Car-Free Day Your Way to a New Habit

Mobil Ohne Auto! En ville sans ma voiture! No matter which language you say it in, Car-Free Day resonates. Car-Free Day takes place on September 22nd and is an opportunity to try a different mode of travel. Some people may argue that it takes more than one day to change a habit, but how will you know that you want to change your habit until you give the alternative a try?

I hadn't thought much about getting out of my car or alternative modes of transportation until I found myself working for a company that offered free commuter benefits in Minneapolis. It was October which meant it was already cold and the first snow of the season was right around the corner. Which also meant that my commute time between St. Paul and Minneapolis could be thrown off with the arrival of the first accumulated snowfall.

So I left my car at home and tried my luck with Metro Transit and was hooked. An express bus took me a little bit longer than driving. And when I say driving I mean going out to the car, clearing all the snow off of it, letting it warm up, driving to the parking lot at work, finally finding a spot and huffing it to the front door that the bus would have dropped me off at. It is only fair to compare how long your commute is if you time it from walking out your front door to the office door, right?

I am a realist though and recognize that not all days using public transit are perfect. However, I would rather read my book, listen to my music, or catch a few extra zzzzs through whatever issue is at hand. In my book a bad day on Metro beats a good day stuck in traffic.

So take the leap and pledge to do something new. If you drive alone, try something else like train or bus. If you use Metro and live within a reasonable distance (determined by you) try biking. Maybe there is someone else out there that works the same crazy hours you do and lives in the same area you could share the ride with. As adults, our opportunities to try new things become limited as we experience more. Why not add a new way to get to work to the list? You just might find it is the best way to start and end your day.

Wendy Duren is a Business Development Manager at Arlington Transportation Partners, and commutes with Metrorail daily.

Comments

[Mike Licht]

Driving on Tuesday the 22nd? Watch out for the Car-Free Enforcer.

See:

http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/dc-car-free-day-22-september-2009/