Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

jib-cut-of t1_ixg9lm5 wrote

To be honest, I strongly disagree.

Having a car may be a luxury for the car's owner (at times), but adding more vehicles to Boston traffic slows everyone else's commute. It is pollutant, dangerous (to yourself and pedestrians/cyclists with whom you share roadways), and often extremely inconvenient for the reasons many others have shared above.

For the times that you need a car --- which, as a /r/fuckcars acolyte, I must admit are a reality --- services like ZipCar are pretty affordable and very accessible. There are four different ZipCar pickup/drop-off locations within a 7 minute walk of my building. Sure the marginal cost on a car-share service seems high, but also consider that with these you are not paying for gas, insurance, maintenance, or the up-front cost of the vehicle itself (and, in OP's case, shipping the vehicle cross-country). It's like $50 to take one of those bad boys for a whole day, which imo is a pretty reasonable rate to jog up to NH for a day.

OP, if it weren't obvious from the rest of my comment, I would ditch the car and consider a multi-modal commute. Places near rail stops too expensive? No problem -- ride a bicycle to the rail stop, then take the train into downtown, and reverse the process in the evening. A truly Euro-style commute ;)

−2

alyyyysa t1_ixgivjb wrote

I would love it if I didn't disagree with this comment. The world would be a better place.

I don't know where you're getting Zipcar for a day for 50 bucks. Has it gotten cheaper? Before I finally gave in and bought a car, it at least 80 if not more per day. If you live in an actual suburb, they are few and far between (my nearest one now is a 30 minute walk). If you have 7 around you, maybe you live in places like Somerville, JP, etc., in which case you have non-commuter rail public transport already.

Multi-modal commute in Boston? Biking to the commuter rail on presumably semi-suburban roads in the winter? Then, waiting for your too-late commuter rail in the cold?

OP likely won't last long doing this because we don't have the infrastructure, respect for biking, weather, and public transit infrastructure of the European cities you're probably thinking about.

I used to this as a reverse commute - a bus to a train to the commuter rail. I didn't work 9 - 5 hours so I'd have to get there an hour early, because if my on-time train was late I'd be late. How late was unpredictable until the disastrous winter that would make traveling by commuter rail impossible. I honestly gave up and started taking ubers (I didn't work every day, and it was expensive, but it was more reliable than zipcar).

OP, if you are on a subway line, even if you're far out, you're probably okay (though you'd likely appreciate having a car). If you live on the commuter rail, think carefully about your schedule, shut downs, access to groceries, costs, etc. And above all, don't plan to drive to the middle of downtown Boston for work every day - that's honestly the worst option. The car is for the rest of life and weekend trips here.

8

jib-cut-of t1_ixishrj wrote

Zipcar rates depend on the vehicle. If you get say, a Honda Fit, then you can get a pretty reasonable day rate.

And yes, I'm in Camberville so I have a ton of Zipcars near me and little experience with commuter rail. My comment was predicated on the idea that OP would live near a red/orange line stop, not a commuter rail stop.

−1

alyyyysa t1_ixj7pu0 wrote

Camberville is definitely not the suburbs in the way that OP seems to mean it, and a red/orange stop here to me is the subway (rail to me means commuter rail). Camberville also isn't a place to save on rent in the greater Boston area. It's basically the best of all worlds - tons of public transit, lots of options, universities and zipcars and buses and walkable. To me, it's preferable to live there than downtown. And I would say you definitely don't need a car there. But it comes at a premium.

I did check on zipcar prices - they start at 83 from what I can tell, for a day. In Camberville, I'd totally still use one and ditch the car. But I think OP would be living further out since that area is not really cheaper.

3

cassettecollect t1_ixhjvi2 wrote

The transit system here is not reliable enough to not need a car at times. Stop pretending it is. There is no grid here.

2

jib-cut-of t1_ixis1ok wrote

If you read my comment, you would see that I... said the same thing?

−1

northeasternlurker t1_ixkeac0 wrote

Lol no. I live in Boston and will never get rid of my car. Why be uncomfortable and ride a bike in the cold or wait for the delayed trains. Car trumps pubic transportation infinitely. I can go where I want when I want on my own schedule.

2