Category: Car Free

  • APTA Attributes Increases in Transit Ridership [in part] to Gas Prices

    A press release from the American Public Transportation Assocation, released in conjunction with their EXPO 2005, notes sharp increases in transit ridership. The increase is attributed to rising gas prices and new technologies: Many transit system officials attribute this growth to higher gas prices, expansion of services and improved passenger services. Recent years have seen…

  • My Trip: Jumping the Queue

    I recently flew to the East Coast for a long weekend. As usual, I left straight from downtown Portland, leaving my bike at work, and riding the Red Line MAX to the airport. As we sped by alongside I-84, I looked at the hundreds of cars creeping along, nearly at a standstill, and I couldn’t…

  • Evacuation, sans Car

    I don’t own a car, and yet (to the great surprise of many relatives and family friends) I can pretty much get everywhere I need to without feeling like I’m sacrificing anything. Most of the time I bike, and that is plenty fast and convenient for me (not to mention freeing me up from needing…

  • Time for More Diverse Vehicles

    Biking to work this morning I passed a golf-cart like vehicle that was chugging down the street. I was reminded about how uncreative we are with our choices of vehicles. Most households have a couple of cars — and those cars are overbuilt for what they’re actually used for 95% of the time. They’re set…

  • My Commute: Michelle

    I moved to Portland nearly two years ago. The trip across country took our trusty van as a sacrifice for making the distance in Missoula, so my ex and I arrived without motor powered wheels. Since I wasn’t willing to drive the beast we named Bert, this was not a concern. Especially given the fact…