While the rest of Durham tried Week Without Driving, Bike Durham board member Marc Maximov ran the opposite experiment and kept score.
By Marc Maximov, Bike Durham Board Member
Featured Photo Credit (above): Douglas Vuncannon
Most people didn't know it, but October 1-8 was the "Week Without Driving," a nationwide campaign by advocacy groups that challenges Americans to get around in other ways for seven days. The idea is that car owners will better understand the obstacles faced by the carless (or "car-free," as some of us prefer to call ourselves), and might be more supportive of infrastructure devoted to other ways of moving.
For me, every week is a week without driving, so I decided to take the opposite tack, using a car for every trip. Even though I don't own a motor vehicle, driving isn't totally alien to me; I grew up in car-centric suburbia, and a few times a year I drive friends' and relatives' cars.
But it's not how I get around Durham. For one week, I would experience, and document, the concrete changes in my daily life while driving everywhere in Durham.
Photo Credit: Douglas Vuncannon
When I got the idea for a Week With Driving, I fantasized a scene from an automotive version of Super Size Me: My primary care doctor, looking up from lab results, murmurs "Everything's trending in the wrong direction... You need to stop what you're doing immediately!" But whatever car ownership might do to me long-term, for this week I kept to my normal workout schedule, and so, fitness-wise, I don't think I fell behind.
As a freelancer, I mostly work from home, so I don't have a daily commute. I tend to bike whenever possible, but I'll also walk middling distances, and sometimes use transit. For this week, the rule was cars only, no matter how short the trip.
Three friends were nice enough to loan me their vehicles for this experiment. I have to admit, cars came in handy more often than I would've thought! Here's a running tally of the benefits and drawbacks I found in each day of driving. At the end, I'll crunch some numbers.
DAY ONE
2023 Hyundai Venue with 43,000 miles (courtesy of East Coast Greenway Development Manager Debra)
American Tobacco Campus YMCA
Normally I bike to my Tuesday & Thursday strength classes at the Y, a mile and a half from my house. Driving and parking takes about as long as biking, but sadly eliminates the 10-minute pre-class warmup I'm accustomed to (-1). And having to use the machine in the parking deck to claim a space is kind of annoying (-1).
Trader Joe's, Advanced Auto Parts in Chapel Hill
I normally hit up TJ's about once a month, either when passing through Chapel Hill or as part of an exercise-plus-destination bike trip. It's less than an hour from my house by bike, but only 25 minutes by car, so this trip is undeniably faster (+1), but again, no exercise (-1). On the way back, I stop at Advanced Auto Parts to get a new windshield wiper blade for the Venue's rear window (-1). Debra had told me she needs new blades, but I balk at the ~$80 total price for three (decent ones, anyway, on the advice of an employee).
Potential drive to Morning Star United Holy Church in Henderson, NC
Tonight I'm expecting the arrival of a long-distance cyclist. Justin Burgett had contacted me via warmshowers.com—I host bike travelers in my guest bedroom—with word he'd ride down from Richmond, VA. Turns out he'd bitten off more than he could chew! That's a 175-mile trek, and 125 miles in he calls me, exhausted, to ask if I have advice on wild camping near Henderson, NC. I'm more inclined to give him a lift, as long as I have use of a car. I'm willing to make the 80-mile round trip (+1), but first I call kind and hospitable friends in Oxford (20 miles from Henderson), who fetch him with their minivan. Not my car, not my trip, but let's credit a (+1) here for cars in general.
Miles: 20
Money spent: $21.49
Running point tally: -1
DAY TWO
2008 Lexus RX 400h hybrid SUV with 156,000 miles (courtesy of Bike Durham Advocacy Committee Co-Chair David Bradway)
Whole Foods & BP
I cheat and ride my bike to David's house to pick up his car. On the way back, I stop at a gas station to clean the windshield, and Whole Foods for some groceries. Most people assume grocery shopping is hard with a bike; but I shop frequently, I'm only buying for one person, and I can carry a lot by hanging a cloth bag or two on the handlebars (for big and heavy items, I use panniers). Honestly, there's no advantage to using a car. (Parking in the Whole Foods lot is a minor annoyance, not worth scoring).
Film Theater at Rubenstein Arts Center at Duke
I find convenient (and free) nearby parking for a documentary screening, with my first passenger, Justin, who pedaled from Oxford today and joins me for the film. We could have easily ridden bikes to the Ruby, so there's no +1 for the car.
Miles: 8
Running point tally: -1
DAY THREE
David's Lexus
Farmer's Market/Downtown YMCA
Justin takes a rest day in Durham, accompanying me to the Central Park Farmer's Market and downtown YMCA. Durham's farmer's market is super popular, and I imagine parking can be hellish, but we quickly find a spot on the street across from the Y. So driving was fine, but I would've preferred a 5-minute bike ride or 20-minute walk.
Frank's house
I visit my friend Frank, who was badly injured in a horrific crash we lived through in June (I escaped with just a flesh wound and a minor fracture). His house is literally around the corner from me, so to drive there is absurd—it's a five-minute walk—but I'm cleaving to 100% car transportation. (And I know people who have driven shorter distances!) His parents are in town to help him, on extended leave from their jobs in China. I imagine pulling up in a Lexus SUV impresses them that I'm a normal, red-blooded American, not a bike weirdo (+1). I make plans to take Frank to medical appointments on Wednesday.
Duke Dining Hall, Harris Teeter
I bring Justin to the best restaurant in Durham: the Duke Dining Hall. (For those not in the know, $12 gets you a heaping plate of three varieties of Indian food, with rice and naan). On weekends there's free and wide-open parking near Duke Gardens, so that's easy. On the way back, we stop at Harris Teeter. Notably, it's raining during this trip. In steady rain, I'll usually walk with an umbrella or take a bus, so having a car is a big time-saver today (+1).
Re:City for Bike Durham volunteering
Helping mark off tent spaces for Move-a-Bull City—Bike Durham's annual open-streets extravaganza—is a great way to get the lay of the land for tomorrow's event. Bike Durham's office in the Re:City co-working space is 10 minutes from home by bike, so there's no advantage to driving.
Miles: 11
Running points tally: +1
DAY FOUR
David's Lexus
Bike Durham volunteering at Move-a-Bull
Justin was a great guest, with lots of interesting stories from the road (sometimes harrowing—he was threatened with a gun after he crossed the North Carolina state line), and from his life. This morning he rides away to continue his journey, and I drive to Move-a-Bull. I park at Re:City because it's hard to get much closer to the event's closed-off streets. I report to the CCB stage to help with the audio setup. When I get there, I find Bike Durham's brand-new PA speaker and mic weren't delivered, but the roomy Lexus easily hauls this small load, and the police let me through barriers to drop it off (+1). Later, during a time-sensitive A/V crisis, I wish I had my bike: It would be parked on the street very nearby, and I could use it to zip down to Central Park to confer with colleagues, maybe ride home and back to pick up audio cables. But the vehicle I have today is too far away to be of use (-1).
Shadowbox Studio
I'm kind of tired after Move-a-Bull, and I barely have time to make dinner before racing off to Shadowbox, where I volunteer as a venue manager. A 10-minute bike ride would have delivered a refreshing jolt of fresh air and exercise. Instead, after a short drive, I'm pooped and groggy (-1).
Miles: 10
Running point tally: Even
DAY FIVE
David's Lexus
Florence's house, Barbara's house
Monday is book club, often at the house of a friend in Hillsborough, and when it's there I rely on others for rides. (I very occasionally bike to Hillsborough, a 1 1/2-hour trek on roads that vary a lot in bike-friendliness). Today's meeting is in Durham, but I can finally return a carpooling favor by chauffeuring Barbara to her house north of Croasdale (+1).
Autorific High Performance Wash, BP
On the way back from Barbara's, I drop $5.75 on the foaming brush and soap/rinse spray (free vacuuming!) at a car wash. I never need to clean my bike, but I do lube the chain a few times a year, so let's call this even. I stop at a gas station to put $32.31 of premium unleaded in the Lexus (-1).
PetSmart
Next stop is PetSmart to pick up a colossal 20-lb. bag of cat food. You might think a car would be handy, or even necessary, for this, but I can easily tote this tonnage of dried salmon nuggets on my bike's rear rack, using bungee cords.
On the way home from PetSmart, I'm caught in a traffic jam of parents picking up kids from Brogden Middle School. The light at Duke St. cycles three times. On a bike, I would've sliced right through (-1). I return the car to David's house and enjoy a 40-minute walk home.
Miles: 14
Money spent: $38.06
Running points tally: -1
DAY SIX
2008 Honda Fit with 179,000 miles (courtesy of next-door neighbor Lisa)
American Tobacco Campus YMCA
A few times a year, my next-door neighbor, Lisa, loans me her car to ferry my cat to the vet (which is surprisingly far from home—long story). She's long been involved in caring for Flip, mayor of Clark St. (Let's give a +1 to cars just for mentioning this.) Today, I'm off to my class at the Y, and like last week, I miss the usual ten-minute pre-class warmup ride (-1).
Miles: 3
Running points tally: -1
DAY SEVEN
Debra's Hyundai
Frank's house, eye doctor, FedEx Office, Duke Primary Care
Frank is still recovering from his injuries and can't move his left arm, so he can't drive. Using Debra's car, we go to the eye doctor and to FedEx office to print a paratransit application form, then to his primary care doctor to drop off the form. Needless to say, none of this would have been possible without a car (+1). After this week, I'll use his car to take him to appointments. Until his GoDurham ACCESS paratransit application goes through, he'll need to pay for ride shares on the days I can't give him a lift.
I had planned to go to a talk at the Nasher Museum of Art today, which would have meant paying for parking, but I'm behind on work and don't have time to go.
Miles: 34
Running points tally: Even
Photo Credit: Douglas Vuncannon
SUMMARY
Miles: 100 (I'm not making this up!)
Money spent: $59.55
Final points tally: Even
This experiment showed me that the car came in handy more often than I expected. I transported heavy gear to Move-a-Bull City. I gave rides to three people and marginally balanced my carpooling karma. And as a diehard cyclist, even I have to admit that a warm, dry car is tempting when rain is heavy or steady.
On the other side of the ledger, I missed the bursts of fresh-air exercise I normally get throughout the day. Parking wasn't painful—I know sometimes it can be—but it was still more annoying than locking up a bike. And I was conscious of making everyone around me less safe, and fractionally contributing to a poorly planned, unwalkable city.
Also, I'm not going to lie, ever since my crash in June, traveling at high speeds makes me nervous. I get flash visualizations of head-on collisions with vehicles coming the other way. These feelings are waning, and I can deal with them. But they are unnerving.
I was surprised to learn that during the week, I averaged 12,000 steps per day, more or less the same as usual. To be sure, since I use my watch as a step counter, in normal weeks I get no credit for biking (your wrist stays still on the handlebars). And I may have unconsciously made up for relative inactivity with more recreational walking. In any case, absent biking, my overall exercise level was definitely lower than usual. And while one's mileage may vary, cars are probably the biggest factor in keeping the US average of steps per day in the 3,000-5,000 range.
LET'S CRUNCH SOME NUMBERS
I asked my friends how much they paid for insurance, registration, inspection, and maintenance in the past year. I calculated the cost per day, multiplied by how many days I had each vehicle, and got a total for the week of $33.
Total for the week: $33.35
If these folks had bought their vehicles new, and will keep them on the road for 25 years (longer than the US average of 17 years), spreading out the purchase prices (average prices from the internet) would add another $23 to the week. They got their cars used, though, so let's conservatively add $10. My friends are doing the car thing on the cheap: Average monthly car payments in the US are $765 for new cars and $542 for used, and car insurance averages $2,510 per year.
I overspent on gas, buying a third of a tank for the Lexus (which takes $100 fill-ups, yikes!) Using current average gas prices, and considering which vehicle I drove for which trips, the 100 miles I tallied should have cost around $18. This makes the final cost for my Week With Driving $33 + $10 + $18 = around $50.
At this rate, over the course of a year, my total cost would be around $2,500.
I've lived car-free in Durham since I moved here 20 years ago, so in that time I suppose I've saved somewhere on the order of $50,000. (And according to AAA, the average American would have spent around $200,000, oof!)
Compare that with my real-world local transportation costs: I get free second-hand bikes at the Durham Bike Co-op, and I do my own maintenance there, which costs around $20/year (mostly for new tubes). When the crash in June bent my bottom bracket axle, I paid all of $10 for a new axle at the co-op.
I never take Ubers or Lyfts, GoDurham buses are fare-free, and my Bike Durham membership includes free use of GoTriangle (inter-city) buses to the airport, Chapel Hill, Cary, and Raleigh. So my total cost for local transportation is around 70¢ per week.
Those are real savings! Of course, living car-free isn't for everyone, and cars are definitely handy. My Week With Driving reminded me of that. But it didn't inspire me to go out and buy one.