few people de-car because they're afraid that'll turn them into a social pariah.

Thus, this week's topic. I'll show you how I fight traffic less, enjoy the city more and avoid being designated driver -- all while having fun out and about.

Technically, I still own a car. But it's been on permanent loan since January, when my friend Larry and I worked out a deal. Considering the fact that it's been more than 10 months, maybe I should really think about selling the car permanently.

Update: A roundup of the week's de-car-ing posts here!

Comments

[Michael]

Kudos to you. I've been in LA with out a car for the last four months and I have been amazed at how seamlessly my life has been. My disposable income has skyrocketed, riding the bus to work has given me ample time to catch up on my previously neglected reading, and I could not be happier. My friends may think I'm crazy, but have any of them ever been on LA public transit?

[James]

Hey Siel, Michael,

I just got my Flexcar card in the mail today.

http//:www.flexcar.com

Ths looks like a pretty good deal though it took about 10 working days for them to process my application. I paid them a $35 application fee, give them authorization to check out my driving record, ( it has to be flawless ), bank card #, etc., and suddenly 40 or so vehicles, 30 of which are fuel efficient hybrids are available to me.

I can rent them by the hour or the day. $5 per hour, $50 per day.

There are a lot of rules. I have to be very exact about my usage, get the vehicle back on time, etc., or there are penalties.

I'm going to try it out this weekend.

I think I'm going to like this!

I'l let you know how it goes.

James

[Eco Logi]

I've been without a car SINCE I MOVED TO LA TWO YEARS AGO FROM NYC. Please spread the word that it can be done!

[paula]

As the person who used to take mass transit exclusively and now drives (carpools), PLEASE don't be the loser friend who can't drive. I am the only driver in my group of friends/family and dear Jebus, I want to bash my skull in. I hate being the chauffeur. Please, take mass transit all other times, but keep a car or borrow one every once in a while for the sake of your driving friend's sanity.

[gg]

It's perfectly fine to get around with LA on the bus system - in fact, it does a damn good job considering how sprawled out LA is.

In fact, it does a far better job than the Muni system in SF - just compare how long it takes 38L to get from one side of the city to the other and say the 720 in LA. And there is a far more extensive network of rapids in LA, and they come much more regularly than the buses in SF.

I have a FlexCar account, but I actually still haven't used it as of yet - I keep it for those emergencies, I guess...

[Simon]

Life without a car in L.A. is totally doable. (I went to a meeting in Santa Monica yesterday, and I work in mid-Wilshire and live in Hollywood. It all worked out well.)
Bravo to all who make the leap--it's not such a big deal. Don't forget if you absolutely need a car, that's what taxis are for!
Also, in regard to SF, I went there this weekend and was appalled at how inefficient and UN-user-friendly the MUNI and BART are. They are expansive but totally confusing and did not come that often (either the bus or the train.) And the BART was unbearably hot! Not impressed!

[Dan W.]

"I've been without a car SINCE I MOVED TO LA TWO YEARS AGO FROM NYC. Please spread the word that it can be done!"
----------

I also moved here from NYC two years ago and I also do not have a car. It can be done. If the Westside subway gets built in my lifetime it can be done even better.

[Sameer]

I own a car but almost all of the driving I do in it involves moving it from one side of the street to the other for street cleaning. Living in LA without a car may have been very difficult in the past, before Metro Rail, the Rapid buses, and Metrolink commuter service, but now it is totally doable. Most of my trips are done by bicycle, and anything that requires carrying loads, traveling long distances, or simply takes place in rain or extreme heat can be easily done using the extensive bus system (and occasionally the rails). I wish more people knew that this can be done, and that it is done by normal people all the time.

[Siel]

It sounds like many of you are relying primarily on bus, yes? I walk, bike, bus, Flexcar, carpool, and rent from Enterprise -- so my method's v. patchwork.

Looking forward to hearing more about what your methods are :) We'll talk 'bout Flexcar :)

[Janes]

I'll be making my maiden voyage in a Flexcar tonight.

I reserved a vehicle 24 hrs in advance at their 877 phone #.

Have any of you flexers out there tried doing this on-line? Maybe I'm just dense, but I couldn't find the link for making reservations.

Any advice?

[Dan W.]

I live in Santa Monica. The Blue Bus System out here is stellar. But I also rely heavily on the Rapid 720 and 704. Since I often travel to West Hollywood and Silverlake, the Rapid 704 has been a Godsend.

If the Santa Monica Blvd. alignment (Pink Line) is greenlighted with the Wilshire Blvd. alignment (Purple Line), I will be blissfully happy.

One difficulty is going north/south. The regular and rapid BB3 is great, getting to the Valley is problematic, especially the West Valley. The Rapid 761 terminates at Wilshire. If it went down to Pico/Westwood, more people could connect to it at Santa Monica (Rapid 704 / Local 4 ), Olympic (BBB 5), and Pico (Super and local BB7, Culver City 3, and the future Expo Line).

At some point there needs to be a rail link from LAX, up to UCLA, over the hill and into the Valley up to the Orange Line and Metrolink. Since there are no such plans anywhere on the MTA's radar, it seems the Pink line is needed even more as it will be the primary method of connecting the Valley to the Westside. (The Red Line does a good job of connecting the Valley in a southeast direction towards downtown.

But we don't have to wait for a perfect system to life a car free lifestyle today. It's cheaper for me to rent one a couple of times a year for out of town trips than to own one year round.

[Siel]

Janes -- At the v. top of the flexcar.com homepage, click on the orange button that says login. After logging in, click on "reserve a vehicle."

I've actually never reserved a flexcar via phone, but am glad to hear that works well too :)

[m]

I have pets and pets (especially sick/recently operated upon) are difficult to carry to the vet sometimes. They are not permitted on the metro system. Do you guys know if taxi's, rental cars and the such are ok with pets being in the vehicles?

Pets, lack of flex-car coverage, public transportation that leaves you stranded at certain times of the day/night, lack of a place to store a bike at home, living by myself and not being old enough to rent cars are all reasons why I've had to hold onto my car as much as I would love to rid myself of it and the burdens associated with it.

[James]

M. Flexcar allows pets, but they must be in a pet carrier.

I thought I'd give my review on my first experience Flexcaring.

First, don't expect to get a Flexcar for the $5 per hour that they post on their website.

I live in downtown L.A.

There are about 50 flexcars I could log on and use right now, and none of them rent for $5 per hour.

My only complaint, the deceptive ads.

I needed to get some money to a friend of mine who doesn't manage his money v. well, and lives in Burbank.

I reserved a vehicle for three hrs. since I didn't know how the wildfires were effecting traffic.

I got a Toyota Scion two door.

Cost, $10 per hour. Twice their advertized rate of $5 per hour.

Nice car, clean, peppy, in excellent condition.

I crawled down the 101, in bumper to bumper traffic, from downtown to Burbank, thinking I should have taken the Red Line at 1/10th the cost, and gotten there in half the time.

Lesson learned.

The car was nice. The convenience was nice.

The ad on their web site still bothers me.

I fired off an e-mail complianing about this, and got one back from a marketing person.

Here's a quote, ( I save my e-mails in case anyone tries to sue me ) ;

"There are $5 per hour cars, but they are few and far between."

Now that I have a Flexcar membership, I will use it. I don't know if I would have spent the $35 on a membership, if I had known that they could get away with keeping one $5 per hour car, in the tri state area and be allowed to say that their rates start at $5 per hour.

They do have a better deal, which I might actually be willing to spend more money on.

For $9.95 per month which gives you three hrs of usage inclusive.

But after my experience with the non existant $5 per hour vehicles, I think I want to read the fine print.

[Mark]

I've lived without a car in the past, and although it can be done without too many problems, you do lose some flexibility and freedom. It's just nice to have your own transportation ready and waiting for you to use at any time without having to make an appointment (a la Flexcar).