Category Archives: Driving

by | August 20, 2013 · 9:00 am

My Transportation Diary: A Hodge-Podge Of Travel Habits

Up in Wisconsin, a fine ride.

Up in Wisconsin, a fine ride.

By Micheline Maynard

Aubrey Burleson-Sanford relies on a mix of transportation: he drives, is driven and relies on his bike.

Aubrey, a student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, checked in from Door County, Wisconsin, to share his transportation diary for last week. (That’s the Toyota Sienna he took to get to Wisconsin’s vacation land.)

Here’s how Aubrey puts it:

“My own car, a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor is broken (busted transmission), so I have to use a hodgepodge of family and friends’ cars when I need a car.

I didn’t work or have class at all this weekend, so there’s not any sort of commuting pattern, but there are a few other patterns. I have a couple unusual key locations I go to and from, but it would be interesting to see how someone interprets this without knowing those.

(Editor’s note: We aren’t going to tell you what Aubrey is doing at some of these hours. We’ll let you guess.)

Looking at this, I wish I had biked more, but most of my traveling, since I didn’t really have any obligations, happened because I had a car and decided to go do such-and-such thing, instead of I needed to get to a thing and therefore got a car.  Continue reading →

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by | August 19, 2013 · 9:00 am

My Transportation Diary: Driving And Cycling In North Carolina

By Micheline Maynard

We’ve launched a regular feature called My Transportation Diary, asking you to tell us how you get around. My Transportation Diary

It’s a great way to compare notes, see transportation trends in different parts of the country, and hear thoughts from people who are mixing up their transportation options.

In this episode, Dan Leinbach, who lives in North Carolina, shares his diary. He came to us through Jalopnik, the automotive enthusiast site, where Curbing Cars has a Kinja page. You’re welcome to read our posts and take part in the conversation. Dan’s Jalopnik screen name is Thunder.

Here’s Dan’s diary:

“I work from home full-time.  I think the nearest office of my company is maybe Richmond, VA.  I’m in Apex, a suburb of Raleigh, NC.  My normal day consists of taking my daughter to school (about 2 miles each way); mid afternoon, she’s dropped back off at home.  Most evenings she has some kind of activity to attend, all very local.  Continue reading →

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by | August 18, 2013 · 10:08 pm

Teens: What Would Get You Interested In Driving?

By Micheline Maynard

Driving is down five percent nationwide since 2004, and one of the biggest reasons is a significant drop in teens on the road. Only about 28 percent of 16-year-olds get their licenses, as we’ve told you before, and teens just don’t have the lust for automobiles that their parents and grandparents had.

The NPR logo

On Sunday afternoon, I talked about the quandary this poses for the carmakers on NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered. You can listen to the show here.

There are a lot of reasons why teens are getting licenses, but we’d like to hear from our young audience. Is there anything that would make you more interested in driving? Or is it just not on your radar?

One of my Twitter followers suggested that mobile phones fill the role that cars once did. True? And if we have any car buffs, we’d be happy to hear from you. Why do cars make your heart pound?

 

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by | August 12, 2013 · 9:00 am

10 Big Transportation Ideas: Why Own When You Can Rent?

In 2008, Zipcar had 200,000 members. This year, it has more than four times that many as car sharing catches on.

In 2008, Zipcar had 200,000 members. This year, it has more than four times that many as car sharing catches on.

By Micheline Maynard

Back in 2009, just before General Motors filed for bankruptcy, I wrote a story for The New York Times called, “Industry Fears Americans May Quit New Car Habit.”

This was a very real concern for the Obama administration, which was in the midst of investing $82 billion in reviving two car companies and restructuring other parts of the auto industry.

The story included an interview with Scott Griffith, the CEO of a fledgling company called Zipcar, which rented cars to customers by the hour. In 2008, Zipcar had signed up 200,000 members. In 2009, the company was aiming for 300,000.

Flash forward to 2013. Zipcar was sold this spring to the Avis Budget Group for $500 million. Zipcar now has 810,000 members. And the opportunities for expanding its network seem boundless.

But Zipcar is far from the only car sharing company out there. As you can see from our car resources page, there are all manner of places, both for-profit and non-profit, allowing people to use a car for short periods of time. Continue reading →

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by | August 4, 2013 · 11:19 am

10 Big Transportation Ideas: Why Teens Are Driving Less

My nephew, Parker J. Maynard, a 2013 graduate of Novi High School in Michigan.

My nephew, Parker J. Maynard, a 2013 graduate of Novi High School in Michigan.

By Micheline Maynard

I got my license the fall that I turned 16. I took driver’s ed from my high school during the summer, practiced a bit with my family, and then went down for my driving test. Voila! I was licensed to drive.

That was back in the 20th century, and getting a license isn’t that easy for many teens. For one thing, schools are by and large out of the driver’s ed business. And, many teens aren’t motivated to get their licenses, at least not the moment they are eligible. That’s one of the 10 big ideas we’re exploring at Curbing Cars. (See our previous story here.)

The latest statistics show that only 28 percent of 16-year-olds have their licenses. That’s down from 46 percent in 1983, according to federal state and an analysis by the University of Michigan.

The numbers go up after high school graduation. About 70 percent of 19-year-olds have their licenses. But that’s still down from 87 percent in 1983.

This is a factor in why driving is down for the overall population, one of the major issues we are studying at Curbing Cars.

Continue reading →

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by | July 29, 2013 · 9:05 am

Curbing Cars: As Seen In Monday’s New York Times

By Micheline Maynard

You’ve come to the right place. This is the Curbing Cars project that was mentioned in Monday’s New York Times Wheels blog.

Jim Motavalli looks at the University of Michigan study that says driving has been declining in the United States since 2004. There are a number of reasons, which make up what we’re studying at Curbing Cars, and Jim called to ask me about it.

Here’s some of what I had to say:

In an interview, Micheline Maynard, former Detroit bureau chief for The New York Times and author of a coming book called “Curbing Cars: Rethinking How We Get Around,” said, “Driving is definitely down, though I would certainly not say the auto industry is going away. I think it can maintain 15-million annual sales years in the United States for some time to come, although some people were predicting we’d be at 20 million vehicles by now.”

If you’re interested in this all-important subject, please support our Kickstarter, which is providing seed money for our ebook and research. We’d also love to hear your personal stories about driving less. And thanks.

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by | July 28, 2013 · 3:38 pm

10 Big Transportation Ideas We’re Exploring At Curbing Cars

Photo courtesy of The Hubway.

Photo courtesy of The Hubway.

By Micheline Maynard

The Curbing Cars project is looking at one of the biggest changes in North American society in the past century: rethinking our use of automobiles.

We’re starting with an ebook. You can help by making a pledge to our Kickstarter. We’ve already heard from almost 50 people who believe in what we’re doing.

But maybe you aren’t familiar with what’s happening beyond your community. You’ve never rented a Zipcar, or taken a ride on a Citi Bike. As for walking to the office, that’s not going to happen.

Over the next few days, we’ll talk about the 10 Big Transportation Ideas we’re exploring at Curbing Cars. That will help you get a handle on our work, and understand how significantly things are changing.

1) People are driving less.
According to a new University of Michigan study, the number of miles driven in the United States is down 5 percent since it peaked in 2006. The average miles driven per driver, the average distance, and the number of vehicle driven per vehicle are all down. Continue reading →

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