Stop: Driving

Seen at the intersection of India and Fore Streets.

Senior Citizen's Transportation

I happened to see an article posted on the New York Times recently which mentions little old Portland, Maine. See here. The article is in the blog section called "The New Old Age," which appears to deal with topics related to the elderly population.

This article is about the Portland branch of the Independent Transporation Network. The ITN, as it is called, provides transportation options for senior citizens who are not able, or no longer wish to, drive and maintain their own automobiles. As they say in their overview section of their website, "few of us think, and even fewer plan for, the day when we'll have to turn in our keys." This is true, and I'm led to believe that there are many people who live in communities that also have not thought about people who want to go places without a car, such as people who are no longer able to operate a motor vehicle safely due to age.

Anyhow, the blog article looks at the transportation choices made by some elderly people here in Portland. The ITN system works similarly to a taxi service when combined with a carsharing service. Members pay a certain amount per year for membership, a pick-up fee, and a set amount per mile. According to the article, the cost per mile in Portland is $1.50, which they compare the the average cost per mile in a Portland taxi which is $3.60. It's more expensive than the bus, even without the senior discount, but certainly offers more convenience.

The article has a great quote by the network's founder Katherine Freund:

“The same impairments that make it difficult for people to drive make it difficult for them to use public transportation, where they may have to walk down stairs, walk on icy sidewalks, wait in the cold or the hot sun,” said Ms. Freund. “And now we’re living longer. We’re outliving all of our systems, including the transportation system.”

This seems like a really valuable service that could grow substantially as the population ages. Safe and efficient transportation options for the elderly will continue to be an issue for some time here, as Maine is already the state with the oldest population. I'd be happy to see some investment in organisations such as the ITN.

Go Car-Free on the 4th

Not only can you get some exercise, meet your neighbors, and be more environmentally friendly (among other benefits), you can also decrease your risk of being injured in an automobile on Sunday if you leave your car in the driveway.

As I saw on the Discovery Channel website, a study by the University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies shows that the 4th of July is the most dangerous day of  the year to drive, in addition to the summer being to most dangerous season to be on the road. Some factors that make Independence Day especially dangerous include the amount of traffic (summer travel season and people going to cookouts I suppose) and the increased amount of drunk drivers (holidays tend to lead to a spike in drunk driving).

I'm not sure of any  exact statistics for the 4th of July, but according to one source there is an automobile fatality every 12 minutes and there are in excess of 40,000 fatalities every year. Such statistics are powerful and   knowing that one particular day had a disproportionate amount of traffic deaths is enough for me to say that the 4th is a good day to walk, bike, or use mass transit. Besides, the weather is great and Portland is a great place to not be in a car.

U Car Share

On Tuesday I was brave enough to test out my membership with U Car Share, a car sharing program, similar to Zipcar, which is owned by the U-Haul Company. It was introduced to Portland not long ago and is currently only available in four (soon to be six) locations. I had a dentist appointment in the far-away land of Scarborough so I thought I would share some insights from my trip.

I know you're thinking 'why is a blog about the car-free life writing about cars?"

I will start by saying that Maine is one of the more auto-dependant states in the country and also that car sharing can be a great tool for those who choose not to own their own car and incur those costs associated with ownership. Some places, even in the greater Portland area, are practically unreachable by mass transit or are too long of a trip to make walking or biking (especially when it was raining like yesterday). Car sharing has obvious benefits as far as resource consumption and environmental impacts and is also a good choice for the wallet.

There are currently four of these U Car Share PT Cruisers located around Portland, with the two above on Elm Street and the other two on Commercial Street. The two on Elm Street are right across from the Metro Pulse station, which is a good neighbor for this type of transportation activity. I am not a big fan of the PT Cruisers but it was a nice ride and it had less than 5k miles on the odometer. It appears that zipcar has a wider selection of vehicles to choose from, and perhaps they will expand into Portland someday.

This car sharing system is based online, which would obviously be an issue for some low-income or elderly residents, but is very convenient for those who have access. You become a member by paying a small membership fee (or for free using the case-sensitive code 'MAINEMETRO2009' provided by the Metro) and then simply reserve a vehicle by the hour or by the day. It is roughly $9.50 an hour or $66.00 a day. You don't have to pay for gas, maintenance, or extra insurance (there is some sort of basic coverage provided) so it really is a good value for someone like myself who will only be using the service to make the occasional doctors appointment or to pick up a piece of furniture that I can't fit onto a bus.

The point of this post (I should probably start putting points at the beginning of posts) is that even if you choose to live a car-free lifestyle in Portland you have a (for all intensive purposes) environmentally friendlier and cost conscious alternative to owning a car.