Life Without a Vehicle

As I explained in my original post, this blog is about my experiences of living without a vehicle. When I embarked on this phase of my life, I had some pre-conceived notions of what it would be like, but I truly did not know for sure if it would be possible. I had some doubts, and so did some of my friends and family. Nobody lives in Upstate New York without a car, that's just crazy talk. I was sure there would be some hassles or inconveniences along the way, but I thought I could make it work well enough. What I wasn't expecting it to be was a bit of a life-changing experience.

So, where to start? Well, in the first place, I looked deliberately for a place to relocate that would be amenable to this lifestyle. Since I covered some of these reasons in my original post and plan to elaborate on that more in future posts, I won't belabor the point here. The place I chose to live is the Stockade neighborhood of Schenectady. Everything I needed to live my life I found located within a half mile. There is a concept in the new urbanism that deals with the "walkability" of a place, and there is even a way to compute a "walkability score." While I only sort of computed this on paper at the time because I knew of the concept, there is a cool web site now that lets you find the walk score for your address. The score for my location, according to this web site is "78 - Very Walkable. Most errands can be accomplished on foot." That seems a little low to me; I have seen realty web sites score it as high as 89. My guess here is that they are taking away points because there is no big grocery store within walking distance. (Perhaps they did not read my previous post about Food Shopping in Schenectady?). At any rate, I would probably give it a 90, which is "Walker's Paradise." But that's just my opinion.

People touring historic properties during the Stockade Walkabout. (c)2013, Richard Vang.

The advantages of walking are pretty obvious. First and foremost are the health benefits. Walking 20 minutes a day at a decent pace can do great things for your body as a regular form of exercise. Granted, the pace gets slowed down in the winter time, but I think at times is more rigorous because you are often jumping over ice slicks or snow banks to get to the sidewalk. In any case, I don't think anyone would argue that walking and getting fresh air is good for you. If you are concerned about the environment and carbon in the atmosphere, it's one less car off the road burning fossil fuel. (One estimate I found is 8,320 pounds of CO2 per vehicle per year.) If you are concerned about traffic congestion, and let's face it, many, many people commute each day with only themselves in the car, then walking and using public transportation helps alleviate that as well. But while these are the obvious benefits, there are more personal ones as well.

The main thing I have realized from this life without a car is its effect on my stress level and peace of mind. When I lived in the Helderbergs and commuted by car every day to work in Latham, it could at times take almost an hour to get there, if there was a some accident or particularly heavy traffic (such as track season in Saratoga). I would arrive to work stressed out and angry from the commute, and late a couple times a week as well. Now, with a brisk walk to the bus stop and a half-hour ride, followed by another 5-minute brisk walk from the stop to work, I am relaxed and almost always on time (yes, accidents still do happen). There is no decompression necessary before I am focused enough to work, or when I get home either. Decompression takes place on the bus ride. Overall, I am much more relaxed and much happier on a regular basis.

Perhaps this is a good time to talk about the bus, which in my case is the Capital District Transportation Authority system, because it is a big factor in this transformation. CDTA often takes a beating in the press, or at least in the public's perception of public transit. Most people think that only crazy or poor people ride the bus, that it's always dirty, crowded, or for the most part just an unpleasant experience. I have found that this couldn't be further from the truth, and in fact, my experience with CDTA is one of the most pleasant surprises of this whole experience. Besides my feet, CDTA is my primary method of transportation, and now I don't think I could ever again live in a place that did not have quality public transportation.

Another public perception is that you can't get anywhere on the bus. Perhaps it is not convenient for everyone, but someone is using it to get around, because the Albany Times-Union recently reported that CDTA set another record with 17 million riders in the past year. The main thing that I had to learn about using public transportation is that you can't expect public transportation to come to you or to cover every neighborhood, you have to go to it. I first did that when I selected the Stockade to live because I knew that the main Schenectady bus terminal was just a few blocks away and that the route I needed to get to work (#370) started and ended right there. By learning the routes and schedules, and by realizing that I can go to places I might not have thought of before, I can go just about anywhere. You just have to plan it.

Using CDTA has forced another positive change in my life. With a full-time job, two home businesses, a home in the country to maintain, and lots of friends and family to visit and host, my life was pretty crazy, a life out of balance (see Koyaanisqatsi). Because any of these factors could take precedent or "explode" at any time (such is life), I found it hard to plan things. I knew this was detrimental to some personal relationships. Now, I have to plan things in advance if I want to go somewhere. CDTA has helped to regulate my life in a way that I had never imagined. The daily commute is one thing; it has regulated my daily habits in a positive way. It's a little hard to explain, but it has liberated me and given me a freedom to go places that I never felt when I had a car and could go anywhere. Now I go places where CDTA goes, and that has been enlightening and shown me things I have not noticed or thought of before. For example, I did not go to the horse track in Saratoga because of the hassles of driving up there, finding a parking space (and paying for it), and then being sure I was sober enough to drive home. With CDTA, I walk two minutes to the bus stop, enjoy the ride up Route 50 to Congress Park, walk 10 minutes through the beautiful park to the track, and enjoy my day. When the track closes, I can go downtown for dinner and have drinks and not worry about the drive home; the last run leaves at 12:30 am. All for $3.00 round trip.

Columbia Spring, Congress Park, Saratoga. (c)2015, Richard Vang.

Other things I have enjoyed about the bus include the people. There are people from all walks of life, different ethnic backgrounds, religions and socio-economic status. Are there some occasional "crazy" people. Sure, you bet. But no crazier than the guy with road rage that cuts you off or runs you off the road. When you ride the bus on a regular basis you make new acquaintances and even some friends. I have become friends with several of the bus drivers and have even spent time socially with them. When you miss a day, the other regulars wonder where you are and always ask when you return if everything is OK or if you're sick or something. At times you can see heartbreaking poverty too. A suburban mother with her SUV and three kids has nothing on a young mother struggling to get her two kids and stroller onto the bus in the dead of winter. She struggles, and people help her get on, not just because they want to speed things up to make their connection, but because they are nice people. I often see men give up their seats to women and stand, and others who don't and you just want to walk over and teach them some courtesy. I can read on the bus, or sometimes just daydream. All in all, it's been a wonderful experience.

Walking lots of places also provides that community interaction. The Stockade and downtown Schenectady are blessed with lots of places to eat or have drinks, and you get to know the owners, cooks, and waitstaff, your postman and the guy at the post office desk, the shop owners and the mayor. The pace of life slows down and you notice things, things both beautiful and ugly. Life has become more regulated, not as crazy, and there is less stress in my life.

Locals and public officials unveiling a new historical marker. (c)2013, Richard Vang.

So what are the downsides to this lifestyle? Well, sometimes you do forget to plan or you don't learn about something until the last minute and you just can't make it. Bummer, but there's always next year. And being a pedestrian can be dangerous at times. You have to be aware when you are crossing the street; you can't be daydreaming with your ear buds in or your headphones on. I have found that I am much more aware of traffic patterns, and I use the crosswalks and traffic light buttons much more than I used to. I have learned some patience waiting for the light to change; my unofficial study has shown that people who get out of a car are much more likely to jaywalk than those who are regular walkers.

Urban avalanche. (c)2015, Richard Vang.

One of the most dangerous places, I find, is the intersection of Route 7 and Albany Shaker Road in Latham. Crossing both streets during rush hour is perilous at best. People wait to turn right off Albany Shaker never look to the right as they wait for the gap in traffic on Route 7 to gun it and get to top speed, never even noticing that the light has actually changed and you've stepped out into the middle of the road because you now have the crossing light. Then there's the guy who runs the red light on Route 7 and you have to step aside as he speeds through. Once across Route 7 as I walk to the stop, I can see through the front windshields of the cars driving by, and about 75% have just one person inside, and at least 25% of the drivers are either talking on their cell phones or texting. Ridiculous. I've gotten pretty quick to gesture to the drivers who are dangerous. In winter, the municipalities can be slow to clear their sidewalks, so the bus riders and pedestrians are forced to walk in the road to get around. In the Stockade, the urban avalanche is another potential risk, as enormous icicles can come crashing down from the rooftops during the spring thaw. It can be a jungle out there, you just have to be aware at all times.

What happens when the bus or walking just doesn't cut it for a given situation? Well, sometimes you don't go, or you do something else, or you call a cab (which I have done only once -- very expensive). But for long distance trips, there is always the Greyhound or Yankee Trails bus just a couple blocks away, or the Amtrak station 5 minutes away. (I'll write more abut that in a future post.) A rental car has been the solution at other times, especially if there is something sudden like an out-of-town funeral and or special vacation. And then there are good friends, old and new, who invite me to go somewhere for fun, and always ask if there is any place I need to go. Which reminds me of some other aspects of vehicle ownership that are now gone from my life. I no longer have the expenses of car maintenance or lease or insurance payments, which leaves more money for fun, savings or investment. I also do not miss scraping icy windows and warming up cars in the middle of winter. I walk about my door in the morning and I'm on my way. The monthly unlimited bus pass is just $65.

So, I guess that as I look back over the past two years, I have found this whole life experiment of living without a vehicle to be a success on many levels.

But then this happened.

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(c)2015, Richard Vang, All Rights Reserved. No text, images or other content may be copied, reproduced or otherwise used without the expressed written permission of the author.