Like me, if you own a car, you probably don’t even think about how you will get to work, or to the store, or get your kids to school. You probably don’t think about how you would survive without a vehicle. I realize I take having a vehicle for granted.
My car is in my garage where it waits for me to use it anytime I need or want it. My carriage awaits…
But last week, for three days, my carriage did not wait.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of DriveTime. The opinions and text are all mine.
I took a blogger challenge from DriveTime to go without a reliable vehicle for three days. Eh, what’re three days? “Three days isn’t long,” I thought.
Challenge on!
Yet…
Three days IS a long time without a vehicle. But alas, I parked my car for three days.
I realize that many people don’t own or have access to a car. If like me and you live in a more rural area, however, being without a vehicle is not so easy.
According to the US Department of Transportation, “public transportation carried more than 10.5 billion passengers in 2013. That’s a lot of people.
Although I am somewhat close to things, it’s about 8 miles to the nearest KAT (Knoxville Area Transit) bus stop from my home. Another option is a taxi. Well, let me tell you, taking a taxi is not cheap. I checked in my area, and the average cab fare for a 15-mile trip would be $37.35. That’s one way, so multiply that times 2 and I’m out $74.70. Whoa, Nelly… that’s one costly trip out.
So how did I survive without a vehicle?
I didn’t go anywhere for three days. That’s how.
I stayed home Tuesday through Thursday of last week. I’m fortunate though that I’m a work at home mom and my son is on summer break. I did think about how my situation could have been much different. What if I did work out of my home? What if my son needed to get to and from school? What if my son or I had a doctor’s appointment? What if there had been an emergency?
According to Michael Sivak of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, 9.22% of US households were without a vehicle in 2012. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t live within city limits so finding public transportation isn’t even feasible for me.
If I did want to go somewhere I would have to hitchhike (which is not happening).
Or carpool or bum a ride, which I have done in the past.
I didn’t HAVE to go anywhere this past week. It was a bit annoying that I couldn’t, but that was all it was for me… an annoyance. Trust me, I so appreciated the fact that I knew once Friday came, I could go somewhere.
I have to admit that I was also glad that it rained and/or was cloudy all three days so we couldn’t have gone to the pool anyway.
There are times when a person may have to be without a car for a short time; like maybe your vehicle is in the shop. But sometimes people have to be without a car because they just don’t have the money to buy a car.
According to the Census Bureau’s Five-Year American Community Survey (ACS): The average percentage of incomes under $25k for the top 11 poorest cities in America was 33.9%.
It can be a challenge to finance a vehicle if you’ve faced credit issues. I love that DriveTime helps people by providing financing to everyone, even if you’ve had bad or no credit or have been turned down by every other dealer.
Thanks to DriveTime no one has to try and “survive without a vehicle,” temporarily or long term. Learn more about DriveTime and how you can have your own transportation.
Now to get ready to look for another car for my 15-year-old, soon to be a 16-year-old son. Sigh.