Car-free in L.A.: girl meets motorboard

L.A. girl Kathryn Pope has a goal for 2008: To get rid of her car entirely by June! After all, her newish motorboard is worth more than her car.... Follow her  de-car-ing adventures in this new series. 

It wasn't until I learned that people were going car-free for environmental reasons that I thought not having a car was even possible in L.A. My car is a teenager-- 13 years old this year. The seat belts are connected to the door. There is no air conditioning, and there is not one cup holder in it. It's old. It's ugly. But it still works.

Every summer (as I brave heatstroke on long, traffic-filled drives without any air conditioning), I promised myself it's the last summer I'll drive it. Each summer, I gazed longingly at passing Mini Coopers with cup holders, air conditioning and those cute little racing stripes on the sides.

Then, this fall, I had a bad string of car luck: My car failed its smog test, I got a ticket because a headlight was out, my battery died, the idle control failed, the radio theft device decided to disable the radio, and a piece of metal fell from the bottom of the car and began to drag on the ground, sparking.

As the car went in and out of the mechanic's garage, I started resenting other things the car made annoying in life, like parking. I didn't like paying for parking, circling blocks for parking spots, trying to remember where I parked, or walking around in those deserted, creepy parking structures at night.

Then once this October, while the car was in the shop, I decided not to let my car interfere with my life anymore, and I took the bus. I read while I traveled. I watched people around me. I looked out the window. And when I got where I was going, I was downright zenned out. That's when I decided to start phasing out the car and phasing in public transit.

I live in Mar Vista and work at Antioch University, in Culver City. The transit system on the route to work isn't so frequent, so, to get to work, I take a Motorboard scooter. To run errands and get around otherwise, I often bus it and, once my car sells (if anyone wants to buy a 13-year-old car), I'll use Flexcar for special occasions like nights out or meetings on the other side of town.

The thing I'm enjoying most about being car-free is how relaxed I've become. It actually feels like a luxury to let someone else drive me from place to place. I feel more a part of the community, because I'm not isolated from it, and I feel considerably lighter.

Got a question for Kathryn? Ask her in the comments.

Comments

[Mike]

I gave up my car three years ago when I racked up over $300 in parking tickets the month I moved into my Santa Monica apartment. I work from home and I rarely even need the bus, but I have to agree about the bliss of public transit (except for the occasional horrifying odors and, at the wrong time of day, dense masses of school kids). I've never been so consistently relaxed in my life.

[Bryan]

Yes! Good for you! I hope it goes well and I sincerely hope rapid transit improves in LA. We sure need it to get better up here in SF, too. Thanks for sharing your experience. Ever since I stopped owning a car (I still use Zipcar), I have freed up so much cash for travelling and going out. It's great.

[Siel]

Mike -- Hey neighbor! I racked up a bunch of parking tix when I moved to SM too -- though not as many as you did.

Since Zipcar and Flexcar merged, I'm now carrying both cards in my wallet -- I wonder if the prices'll be comparable? i was paying $10/hr in Santa Monica (it's cheaper in other areas of LA).

[Ken Weiner]

Congratulations. I live in Del Rey just south of Mar Vista and I went through the same transition about 3 years ago and never looked back. Since I ditched my car, I've saved thousands of dollars, read more books and magazines, had much more exercise, met more people in the neighborhood, and of course decreased the demand for oil ever so slightly.

Like you, I get most places by bus, foot, bike, taxis and Flexcar (now Zipcar). I haven't yet tried a motor board. My only complaint is that the buses on the westside don't run frequently enough, especially at night, and especially the Big Blue Bus #14 that goes up and down Centinela/Bundy.

It is amazing how people around here react when you tell them you take the bus to work. Many people never even knew it was an option. Others think that the bus is full of crazy people (sometimes it is, but that's part of the fun). Anyway, enjoy being car-free and maybe we'll cross paths some day.

[jane]

congratulations, and your decision is a good one, i feel, but why is it that whenever some yuppie goes carfree they get all excited and self-congratulatory about it--to the point of blogging about it and waving red flags at the media--like it's some earth-shattering, novel idea? at the time of the 2003 transit strike, the l.a. mta system was already the nation's third largest and served over 1 million riders daily. so i don't know how anybody could think it's "impossible" to get around l.a. without a car. obviously some people do it.

[Siel]

Ken Weiner -- I have some beef re: the Big Blue Bus too. Basically, it's really tough to get between Culver City and Santa Monica via bus, at any time -- The trip takes me longer than a trip downtown, which is a much longer distance....

Jane -- I'm sure everything you do is an earth-shattering, novel idea -- How dare anyone do anything less?! Your so what attitude is sure to inspire millions to de-car.