Living in Dallas without a car (Arlington, Plano: car insurance, buying, inspectors)

[obsidian97]

Originally Posted by killer2021

When I move to Dallas I am planning on riding a bike to work at least 4 days a week depending on weather. Then again I will be renting close to my employment area so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

I hope you're renting REAL close and your employer has a bathroom with a shower. No offense, but you'll probably wind up getting to work with quite a sweat most of the summer.

I used to live 1.03 miles from work, sidewalks and nice trails the whole way. I never once walked or rode a bike to work. I was physically active then, ran a marathon years later, but it was just way too hot for at least half the year to make it work.

I would have been a sweaty mess just walking slowly to work, even when the sun was low in the sky.

[Lakewooder]

When I was a kid, many if not most of the men took the bus downtown to work. Then the ladies had the car and could take the kids to school, get groceries, go to the cleaners, etc. Then North Park opened and the ladies started going there... This is why most men stopped riding the bus and started driving the car.

[HelpTheKidsInLancasterTx]

I rode public transportation for the first 10 years of being in Dallas with no problem. After gas prices went up, I jumped back on public transportation....dont understand why I got off.

[Bostonian08]

Originally Posted by obsidian97

I hope you're renting REAL close and your employer has a bathroom with a shower. No offense, but you'll probably wind up getting to work with quite a sweat most of the summer.

I noticed that as an issue myself Friday night. It was 8pm an way cooled down from the hottest part of the day. Nevertheless my clothing still got kinda sticky. It's not a big deal to me personally, but walking into a business in sweat soaked clothing may not come across as the finest lot of social graces anyone has ever seen.

[Korel]

Living in Dallas without a car ;

I once lived in Dallas without a car and always rode the bus. Then I had a life changing experience. It was my 16th birthday and I bought a car! $100 for a 1958 VW bug. I wish I had that bug back!

[obsidian97]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

I noticed that as an issue myself Friday night. It was 8pm an way cooled down from the hottest part of the day. Nevertheless my clothing still got kinda sticky. It's not a big deal to me personally, but walking into a business in sweat soaked clothing may not come across as the finest lot of social graces anyone has ever seen.

Yeah, not conducive to projecting an image of confidence.

Many people drive simply for the constant air conditioning rather than having to wait at bus stops or propel themselves (walking/biking) and come to work err... "damp."

I'm sure back in the day it was acceptable, but I think people have different expectations these days.

[jsoto3]

Here's a blog of a guy living carfree in downtown Dallas:
http://carfreeinbigd.blogspot.com

LIVING CARFREE IN BIG D
Or How I Learned to Stop Driving and Love the Walk...and other ruminations on Urban Design, Architecture, Sustainability, Ecolonomics, and the Way of the World in my adopted home of Dallas, Texas

He hasn't written much lately about living carfree in Dallas specifically, but there's always something interesting to read.

[Joby G]

Coming up on the one year anniversary when my 15 year old Toyota finally decided to call it a day. Unfortunately, just didn't have the means for another car.

"How will you survive in Dallas without a car?" my friends asked.

"Somehow," was my meek reply.

I've adjusted quite nicely. Granted, the schedules could be better. DART has some work to do. Mid-day or late night traveling is frustrating as you often have to wait quite some time for a bus. Crosstown travel is time consuming. But, all in all, it isn't that bad. And...a lot less worries. No car payment. No insurance premiums, no gas, no worrying about an illegal immigrant or drunk driver crashing into me. Traffic headaches? Let someone else deal with it while I read the paper.

A couple of months ago, this arrogant Planoite wrote in to the Dallas Morning News that he was sticking with his Hummer for the protection of his family despite gas prices. He remarked that his Hummer would crush your Toyota Prius on I-35. I'd like to see this suburban idiot try that with my DART bus.

[Moth]

I lived in Dallas for a year and did the first 6 months without a car. I had come from New York where a car is a hindrance/luxury and there is also excellent public transportation. I had never owned a car in my life.

I lived in Addison near a transit hub and worked in Farmers Branch. Commuting to work was a breeze. Twenty minute ride on a modern bus where you always got a seat. And a pass was a paltry 15 bucks a month or something like that.

I did have to get creative when it came to grocery shopping. A friend would drive me and I would buy him a bottle of hooch as payment. I would buy a titanic amount of groceries. After awhile, and I am not boasting, I dated a girl who drove me around.

I tried to do the bike thing, but that did not really work. Addison is small so there were places I could walk to including several gin joints so no DWI worries.

So it can be done as I and others have attested. But I will tell you that after awhile it gets on your nerves. Convenience is a no brainer, especially in a large sprawl like DFW. Then there are the social ramifications. Most people thought I was completely out of my mind. And I noticed that if you walk anywhere, people there actually heckle you as they speed on by. And try to be active on the singles scene in Dallas with no wheels

I finally broke down and bought my first car ever. I liked it very much.

So yea, its possible to live there or pretty much anywhere without a car. I guess the question is, do you want to? I am back East now and continue to have a car, but am not nearly as dependent on it as I was in Dallas.

Great OP.

[Jimrob1]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

I took my first ride on DART Friday night. I had to go work at Baylor downtown at 9pm and didn't feel like driving. I drove one mile and parked my car in the GWB parking lot (free). Caught the DART to Pearl. Waved a cab as soon as I got off and was at the BMC 5 minutes later. No problem. I was toting 35 pounds of tools and laptop btw. I enjoyed using my laptop on the train as I went. Try doing that on I-35!

Ran into a minor problem coming back. I tried calling yellow cab for a taxi, and their genius dispatchers didn't know where Baylor Downtown was. Telling them Washington and Gaston didn't help. So it took me a half hour to get a cab back to Pearl Station. @nd problem was the train back home was packed like sardines. Some dude had to bring his bike on and practically set it on my lap. I didn't really care though, I'm used to that. The issue obviously is because they have tiny trains the size of Green line cars doing commuter rail distances. Also these trains go really fast once they get out of town so standing up on a train going that fast is a bit more challenging and risky. When the driver hit his brakes, people went flying.

All and all though I'd say not bad for first try & Friday transit between 8 and 1130pm. Maybe one can't be car free in DFW right now, but one not need not be stuck on a traffic jam on Central either.

On the subject of traffic jams, does DFW have a 511 service of any sort?

Oh and BTW, how does DART check to see if you paid to get on the train? I got one of those day passes but when I got on no one checked and there was no where to swipe a ticket. I had the distinct feeling that most of those people did not pay to ride that train.

I have been reading this carless in Dallas thread. I was interested in your comment about ticket checking on the train. It is a big beef of mine in Portland, one could ride indefinitely and the ticket/pass is never checked. It is obvious people are not paying, yet we have fare increases twice a year. We now pay $2.35 for a ticket and it goes up again in January. In fact I am going to start a thread on how many cities with light rail are actually checking tickets. The Dart system seems like it is becoming a more extensive system and one day would be much easier to live there without a car. But it obvioulsy can be done to some extent anyway.