Ditch The Car
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday April 26, 2006
I used to love driving when I lived in the US - the thrill of the open road, tunes blasting through the stereo. But with petrol prices hitting record highs, I'm finally comfortable with my decision to forsake the car for public transport.
That doesn't mean I'm always happy to haul groceries on foot or rely on bus timetables rather than my internal clock. But as someone who works in the city and lives not too far away, I question how much I'd use a car if I had one.Since I'm not crazy enough to drive into the CBD and pay high parking fees, I'd still have to buy a weekly bus pass to get to work. So my car would spend the majority of its time in the garage anyway. Add the cost of registration, insurance and repairs and the economics don't make sense.People who live in the outer suburbs often question how anyone can afford to live close to the city, but ditching a car saves at least $50 a week which can be spent on rent or luxuries.As one economist told the Herald last week, when petrol prices rise, people switch from department stores to Kmart and cinema tickets to DVDs. Not me. As a car-free Sydneysider, I'm free to walk over to David Jones or the Cremorne Orpheum without worrying about paying $1.40 or more for a litre for petrol.For all the whingeing we hear, Sydney's public transport system serves a lot of suburbs well. From my neighbourhood in the lower North Shore, it's easy to hop on an express bus to a lovely beach of my choosing. And it's only a 15-minute hop over the bridge to get into the CBD.Sometimes, I'd love a car for a drive up the coast or to the Blue Mountains. And admittedly, I rarely turn down the opportunity for a ride when offered by a friend (and yes, I do offer to pay for tolls and petrol).But then I think back to when I was stuck by the roadside with a cracked radiator, no mobile phone and the trauma of a massive repair bill. Suddenly not having a car doesn't seem so bad.
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald
