How to Become a One-Car Family

With gas prices sky-rocketing, many families are re-evaluating the need to have more than one car. The cost of filling more than one gas tank on a regular basis alongside the cost of insurance and other car-related expenses can be prohibitively high. It may be worth some extra planning and minor inconveniences to become a one car family. Read on to find out more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Copy of your family's schedule
• Public transportation schedules
• Bicycle

1. Sit down together and take a close look at your family schedule. In order to eliminate a vehicle, you'll need to know where everybody needs to be on a regular basis and when they need to be there. Though there may be overlaps that seem insurmountable, don't automatically discard the idea of becoming a one-car family. There may be solutions you've overlooked.
2. Adjust working hours if you have some flexibility to do so. Maybe you can go to work a little bit later in the morning or your spouse can stay later. These slight adjustments may mean that one of you can be dropped off and picked up at work by the other. By the same token, explore the possibility that you may be able to use a company car if you only need transportation to, from and for your job.
3. Look at public transportation options. Although not all areas offer good and reliable public transportation, many larger cities have some sort of transit system. The cost of a monthly bus or train pass can be considerably less than the cost of gas, insurance and car maintenance--enough so that it's worth the slight inconvenience and loss of privacy.
4. Determine whether it would be more cost-efficient to rent a car once in while than to continue paying for insurance and registration fees for a rarely-used second vehicle.
5. Ride your bicycle or walk to nearby destinations. Not only will you feel better physically, but you're doing a service to the environment, too. Many small towns have bicycle trails for just such purposes.
6. Carpool whenever possible. Hitch along with a friend to the grocery store, share rides to work or set up a carpooling network to get kids to and from after-school activities. You'd be surprised how many people actually welcome the company or are relieved not to have to do all the driving.
7. Register with a carpooling website like Erideshare or Carpoolconnect (see Resources below). These sites keep comprehensive databases of people actively looking to share rides. Some states even have a local version of these national carpooling boards.