How to live with one car in a two car family

For about eight years I was in a two car family, with only one car.  To me, a two car family means you have varied schedules and places to be, thus requiring a second car. However, even in extreme cases, it’s possible to share one car in a two car household. In my case we lived in two areas with very poor public transportation, so that wasn’t even an option. In one of those areas, we lived out in the middle of nowhere, in a town of about 250-300 people. There was nothing in town but houses and one post office. Thus walking to the store or elsewhere was out of the question. But we managed by doing the following:

• Alternating schedules, or lining up schedules so they overlapped slightly in order to allow time for one of us to drop the other off.
• I was in college, and the person I lived with worked so we found child care within walking distance of my college or Cedar would go to classes with me, which eliminated one trip to a further away childcare.
• We planned ahead for normal stuff like shopping trips into town – i.e. did everything at once instead of needing to make many small trips.

Other things a two car family can try in a normal urban area include: NOTE - obviously not all the options below will work for everyone, but one may work for you.

• Car-pooling with another person or family.
• Walking, biking, or skating – good for you and carbon-free.
• Public transportation: While small areas may lack PT, many large cities have excellent transport options beyond cars. Visit the American public transportation association to learn more.
• Have someone work at home.
• Try a car share. Zipcar is available in many major U.S. cities and in London. You can also check out car sharing for more car share options.
• Rent a car if one is needed for a temporary change in schedule.

If you really can’t lose one car, you can make a difference by purchasing a yearly auto carbon offset.