Arlington's Car-Free Diet Blog

Why Stop There?

Last year I lived in Falls Church and commuted about 25-30 minutes to Rosslyn every day. I would often have to pay about $8/day for parking and we all know how expensive gas was/is. I "owned" a car that I was shelling out $300/month payments on, another $900+ per year for insurance, unknown hundreds on things like oil changes and tire problems, and of course several hundred dollars in property tax. In August, I moved to Ballston. Initially, I took the Metro and thought, "This is great. Now, I'm only spending $3.15 each day on my commute." But then I thought, "Why stop there?" I pulled out my old touring bike and I have been biking to work every day since September (all you have to do is bundle up in the winter). Not only that, but I sold my car in October! No more payments, and it turns out that biking into work is even faster than taking the Metro (thanks, Arlington bike lanes!).

Danny Cooper, Arlington, VA

Car-Free for Two Years

Well, what started out as a general frustration with the cost of insurance, gas, etc...ended with me donating my car to charity just to be rid of it all. That was almost two years ago. I ride my bike every day, and every day is like I'm a kid again. The fun factor never dies and just the thought of all the money I'm saving keeps me in a perpetual state of happiness. Not to mention fitness.

Homer, Arlington, VA

Cross-Train While Commuting

I'm training for a marathon, so several days per week I use part of my commute as a cross-training exercise. On those days, instead of driving to the MARC train station, I bicycle to the Germantown station to commute down to Union Station and then take the Metro to work. Also, each day I walk almost a mile to my office from the Metro stop.

Lori Stone, Germantown, MD

Don't Have to Rely on a Car

I worked in Arlington from 1990 - 2001. I drove to work every day. When I returned to Arlington in 2007, I began using Metro due to the government subsidy. I take the bus to Metro then to Ballston. Regularly using the transit system has shown me I don't HAVE to rely on a car. I now use Metro as often as I can. A few days a week I take my bicycle into work on Metro after biking to the Metro station, then ride home. I also now use my bicycle for short errands (grocery, library, haircuts). I still need to use my car for long trips to visit family and for scuba trips, but transit has shown me I can avoid much wear/tear on my car, gas prices and parking fees. The biking gets me home around the same time as the transit commute, but I sure burn more calories!

Renee Amodeo, Vienna, VA

Changing My Commuting Habits

I don't live in Arlington, but would like to tell my story:

I drive a 4WD P/U. It gets 16 mgp city. I don't have far to drive to work. It's 2.5 miles. But in that short distance the truck doesn't get to operating temp. So I'm guessing I get around 10 mpg to work. So it's about a gallon a day. I work 6 days a week. I bought a scooter and have been driving it everyday to work all summer. I have to fill the scooter once a week, it takes a whole gallon. I changed vehicles because of high gas prices and $40 billion gas company profits, but I know I'm doing my part to help save the planet. I rode my bike to work 3 - 4 times, I carpooled 5 - 6 times, and walked home 4 times. It's a start!

Thanks for spreading the word!

Glenn Ray, Naselle, WA

Biking to Lose Weight

Short but true story.

After I hit my 30's it became really hard for me to lose weight. I ran, didn't work. I started swimming and I didn't lose too much. Then a friend of mine moved to the Netherlands, after 6 months over there she came back for a visit and she was really thin. I was really impressed because she narrowed down almost 3 sizes in 6 months! When I asked for her recipe, she just said that since she could not afford a car in the Netherlands, she had to commute to school and work bicycling. I could not believe that. But I decided to give it a try.

I bought a nice TREK bike and it has been fantastic!

I have been riding my bike at least 60 miles per week for the whole summer and none of my friends can believe how much weight I have lost. Bicycling has become a great experience for me -- my legs feel great and my whole body is getting so fit that I am planning to continue this as a permanent habit.  Beside the healthy side of commuting by bike, if one takes the trails, one will miss all the noise and hectic driving of daily traffic.  It is very worth it. Car-free diet has been for me the best diet I have tried.

Andrea, Falls Church, VA

Cycle to Transit

I was a bit skeptical about taking another job 25 miles from home. My husband is an avid cyclist and I liked it as a recreational past time. For the summer, I decided to try my hand at cycling to public transportation instead of driving. That first day was pretty tough, but now I really look forward to the time I spend on my bike.

S. Auckerman, Manassas, VA

I Am Brilliant

My husband and I moved from suburban life 3 years ago to a condo in Clarendon (Arlington) -- and I felt brilliant at the time, with gas at $3/gallon. With gas now at $4+, I feel like a downright genius!

Now the New York Times has confirmed my genius-ness with an article, "Fuel Prices Shift Math for Life in Far Suburbs." As the article states, "The shift to costlier fuel is threatening to slow the decades-old migration away from cities."

Higher fuel prices may at last be providing the big motivation for people to seek a more transit-oriented, walkable, bikeable life. We've already seen that Arlington's urban villages have weathered the housing downturn better than our ex-burban neighbors.

Urban villages = healthier and now, wealthier! Am I brilliant, or what!

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Diana Sun is Director of Communications for Arlington County, a walking commuter, bicylist, and happy resident of the urban village of Clarendon.

Thanks to Car-Free Diet

I was tired of sitting in the traffic and decided to go biking for this summer to work. It is about 5 miles to my work, took me a while to figure out a safe route, but I am really enjoying the scenic and pleasant ride to work.

I was inspired by a brochure from Car-Free Diet and tried this. Thanks to them.

Peter Namburi, Arlington, VA

Gave Up Our Car and Haven't Given Up Anything

For the past two years, my wife and I lived in separate cities. I lived here in Arlington and she lived 200 miles away in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. We made do with only one vehicle even though we had a 400 mile roundtrip excursion to take every weekend. Often, I took Amtrak all the way to Norfolk or I shared a ride with another long distance commuter. Most importantly, both my wife and I made lifestyle choices to live within walking distance of work. We each had a 10-minute walk to work and were steps away from all of the services and goods one needed most days.

Last month, we moved back in together in a brand new apartment building in Crystal City. Without the weekly long-distance commute and in order to avoid $100 per month parking fees, we decided to ditch the car and reward ourselves with the savings! Zipcar helps us to fill in the gaps of our driving needs and we rely heavily on walking, biking, Metro, and taxis for weekend travel needs. The proximity of grocery stores, two Metro stops, and other world-class shopping, makes it feel like we have not given anything up! What a relief!

Robert Mandle, Arlington, VA