car or bike in Denver?

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

So buy mechanical breakdown and towing as part of your insurance coverage.

You seem to miss the point. It is not a matter of cost or reimbursement of the cost. It is the idea of being isolated along a highway in a car that does not work; you are stuck in a dangerous situation. If your car gets broken down somewhere, away from home, you are again stuck.

Oh, great, It makes you feel so much better sitting there alone, in the cold, dark and snow, trying to figure how you are going to get help--but I got insurance. Even if you have your cell phone, and it works, have towing service insurance or AAA etc., have you ever tried to get them to respond in a bad storm, when everybody is broken down???Gee, think about that.

If you are lucky, the police will notice your predicament and have you towed off the highway. Or, if this is your bad day, you will have someone pull up besides you and offer you help--that is a robbery, murder or rape---or all three.

I have had more scares alone in a car, that is broken down or running, than in the subways below NYC and in Harlem, late on a Saturday Night. I guarantee you more people die on the highways than on the subways of the New York, every day. Denver public transit is like a ride in Disneyland in comparison.

Livecontent

[D-town 720]

You can live free in any downtown of any major city just fine. You just need to be near the core.

OP, Cap hill is very cool and a great place for a student, which is why many live there car free....

Worst case you can rent a bike downtown they're all over.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by OneMoreMove

I'm not so sure about that. I think I'd rather be carless in San Francisco then Denver.

I have no idea why. Have you actually ridden both? Muni busses and streetcars are insanity overcrowded, and service is undependable. And to make matters worse, service is being cut, big time. Muni service is simply not safe, due the high rate of accidents and violent crimes that occur on the system. Example: crazy people stabbing random passengers, for no particular reason. Also racial hate crimes towards almost all groups.

RTD certainly has its problems too, but no where near the level for Muni. The only advantage I can think of for Muni over RTD would be the frequency of service, and that is off set by the unreliability of service. Example: I've waited 45 min. for a Muni bus, that should run every 5 min. Then seven of them show up bumper to bumper, all of them too crowded to even board. The last time I could remember any delay that extreme in Denver would have been during some the severe blizzards of the early 1980s. When the streets became un-passible to any vehicles.

[ucdenver2010]

cowboyxjon, i totally understand your dependency on your car. i have thought about that in my sleep. i have imagined that having a car beside my apt would be of great comfort knowing that i can go anywhere, anytime, anyway.

tomharvard, that is a good idea actually. my international friends have that sort of program going.

kaboom, if denver were SF, i wouldn't even take a car. from experience, SF has a good system. But again, i hear denver does too. I will have to use denver's transportation system to make my own judgement.

davros, i plan to live in capitol hill. it seems like the bus run until 3 am or even near 24hrs.

onemoremove, that is exactly what i was worried about…INSURANCE and REGISTRATION. i will be a college graduate student and i don't have the money to be independent of my own insurance. i am under my parents' insurance, currently.

everyone, thanks for your response. as someone mentioned, i might not bring a car my first semester to get the feel of the place. plus, i am terrified of my car being stolen, damaged, or just breaking down randomly if I do visit family in CA.