It’s approaching almost a year now that Jodi and I have been sharing one car.  I thought I’d write a little bit on what it has been like — certainly not easy, especially here in Atlanta (a top 10 in traffic and sprawl in the country).

With Jodi traveling a lot to Athens, GA — really, I have been living without a car.  Here’s how I’ve been commuting:

* Scooter: I bought a 49.5cc scooter (no tag, no title necessary) that I use for most commutes longer than 2-3 miles. I take it to work, to the grocery store, and on errands.  I love being able to park up front/close or in the bike racks.

* Bike: I had a nice urban/hybrid bike, with 700cc tires, but it got stolen.  I’m back to a Schwinn mountain bike (was free) that I use for grocery store runs and sticking on the front of Marta.

* Marta Bus/Rail: I’m lucky in that there’s a bus line that stops right in front of my place.  It goes right to the main Five Points Marta station downtown, which means I can go all the way up to Sandy Springs/Doraville, if needed.

* Zipcar: I use zipcar when I really just need a car (driving to visit my mom in Lawrenceville, or picking up large things).

Advantages:

Besides the obvious ability to project a snobbish “oh, i don’t own a car,” liberal, sort-of-whiny tone with people as I rail on them about the environment or whatever else it is you’re supposed to when you don’t own a car (BTW, if you can’t tell, I don’t do this), I enjoy the freedom of all these modes.  I love taking the scooter up to the grocery store and parking right out front.  I once took the scooter to an Atlanta Braves Game, and parked so close to the stadium that I couldn’t even stop talking about what a great parking spot I got (and free, no doubt).  I like not worrying about my car when I go to the airport on trips.  I like being able to work on my laptop on Marta, read a book, or listen to podcasts while on public transportation.  I like not going to the gas station (or when I do, filling up for a buck or two every month). As the weather gets nicer, it’s going to be a lot easier to take all these modes (and the bike a bit more), which is good exercise (sometimes I’ll ride Marta downtown to work, but take the bike all the way back home, making sure to take off the dress shirt first).

Disadvantages:
It certainly is not easy.  There’s a lot of planning all the time, based on lots of factors (the weather, plans after work, plans during work, etc.).  Unfortunately, lots of places (including Atlantic Station, which surprises me since it is so new) have little or no regard to Scooters or motorcycles.  You cannot park a scooter or motorcycle in the Atlantic Station parking decks, and you have to park it only in certain places, which makes going to any of the office buildings practically worthless.  On the Emory campus, I was told I could not park in the parking deck, and then when I parked in a bike rack outside, got booted and fined.  I’ll hold off my tirade on what these places should actually do (encourage alternate forms of transportation), since they logically make sense (reduce traffic, encourage more visitors).  It’s also not safe — I wrecked the Scooter once, and it hurt bad (me and the scooter).  I’ve since taken a Motorcycle Safety Course, but still feel pretty dangerous when driving scooter or riding bike at dusk/night.

I’ve found that I actually need all of these modes of transportation — there’s not just one I can simply replace for owning a car.  For instance, Zipcar seems like it could be the “swap” but it’s not.  It’s too expensive to take to work and just leave it all day without use, and that’s just not what it’s for.  The scooter is great, but not when it’s raining or cold, or I have to go somewhere by Highway/Freeway (or pick up a friend or relative).  Marta — well, to be perfectly honest, it can be scary sometimes, and doesn’t go everywhere.  Once, when taking Marta to the airport (suitcase and laptop bag in hand) for a business trip to Frankfurt, I got offered drugs twice (I politely declined both times, for the record).

Many times, I’ll use a combination of the two.  When meeting some friends across town, I’ll reserve a zipcar (on my iphone while walking out the door), take the scooter or bike down to where it’s parked, and then take the zipcar.  I love tossing my bike on the front of the Marta bus, and then taking it with me on the rail line.  I’ve also taken my scooter down to the Marta station, and jumped on from there.

Sure, even my friends in San Francisco make fun of me and Jodi, for having a Prius (with the Bike Rack always on the back), and a scooter, but now that I’m used to it, I just don’t think I can go back to jumping in a car every time I need to go somewhere.