I sure have. :/ The price of oil is now going parabolic, rocketing up into space like the Saturn V rockets of old. The talk of high gas prices is everywhere, and the strain on the nation's credit system worsens day by day as inflation coupled with wage deflation places tens of millions of Americans between a rock and a hard place.
However, despite the depressing reality of skyrocketing oil and gasoline prices, I feel quite a bit more fortunate than most. Unlike most people in car-dependent metro Atlanta, GA, I'm actually able to function without a car. Granted, I don't have a regular 9-5 job to commute to (my other half does that, to the tune of approx 85% of the cost of one gallon of gas a day), but I do own and drive an ageing Isuzu Rodeo that gets approx 20 mpg. However, I'm fortunate enough to live within walking distance of two bus lines, operated by MARTA. Yesterday, I walked less than 8 minutes to the nearest bus stop, the bus came just a few minutes later, and I was whisked almost directly to the nearest MARTA train station. From there, it was an easy 22-minute ride to the heart of downtown.
I walked around, had a $4 lunch, and then rode back out a couple hours later. And I found this to be a very relaxing exercise, and that exhilarating feeling of saying No to the nation's drug of choice, i.e. gasoline, was a sweet one indeed. The bus was clean and air-conditioned, as was the train. A lot of fellow riders were just like me, middle class folk using mass transit to get around, as opposed to the old stereotype of "only those kind of people" taking the bus.
And so it begins, the gradual process of weaning myself away from the private automobile. In the months to come, I will be procuring an electric bike kit, and perhaps even one of those lovely solar-powered cars one of these days, so bringing the groceries home wouldn't be such a pain in the butt. In the months and years to come, I will drive less and less, until I reach my eventual goal of going carless altogether. I do not expect to operate a ICE automobile after the age of 50 or so.
But the whole experience of ridin' the bus (and the train) proved to me that getting around without a car really isn't the end of the world, and having this option available to me really gives me hope that I'll be able to get by on the backside of Hubbert's curve, for a while at least.
How many of you out there have started using mass transit in your community recently? I'd love to hear your experiences and perhaps trade notes on the joys of using mass transit for day-to-day living.
