A River Between

I added a new photo set to my Flickr Photo Space today that contains a lot of my pictures that surround public transit or alternative transportation. From hybrid busses to light rail, to a solar powered car, to the great art I see at bus and light rail stops, these scenes seem to have caught my eye from time to time.

I take transit in some form almost every day now. If I go to the twin cities, I often park my car and use MetroTransit’s light rail and bus system. When I commute to work, I drive to a park and ride, then take a commuter bus to Rochester, MN. It’s amazing how many times it is just assumed that when a person travels to work or to any destination, that one must drive. I often get statements like “Oh you work in Rochester! How do you like that drive!?”, or people will give me driving directions to a destination, as a reflex, in the twin cities. When I tell them that I take a commuter bus, or I take transit if I’m going to a metropolitan area, they are somewhat intrigued. Being on the other side, it becomes so apparent that our society seems even psychologically attached to our cars without question.

Lately I’ve been pondering what life could be like if I sold my car and went completely car-free if I moved to the twin cities. Between car payments, car insurance, and paying for gas at the pump, I would say goodbye to about $400 of spending per month. With maintenance on a vehicle, probably more. There are some alternatives I’ve found as well for folks in the twin cities with regard to Car Sharing.

If you live in Minneapolis, near the University of Minnesota, ZipCar now has service, where you can pay hourly at $8/hour or daily at $60/day to reserve and use one of their cars. As well, HourCar is another option, offering the use of the new Prius for those who are equally concious of the emissions coming out of a vehicle. HourCar has car locations all around the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, and provides many different levels of membership according to your need. For longer trips of 125 miles or less, ZipCar could be an option. Even renting a car once a month for a long trip would be less than my monthly cost for maintaining and owning a vehicle.

It’s something to think about..

Enjoy the photos!
Peace,

Scott