The Free-Wheeling Family: Car-Free in Suburbia 1 Our family has always been a one-car family. Late last year, we went further by deciding to give up the only car our family of 4 owned in preparation for an international move back to the USA. We were excited about the 5-week lifestyle experiment of living without a car in the suburbs of a major world city (Sydney, Australia), and getting the chance to better align our own actions with our values related to sustainability and health. Once we had a confirmed buyer for the car, we loaded up the family and drove 40 minutes across town to make the sale. Walking with the family to the train station to catch a ride home brought for us a sense of freedom, mixed with nervous uncertainty about how we might manage to maintain a somewhat normal life without our own motorized transportation. Our kids, aged 4 and 9 years, didn’t seem to mind. 2 Unfortunately, trains could only partly replace our car as the nearest station to our suburban household was more than 3 miles away. We knew that we would have to mix transportation modes for any trips outside our local suburb. This usually meant catching a very intermittent bus, or grabbing a taxi to or from the train station. Sometimes we might have to rent a car. By the numbers 3 During our 38 days without owning a car, we made 209 separate trips in total among the four family members. If we assign one primary form of transportation for each trip, we took 8 by train, 21 by bus, 4 by ferry, 3 by taxi, 12 by rental car, 7 by carpool, 95 by bicycle, and 59 on foot. Our adventures 4 Half of the regular trip to preschool and work was full of traffic and treachery. Much of the way, there were bike lanes available, albeit lanes that were often full of debris or other obstacles. Our son was clearly frightened the first time a semi-truck came barreling past us within an outstretched arm’s distance. 5 Grocery shopping was an interesting way to attract extra attention and raised eyebrows from our neighbors. For shopping trips, one adult towed the trail-a-bike (a single-wheeled contraption that connects to the seat post of a regular bike, and allows a child to ride along, with or without pedaling), while another adult towed a trailer loaded up with reusable grocery bags as our daughter rode solo. Pulling the trailer uphill while loaded down with groceries was quite a challenge. 6 One of the most arduous parts came as we were leaving the country. We had to pack a lot of luggage. Thus, we each had two large suitcases, plus a backpack. Trying to get that much luggage on and off a bus, and then on and off a very crowded train while minding young children was truly a stressful experience. The good aspects of this lifestyle 7 The good aspects of living without a car included having no car maintenance or car insurance, and not having to worry about break-ins, theft, or crashes. We could relax on public transport, and not have to worry about speeding tickets or tolls. We achieved better physical fitness from extra walking and cycling, and gained a new perspective of our suburbs, the city, and its residents. 8 One of the best aspects was special time with our son. For instance, each morning that we rode the trail-a-bike, we could chat about the day ahead and the beauty of the environment around us. The not-so-good aspects of this lifestyle 9 There were safety concerns with regard to cycling in traffic, being in strange train stations, and waiting at bus stops. Another drawback was the amount of time needed for two very busy adults (planning the trips, waiting for buses and trains, and often going far out of the way to get where we wanted to go). With that came less freedom to roam, less independence. Lessons learned from the experiment 10 We consider our family’s experiment a great learning experience. Since our return to the USA, we have purchased a new fuel-efficient automobile, but have continued to follow many of the practices we adopted while living car-free. We drive less than we used to, commute by bike or foot more, combine trips, and consider whether or not trips by car are necessary at all. We have even gone grocery shopping with our bike trailer. We intend to continue our family’s efforts to live more sustainably, while simultaneously advocating for more supportive policies to reduce dependence on automobiles through initiatives such as additional bike lanes, walking paths, and better public transportation options. Decide whether the following sentences are true or false, based on the article. 1. Last year, the writer's family conducted a 5-week experiment of living with only one car in the suburbs of Sydney.