August 1, 2006
DCist Goes on a Low-Car Diet
Anyone who reads our posts on local transportation knows that we are big advocates of transit at DCist. Though many DCists are already living la vita auto libre, as DCist Ryan once put it, starting today, we get to give a more detailed account of just what it is like to live car-free in DC.
Car-sharing company Flexcar has teamed up with Metro for the Low-Car Diet, a promotion that challenges us and two dozen other District residents to give up our car keys for a month. Armed with an unlimited SmarTrip Card and 25 hours of free Flexcar, participants are asked to live their lives car-free for 30 days, posting their weekly experiences on Flexcar's website. The participants represent a fairly diverse cross-section of area residents, each with different commuting needs. Along with offering our own take each week, we'll give you a survey of other participant reactions as well. Should be interesting!
Car-sharing has been available for a while in the District, offered by Zipcar as well as Flexcar. However, over the last few years, we've seen an increasing number of cars on area roads sporting the Flexcar or Zipcar logos. We've also seen shared cars with D.C.-tags far afield in places like Delaware beaches and Virginia trailheads. The District also took the unusual step of granting the companies more than a hundred public on-street parking spaces. It is worth noting that, despite the quotes in the Washington Times article linked in the previous sentence, the debate over the merits of the program are much less one-sided, though still controversial. While two parking spaces in a place like Adams Morgan may seem like a big sacrifice for local business in the short term, in a year's time, it just may turn out that quite a few people in the neighborhood will be able to free themselves of car-ownership as a result, leaving more space for everyone.
While it varies between cities and companies, for an hourly fee generally between $7 and $12, users can reserve and drive cars in the network, which are distributed throughout the metro area. Gas, insurance, and maintenance are all included in the price, and there are discounts if you pre-pay a certain number of hours.
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If zip cars are titled and tagged in DC, and if the companies can prove that a certain number of their customers are legal residents of these neighborhoods, then why shouldn't they have access to parking there?
On the other hand, I'm developing a healthy aversion to sharing road space with zip cars. I've personally witnessed some of the most dangerous driving by people in these cars. I dont know if it's the part time driving or the free insurance and non-ownership.
Wow. 30 days without a car!? Madness!
I understand that people have different transportation needs, but I'm on day 1,605 (apx., obvs) and I haven't had too much trouble. This "challenge" is unimpressive.
I don't know what the solution would be to preventing people from driving so quickly so as to be back at the end of the reservation, except encouraging them to plan ahead (not gonna work) or not allowing back-to-back reservations by members (possible, but I bet it would hurt the bottom line... and encourage lateness).
I'm developing a healthy aversion to sharing road space with zip cars. I've personally witnessed some of the most dangerous driving by people in these cars. I dont know if it's the part time driving or the free insurance and non-ownership.
This is absurd. There's no market incentive for unsafe driving!
Wow...you are a God Rusty...now can you please do something about these schools?
Why did they choose already environmentally friendly people for this task? Why don't you find someone who lives in Manassas or Arlington and drives to pick up their newspaper at the end of their driveway? That would be more impressive.
I'm a BIG fan of Flexcar. Judging from the trouble I have reserving cars some weekends, I think that others are, as well. Agreed, Rusty, 30 days without a car hardly seems challenging. I've gone more than 5000 days and I've survived. Of course, I've also made my friends with cars drive me whenever we went somewhere not accessible by public transportation.
Setting aside parking for these cars in residential areas was a great idea. I really don't give a shit if people from VA and MD have trouble finding parking in Adams Morgan on a Saturday night. Let them park at the Vienna Metro station and take the train.
Of course, another good way to free up even more residential parking spaces is to start doing something about all of the cars with out-of-state tags belonging to people who live in the District. Maybe they'll either register their cars here or get rid of them.
Look like I have more snickering at Zip Car people in Alexandria ahead of me (although the joke is really on me with these high gas prices). Ohh and just a heads up, all VA Trader Joes, Targets and Wegmans will be closed for the next 30 days, so don't even bother.
Regarding the 1st post, and scary drivers.
I admit that I probably almost wiped out a few people on the GW Parkway last weekend when I had a Prius for awhile. It was pouring rain, and that car has some HORRIFIC blind spots.
I'm tall (6'1"). The seats are rather high, and you couldn't lower them. The top of the windshield was right at eye-level for me, so I felt like I had to keep slouching down to see. The visibility out the rear is very bad.
The touch screen controls are very distracting and tricky to use. The gee-whizardry of the car is technologically interesting, but from an ergonomic standpoint, it's a nightmare. None of the controls are in places that you are accustomed to. If you are someone who doesn't drive often and doesn't have much driving experience, I'd recommend a different car than the Prius. I've rented Mazda3's many times, and that car seems to fit me just fine.
Just a thought not a sermon.
My wife and I go so long between trips in her car that the battery runs dead. We live at 14th and U and work downtown and basically never drive unless we have to leave the city to visit family. With a combination of grocery delivery and proximity to restaurants and entertainment there isn't much reason to drive anywhere. We couldn't be happier or healthier.
It sure beats the 'burbs where you can't live without causing some kind of pollution; whether it be driving miles to get milk, or mowing that overly fertilized lawn that pollutes the ground water with an overly pollutant-spewing lawn mower, or cooling or heating a gigantic house in which you use but two rooms in. This may be a challenge for some, but for a lot of DC residents we are already living it. Ironically this is how most of America lived before World War II.
Agreed, Kate. I think a much more interesting experiment would be to recruit someone who drives everywhere and has no remorse about it. I'd much rather hear the experiences of someone who uses his or her car exclusively. Actually, I have quite a few friends who probably haven't even been on the Metro in years and never been on a bus. I'd LOVE to see what would happen to them if they used public transportation/car sharing for a month.
I seriously doubt most Americans had grocery delivery before WW2.
People who illegally park in the two dedicated zipcar spots at 18th and Kalorama should be tarred, feathered, and forced to hang out at Tom Tom for an hour.
Saying that the challenge is not really a challenge is counterproductive. That said, I must note that I've not had a car even longer than Rusty, which makes me a golden god worthy of your adoration. Look at me. Look!
Kate and EAW, that would probably be a much more entertaining experiment for us to observe, yep, but probably a PR fiasco for Metro and Flexcar when the auto-addicts inevitably express how much they miss their cars and complain about sharing transportation. They're playing it safe - and boring.
I already don't have a car and I've been a member of Flexcar for more than two years. Why can't I get an unlimited SmartTrip card and $25 in free driving credit?
... find someone who lives in Manassas or Arlington and drives to pick up their newspaper at the end of their driveway ...
Because if there's one thing that characterizes Arlington, it's a complete reliance on automobiles. This myopic, anti-mass transit thinking is evident all over the county--from its low-density development to its underfunding of various transportation projects to its vast network of parkways & Interstates, constructed entirely without opposition.
16th and T: I've personally witnessed some of the most dangerous driving by people in these cars. I dont know if it's the part time driving or the free insurance and non-ownership.
I blame the XM radios they've got in most of them. I almost jumped a curb trying to figure the damn thing out, but you can bet I paid more attention after that.
Armsmasher: This is absurd. There's no market incentive for unsafe driving!
Good thing car-owners don't need a reason to be idiots.
And, for you Arlington-haters - remember that there are lots of us on the north side that are innocent. I've been living in Crystal City for a couple months now and got rid of the car when I moved there.
Good thing car-owners don't need a reason to be idiots.
What could this possibly mean?
EAW, I completely agree with you about parking in Adams Morgan. I don't really care if it's hard for party-goers from Virginia and Maryland to find a place to put their cars. I, on the other hand, would like to park within 5 blocks of my home on Friday evening.
Another problem you cited? I walked up Adams Mill the other day and noticed that every car with out-of-state plates that wasn't displaying a DC permit had a front right flat tire. I actually cheer when I see parking enforcement writing tickets.
I seriously doubt most Americans had grocery delivery before WW2.
I wouldn't be so sure. My grandmother liked to reminisce about the old days, when they got their food from the small neighborhood market where the proprietor knew everybody. One of the services she missed was how the shopkeeper would allow people to phone in orders for pickup, or, if they paid extra, he'd have the stockboy deliver.
EAW, shouldn't you know something about what you're writing?
Or at least read the article?
It is Mt P and ColHi residents complaining about spaces being taken away, not MD or VA.
On practically every residential street in DC, you need a permit which only comes with DC plates to park during the day and early evening. You can get a two week visitor pass, but after that there is virtually no way to get around registering here.
All your "facts" are wrong.
Armsmasher: If you're argument is "There's no market incentive for unsafe driving!" then stupid people shouldn't be allowed to drive cars and GM shouldn't be allowed to advertise on Fox.
I'm guessing, vor: that was strategically deployed sarcasm, right?
Armsmasher: If you're logic is "There's no market incentive for unsafe driving!" then stupid people shouldn't be allowed to drive, and GM shouldn't advertise on Fox.
I think the truth is somewhere inbetween.
hotsauce, there is definitely a way to get around registering in DC, and I know dozens of people who do it. Parking is unrestricted on evenings and weekends on most residential streets. If park in a garage at work during the day, you'll never run afoul of the law if you have residence and tags from somewhere else.
EAW, I'm pretty sure hotsauce is right that the lack of parking in Columbia Hts and A-M is most acutely felt (and complained about) by the residents of those neighborhoods in buildings without dedicated parking, not by suburbanites. But blaming a half dozen reserved street spaces that accommodate hundreds of people who share those cars is pretty ridiculous. How about blaming those who insist on the luxury of owning a car in the dense parts of the city, which is certainlly not a necessity in most circumstances.
Hotsauce,
Perhaps YOU should re-read both the article and my comment before making your own judgements. Or, at least read the following quote from the article:
"In Adams Morgan, with the parking problems we have here, which are legendary, particularly on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, it's hard to imagine that those signs will be respected," he said. "But more galling will be that a space will be sitting empty when it is needed to bring customers in to local businesses."
A HUGE chunk of those people looking for parking spaces on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights are people visiting from MD and VA. I never said that the people of MD and VA were complaining about losing parking spaces. My statement was that I'd prefer to have reserved spaces for car share companies, rather than more street parking for people from MD and VA.
Also, I lived on 42nd street in Glover Park for years where I'd estimate that 40 percent of the cars parked on my street had neither DC plates nor a zone sticker. That's why they parked there. They could get away with it.
Perhaps this quote from Cranky Old Man above will enlighten you:
"Another problem you cited? I walked up Adams Mill the other day and noticed that every car with out-of-state plates that wasn't displaying a DC permit had a front right flat tire. I actually cheer when I see parking enforcement writing tickets."
Clearly there are people with out-of-state tags parking for prolonger periods on Adams Mill Road as well.
Thirdly, if you'd read my comments more carefully, you'd notice that nowhere do I contend that anything I said is a FACT. It's merely my opinion on another way to alleviate the parking crunch.
Finally, after more than 15 years in this city, I certainly DO know something about which I write.
Congratulations on your attempt to trash my comment. Instead of making yourself look really, really smart, you just look arrogant and uninformed.
Hotsauce,
Perhaps YOU should re-read both the article and my comment before making your own judgements. Or, at least read the following quote from the article:
"In Adams Morgan, with the parking problems we have here, which are legendary, particularly on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, it's hard to imagine that those signs will be respected," he said. "But more galling will be that a space will be sitting empty when it is needed to bring customers in to local businesses."
A HUGE chunk of those people looking for parking spaces on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights are people visiting from MD and VA. I never said that the people of MD and VA were complaining about losing parking spaces. My statement was that I'd prefer to have reserved spaces for car share companies, rather than more street parking for people from MD and VA.
Also, I lived on 42nd street in Glover Park for years where I'd estimate that 40 percent of the cars parked on my street had neither DC plates nor a zone sticker. That's why they parked there. They could get away with it.
Perhaps this quote from Cranky Old Man above will enlighten you:
"Another problem you cited? I walked up Adams Mill the other day and noticed that every car with out-of-state plates that wasn't displaying a DC permit had a front right flat tire. I actually cheer when I see parking enforcement writing tickets."
Clearly there are people with out-of-state tags parking for prolonger periods on Adams Mill Road as well.
Thirdly, if you'd read my comments more carefully, you'd notice that nowhere do I contend that anything I said is a FACT. It's merely my opinion on another way to alleviate the parking crunch.
Finally, after more than 15 years in this city, I certainly DO know something about which I write.
Congratulations on your attempt to trash my comment. Instead of making yourself look really, really smart, you just look arrogant and uninformed.
Hotsauce,
Perhaps YOU should re-read both the article and my comment before making your own judgements. Or, at least read the following quote from the article:
"In Adams Morgan, with the parking problems we have here, which are legendary, particularly on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, it's hard to imagine that those signs will be respected," he said. "But more galling will be that a space will be sitting empty when it is needed to bring customers in to local businesses."
A HUGE chunk of those people looking for parking spaces on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights are people visiting from MD and VA. I never said that the people of MD and VA were complaining about losing parking spaces. My statement was that I'd prefer to have reserved spaces for car share companies, rather than more street parking for people from MD and VA.
Also, I lived on 42nd street in Glover Park for years where I'd estimate that 40 percent of the cars parked on my street had neither DC plates nor a zone sticker. That's why they parked there. They could get away with it.
Perhaps this quote from Cranky Old Man above will enlighten you:
"Another problem you cited? I walked up Adams Mill the other day and noticed that every car with out-of-state plates that wasn't displaying a DC permit had a front right flat tire. I actually cheer when I see parking enforcement writing tickets."
Clearly there are people with out-of-state tags parking for prolonger periods on Adams Mill Road as well.
Thirdly, if you'd read my comments more carefully, you'd notice that nowhere do I contend that anything I said is a FACT. It's merely my opinion on another way to alleviate the parking crunch.
Finally, after more than 15 years in this city, I certainly DO know something about which I write.
Congratulations on your attempt to trash my comment. Instead of making yourself look really, really smart, you just look arrogant and uninformed.
Hotsauce, when I read that Washington Times article, all the whiners seem to be primarily businesses, not residents, basically saying that (and I may be paraphrasing here) it'll be harder for the rich kids from the 'burbs to drive their Hummers to Adams Morgan to double park while they spend their time clubbing and snorting coke in the bathrooms. Boo fucking hoo. I personally know twelve friends in the AM area, not including myself, who all have Flexcar and/or Zipcar memberships. I'm sure there are hundreds of others. And because we don't have cars, it lets you park yours (and it seems clear from your comment that you do have one) with less hassle.
You're welcome.
As to why there are mostly already environmentally-friendly folks participating, I'd bet that they wouldn't get too welcoming a reception if they had pitched the concept to the RNC or somesuch. These people were obviously more amenable to the idea of getting rid of their car for such a long period of time, and so will probably be more likely to stick with it for the whole month and hopefully longer. I'm a Flexcar member, too, and I'm not begrudging them their Metro pass; if it'll help them see the light, I'm all for it.
Hotsauce, when I read that Washington Times article, all the whiners seem to be primarily businesses, not residents, basically saying that (and I may be paraphrasing here) it'll be harder for the rich kids from the 'burbs to drive their Hummers to Adams Morgan to double park while they spend their time clubbing and snorting coke in the bathrooms. Boo fucking hoo. I personally know twelve friends in the AM area, not including myself, who all have Flexcar and/or Zipcar memberships. I'm sure there are hundreds of others. And because we don't have cars, it lets you park yours (and it seems clear from your comment that you do have one) with less hassle.
You're welcome.
As to why there are mostly already environmentally-friendly folks participating, I'd bet that they wouldn't get too welcoming a reception if they had pitched the concept to the RNC or somesuch. These people were obviously more amenable to the idea of getting rid of their car for such a long period of time, and so will probably be more likely to stick with it for the whole month and hopefully longer. I'm a Flexcar member, too, and I'm not begrudging them their Metro pass; if it'll help them see the light, I'm all for it.
Because if there's one thing that characterizes Arlington, it's a complete reliance on automobiles. This myopic, anti-mass transit thinking is evident all over the county--from its low-density development to its underfunding of various transportation projects to its vast network of parkways & Interstates, constructed entirely without opposition.
Whoa! Get your facts straight! Expansion of I-66 was vehemently opposed in the 1970/80s in Arlington as are current plans to widen the interstate. I've lived in Arlington for five years without a car and have managed to get around fine by bicycle and metro. I'm also looking forward to the addition of light rail on Columbia Pike in the future.
I'm glad the city gave Zipcar and Flexcar some street parking spaces. These services are used probably 95% by DC residents. As it is now, our city streets are monopolized by non-resident vehicles. On any given day at least 60% of the spaces on my block on the Hill are non-residents.
As it is we block off huge portions of streets for bus zones. In some blocks in my area a good 40% of some blocks are no parking forever because of bus stops. And, as we know, bus service in DC often sucks and doesn't adequately serve the immediate community.
So I'm all for city spaces for shared vehicles. It's a terrific idea, and it's allowing city street spaces to actually be used by taxpaying residents instead of just suburbanites.
Wow, the smug clouds are gathering:
Kate:
It would make little sense to do this in Manassas. There is not enough density to support a share-car program there. I think it's asking too much to expect someone to walk several miles to the local Flex-Car spot just to get some groceries.
VOR: There's no way around it, you're an idiot. Your criticisms of Arlington range from just completely wrong to bizarrely incomprehensible (Interstates? What?). Arlington is a nationwide reknown model for smart transit-oriented development.
And frankly, there's probably plenty of people in our virtuous and pious DC who drive all the time. People seem to completely forget the huge swaths of the District that are as or more suburban than Arlington, without any convenient metro access.
EAW:
First, stop hitting the post button.
Second, how is it going to benefit you if they crack down on out of state plates? If it's true that they're actually DC residents, they'll just register. How's that going to free up spaces?
Sigh. I went exactly 3,207 days without a car in DC before I reluctantly moved out here to mass-transit free California.
Reid:
"Second, how is it going to benefit you if they crack down on out of state plates? If it's true that they're actually DC residents, they'll just register. How's that going to free up spaces?"
That's not really true. The primary reason people don't register their vehicles in DC is because they don't want to claim DC residency, to avoid DC income tax. Secondary reason is that many want to claim home state residency elsewhere for political reasons. So many that live here still claim their home states, for income tax and for voting purposes.
Those people would then have a choice - either register their vehicles and pay DC taxes (and serve on on DC juries, etc.), or lose the ability to park their car for free on the street while sucking up the services that DC gives them for free.
I will say one thing for Arlington. They don't tolerate the namby-pamby parking regs like DC does. So many areas in Arlington are NO PARKING all day, every day, 24 hours a day, NO grace period, unless you have a resident sticker.
DC's idiotic parking regs that allow nonresidents to essentially park at will anytime they want are stupid, are about forty years out of date, and need to change.
"That's not really true. The primary reason people don't register their vehicles in DC is because they don't want to claim DC residency, to avoid DC income tax."
Registering your car does not make you have to pay DC income taxes. If someone is willing to lie to their employer as to their address (for withholding purposes), where their car is registered won't affect that nor will it make DC send them an income tax bill.
"Secondary reason is that many want to claim home state residency elsewhere for political reasons."
Again, if someone wants to defraud their home state and tell them that they still live there for voting purposes, registering a car with the DMV won't change that either.
I think the reason you see a lot of out of state plates is that people are lazy. They'll keep it out of state until they get a ticket. There may be a small, small, amount of people that will choose to get rid of their car rather than register in DC, but I'd be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that the vast majority are just lazy and would register if they got enough tickets.
Arlington has the most brutally efficient bureacracy mankind has ever known, especially regarding parking. I swear their meters have radio devices that alert parking enforcement that it's expired, and there is a ticket on your windshield in mere SECONDS!
Arlington has hottie cops too. Gents and Ladies of all ages....
Registering your car is one big step toward establishing legal residency in DC. And it makes it much more difficult, both logistically and theoretically, to lie and still claim you live in Iowa, if you've registered your vehicle in DC, gotten DC insurance (a requirement for registration), etc.
Sure, theoretically you could try to get away with it. But at that point it's pretty much evidence of income tax fraud and a variety of of things.
And DC does use car registration roles for a variety of things, including jury duty.
It would especially become an issue for anyone involved in politics, as that's pretty much evidence of attempting to defraud at least one and probably two localities out of various taxes, and to receive locality benefits in more than one place, plus of course voter fraud. No politician would want his staff's name in the paper or on blogs for doing this.
But I will agree with you that many are lazy as well.
But after they are living in DC already they also have to pay that 7% (or 8% depending on size of vehicle) registration fee. Many aren't going to pay that, then face having to reregister in their home state when they leave DC.
In the past ten years in DC I've known quite a few people that refuse to register their vehicles in DC. The reason they almost always give - they don't want to be declared DC residents, for tax and voting reasons. And they don't want to serve on DC juries or take on any of the other responsibilities of being a local citizen that registering a vehicle would start to trigger. And they don't want to pay that 7% fee. But they sure as shit want to park on our streets for free.
Sorry, Reid, I thought my comment wasn't posting so I kept hitting the button. Actually, I thought my comments were so profound that everyone should read them multiple times :)
"Second, how is it going to benefit you if they crack down on out of state plates? If it's true that they're actually DC residents, they'll just register. How's that going to free up spaces?"
It may not free up spaces, but it will get people to help pay for the services they are using. As I understand it, people pay a fee of about 10 percent of Bluebook value (?) when they register their cars in the District. Clearly that money is used to pay for city services and is to be levied on District residents who own cars. By not registering their vehicles in the city, they're getting out of paying their fair share. Even if I were to say that Iwas a resident of the state where I grew up and remained registered to vote there, I sure as heck wouldn't get out of paying the sky-high property tax on my house. I just feel as if these people are getting a free ride in sone respects.
For me, the bottom line is if you live in the District and keep a car in the District, that car should be registered in the District.
I don't think it's laziness in most cases. I'm sure keeping their cars registered at home also keeps their insurance rates down. My guess is that when they get enough tickets that the increased insurance cost is no longer offset, then they'll register in DC and pay their share.
I'm guessing, vor: that was strategically deployed sarcasm, right?
Yup. Sorry, Reid & Jerry--I thought the fact that Arlington is the damn TOD Poster Child was an obvious enough fact enough to mark my comment as deep deep sarcasm. I was taking aim at Kate for conflating Manassas and Arlington--as different, in that respect, as Palisades and Shaw. Oh well. Too dry, I guess.
Vor: wow, there's not way around it. I'm an idiot. I guess I need to bring my sarcasm detector back to the shop for repairs.