This is part of an ongoing series of what it is like to live a “car-free life”. Having recently sold my car and not having regular access to one, I’ve chosen to share my experience and thoughts on things that are relevant to this lifestyle. You can find the growing list of articles here.
Having owned an automobile on a few different occasions I certainly am aware of the impact a car can have on the availability of time during any given day. From being able to go out and do many things within a short period of time to the convenience of going places based on your schedule, having regular access to an automobile allows for an individual to be more flexible with their time and the things that require their attention.
This all but changes when you do not have regular access to a vehicle and go car-free.
Car-Free Time
When you make the change from owning a car to not owning a car you also make a big change to having complete control over the hours in the day to having only partial control. No longer is your time your own, no longer are you free to wait until the last minute to leave for an appointment and no longer are you able to run out whenever you feel like it to pick up a bag of chips, a movie, or that new pair of shoes you have been wanting.
How you use your time begins to be directed by the method of transportation you choose, whether it be public transit, cycling, walking or taxi and this in turn directly influences the choices that you make on a daily basis.
When you go car-free time becomes more precious and something that you have less of to waste as it generally takes longer to do the same things you would be doing if you had regular access to a vehicle. With less time, smarter decisions need to be made in order to be as most time-effective as possible when completing tasks.
Consciousness
One of the ‘consequences’ of not owning a car is that your consciousness of time increases exponentially: what needs to be done, what can actually be done and how much time things take all become clearer concepts. You become more aware of how important certain trips are over others and how to better use the time available to your full advantage.
By not owning a car and relying on modes of transportation that take a bit longer and are often out of your personal control, you become more aware of how external factors influence everything you do (not just daily travel) and how to account and prepare for any ‘curve-balls’ that may be thrown your way.
Time Management
When you go car-free you are forced to become better at managing your time because as stated, it is not always your own. You being to group trips together to make fewer larger ‘outings’ rather than more smaller ‘outings’.
And as a beneficial side result, you begin to schedule fewer meetings, as they take up travel time, and choose to only schedule and attend the ones that are necessary and not simply ones that are an act of conformity.
Realization
While time not being your own and having less time in general are both consequences of not owning a car, they are only negatives if you perceive time in a certain way.
While I do not want to start a philosophical discussion of what time is and how much value it holds on a variety of scales I would like to say this: time is both infinite and finite at the same time and it only becomes the dictating factor in the actions we choose to take part in if we let it.
Yes, while in the short term, missing a meeting, or not getting something completed within a certain amount of time can have negative consequence, if we take a look at time on a longer and larger scale there is always more of it each and every day to get done what we need. This directly relates to owning/not-owning a vehicle because depending on how a person perceives time will dictate how they both manage their time and deal with any ‘issues’ that arise.
So while not-owning a car often means that time is not your own, you come to have a difference understanding of time, the value that it has and how this relates to priorities in other areas of your life.
In The End
I have found that being car-free also means you have a greater amount of time to do the more important things in life as you make fewer un-necessary trips daily. I have found that you can develop a greater understanding of what time actually is and the dichotomy of how valuable and in-valuable it is at the same time. I’ve also started to learn how to live a pace of life that is focused around understanding.
However, there is no doubting the obvious: when you don’t own a car your time is not always your own. You come to rely on the local transit system being on time, you become more aware of how much impact a train blocking a sidewalk can actually have and you start to plan for inconsistencies that may arise due to factors outside of your control.
With that said, as with any situation in life, things are what you make of them and the concept of time as it relates to not owning a car is no different. One way of turning what appears to be an overwhelming negative of not owning a vehicle into a positive is to re-consider what time actually is, what it means in terms of not only day-to-day happenings but also on a longer/larger scale and re-evaluate the other aspects of your life in relationship to time itself.
note: there is a good chance that what I have written here makes little to no sense as it was tough for me to articulate what was going through my mind, with that said, I posted it anyways in hope that someone, somewhere can make sense of it. The next thing I write will focus on something more concrete, I promise.
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