Abandoning the Car in Sacramento - Is There Life Without the Automobile?

It seemed like an obviously disposable budget item when I made the decision to eliminate a car from my life. After all, I live in a major metropolitan community with public transportation conveniently located. Current cost for unlimited travel on the Sacramento Regional Transit (RT) system of buses and light rail is a whopping $85 each month for an able-bodied, middle-aged adult such as myself. This is a substantial decrease from the cost of owning and operating a car. I guesstimate about $600 per month savings considering the cost of gas, insurance, maintenance and licensing. Those savings easily offset the cost of a transit pass and all of my utilities each month! Without public transit, I would not be able to live in California.

For five years I have fielded the bewildered question and honest query of "You don't drive! How do you it?" As gas prices steadily rise and automobile purchase prices soar above reality, I find myself sharing a few clues with others who can consider this lifestyle. I do need to preface with the age-old label "Don't try this at home" if you have children. The demands of taxi-driving-mom make this lifestyle impossible for a family. Empty nesters and newly-marrieds might want to consider a phase in life without a car. Think of the savings you could sock away for a rainy day or for a first home purchase.

Returning to how I can live without a car? I walk a lot! I live in Sacramento where we enjoy about 280 days of annual sunshine. When I have far to go, a deadline to meet or if it is raining, I ride public transit. The RT operates a large light rail system and connecting bus service in the Sacramento area, covering 418 square miles. That is a large area to cover. Within those 418 square miles I find employment, shopping, education, religion, entertainment and medical care. The RT system operates about 80 bus routes with service between 5:00 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. daily. Frequencies range between every 15 and 60 minutes. Originally, I made the mistake of living near a bus line that stopped running by 7pm weekdays. I've since moved and have a bus running within one block of my home until 10pm nearly every night of the week. If I need to be out later than that, I have buses running about 4 blocks away even later into the night.

The buses also take me to one of two light rail lines. The Sacramento Light Rail system has 30.3-mile of track, operating two crisscrossing lines. The lines cross one another in the center of downtown Sacramento. There are 42 stations accessing an incredible variety of shopping and residential areas. Lines on the system operate from 4:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. daily, with service every 15 minutes (excepting the stretch to Folsom) in the day and every 30 minutes at night. Quite a few downsides exist with the public transportation system here but, overall, it is adequate for my needs.

The biggest obstacle to a more full lifestyle regards shopping and carting large packages home. Bus drivers can refuse to board riders who cannot empty their utility cart, fold it flat and store it without blocking the aisles. It is a nearly impossible feat. I guess I could shop every day, buying a little each time, as I see many elderly and disabled riders do. I can wait at a bus stop with my full cart until a wiling driver loads my cart, full and fully extended. It is an infuriating problem for many riders. Homeless riders frequently board with all their worldly belongs piled high above a utility cart and park themselves in the elderly and disabled assigned seating. Many, many RT drivers accommodate their special needs. Other drivers won't allow anyone aboard with a loaded utility cart. My solution is to shop online.

I purchase my groceries online from Safeway or Albertson's. Both chains offer delivery in my area. The fee is extremely reasonable for both chains and I can still shop the sales flyer. For less than $10.00 I can avoid the parking lot, the bumper-to-bumper shopping carts in every aisle, standing in line and impulse purchases! The groceries are brought into my home which is a convenience I find to be priceless. The next time you go to a grocery store on a rainy day, may my words come back to remind you. You don't have to drag a wet shopping cart through a slippery-floored store, fighting the crowds and standing in line. When you've got rainwater dripping down your back as you bend and stoop to transfer your bags to the car remember that there is a better choice. The grocery delivery service is a convenience that able-bodied car owners can surely appreciate as much as I do.

Shopping department stores and malls is still a favorite activity. As time goes by, I do shop away from my keyboard a little more frequently. Sacramento Regional Transit drivers are learning to distinguish between hazardous materials and standard household purchases. The headlines and uproar over the refusal to board an 80ish year old man with his can of interior house paint brought some needed sensibility to the forefront. (The driver thought that latex paint was a hazardous material!)

I'll admit that I save countless hundreds of dollars by being very, very cautious when making a purchase when I have to ride the bus. The final deciding vote for any expenditure is the size of my package and my ability to load and carry it on my lap. If such a purchase is necessary I will usually source the item online after inspecting it in a brick and mortar establishment. The parcel delivery truck drivers are very familiar with my mailing address.

I have also learned that I am not restricted to life within the Sacramento city limits. With creative planning I can take public transit to and from the airport. If my flights are outside the service hours of RT, I can take a shuttle to and from the airport. This past spring I discovered the Amtrak system and am anxious to travel the rail again. Buses and trains leave Sacramento for the sites and sounds of California nearly every hour. If you've wondered what I do with the rest of my estimated $600 monthly savings, I travel.

Living in Sacramento, without a car, was a life altering choice. Some choose to call me responsible while others think that I'm radically rebelling through a mid-life crisis. I believe it's a little of both. Whatever the verdict, life is full with the simple pleasures as I walk and don't run through my days.