Sam Hood: Why living car-free works great for me

Sam Hood has been living without a car since his university days.

We discover how he turns what some may see as a major inconvenience into an incredibly positive way of life.

Was living without a car a conscious decision?

I met my partner six years ago at university, and neither of us had ever owned a car which is pretty typical for university students. Deciding to stay car-free wasn't a conscious decision; buying one just hasn't appealed.

Around 2017, we also became quite concerned about climate change and thought we should do our best to reduce emissions. As we weren't tied to a particular vehicle, a single conversation saw us quickly pivot from renting petrol and diesel cars to only driving electric ones.?

How does it work for you?

It works great. Almost all of our trips within Auckland are made by walking, cycling, and public transport, and there aren't many corners of Auckland we cant reliably reach in less than an hour at any time of the day.

We often find ourselves passing long queues of traffic, and our travel time is also productive; we're usually either working, exercising or relaxing.

Cars are best for some trips, though, particularly our frequent trips out of Auckland. It's straightforward to pick up a rental or car-share vehicle for an hour, a day, or a week whenever we need one. Car-share is particularly convenient; its contactless, keyless, bookings are instant, and hundreds of vehicles are spread throughout Auckland and other cities. It's getting increasingly convenient, too; usage has been booming, and new locations are added regularly.

How do you cope with getting your shopping or DIY assembly furniture home?

A trolley full of groceries easily fits into baskets on our bikes.

I do some DIY stuff around our apartment that requires a reasonable amount of timber and other building materials. A couple of years ago, I purchased a cargo trailer, which can carry up to 100 kilograms. After being concerned that we might not use it often enough to justify it, we've actually found it incredibly convenient.

I barely feel the extra weight when riding home because most e-bikes are over-designed for everyday urban cycling. I wheel the trailer indoors and unload it exactly where I want to do the assembly work.

We used the trailer, combined with a couple of rented electric cargo bikes, to move house a few years ago. The setup could carry more than the average car and was particularly useful for bulky furniture such as our couch and dining table.

Picture: Sam Hood moving housing by e-bike

Its been similarly useful during the COVID lockdowns. I've become quite practised at loading the trailer with my desk, office chair, computer and monitors inside the office before taking it down the lift, hooking it to my bike and riding home.

Once I even dropped a second chair off to a colleague because it was too wide to fit in her SUV. ?

It's been interesting watching cargo trailers inching towards the mainstream. In Auckland, businesses and families are increasingly using bike trailers, and internationally urban freight is increasingly being distributed by e-bike and trailer.

Picture: Pedal Me Couriers using an e-bike and trailer to transport kegs across London

What is your favourite part of being car-free?

Three main things make living car-free great for us.

1.??????Money

The most obvious benefit is not having to pay for the running costs of a vehicle.

Most people talk about petrol costs, but that can be the smallest cost of owning and operating a vehicle.

Maintenance, fees, and devaluation generally add thousands of dollars each year, a massive hit on the family budget. Car parking can also be an enormous cost; ?when we bought our suburban apartment three years ago, they sold for over $40,000 each! ?

2.??????Flexibility

Not owning a vehicle means you can pick the 'best tool for the job'.

When it's just a few of us on a day trip, we take a compact car. When we have cargo, we drive a van, or when we're taking friends or family down to Ruapehu for a ski holiday, we take a large, comfortable electric vehicle with a long range. We're also not 'chained' to driving the whole way; when heading south, we'll often train to Papakura, or even Hamilton, and pick up a car there, swapping an extra hour in congestion for a relaxed meal or some games on the train.

Urban trips are simplified too; we never have to consider traffic and parking, and we can change our plans easily without having to worry about getting a vehicle home.

3.??????Health

I'm not good at using my willpower to get out of the house for exercise; I'm in awe of people who get a 'boost' from going to the gym, running, cycling, or sport, but it doesn't happen for me!

I'm grateful my relaxed ride to work or the supermarket happens to keep me fit and healthy as a side effect.

'Getting around' is an entirely different mindset from making time for exercise.

What is the biggest challenge of not owning a car?

Honestly, we don't see that it creates many challenges. We deliberately prioritised great transport options when we chose our home, such as easy access to safe and fast cycleways, frequent public transport on our doorstep, and having lots of amenities within a short walk. We do still have to travel 10 minutes to our nearest car-share, but it's only a matter of time before some will be added 2-3 minutes walk from us.

What changes are necessary to get more people living car-free?

Auckland is changing fast, and other cities are also starting to improve their transport options, making car-free living a serious option for more people.

Awareness has become a significant factor in getting people out of their cars as many don't realise that bus and train services have improved immensely over the past few years.

Many people also don't realise that we now have a backbone of fast and direct cycleways, spanning much of the isthmus. Combined with taking bikes on trains and ferries, you can now get quite a few places efficiently by bike without interacting with traffic. The challenge is that even negotiating a couple of blocks mixing with traffic is a deal-breaker for many, so we need more well-designed connections to that network to get the full benefits.

E-bikes are a real game-changer for transport. Many people still imagine some hard work and sweat when they can be pretty effortless to ride.

There is also the perception that spending three or four thousand dollars on an e-bike is exorbitant, but it makes sense when compared with the cost of car ownership.

Are more people going car-free in Auckland?

Car ownership is dropping across much of Auckland, particularly where transport funding has been less car-dominated.

For example, a quarter of homes are now car-free in the Waitematā local board area, encompassing many of Auckland's inner suburbs and the city centre.

Even out where we live, in Avondale, nearly ten per cent of homes have no cars.

Its been encouraging watching relatively small investments in other modes leading to people travelling far less by car. There have been several high-profile successes like the Northern Busway, which lifted harbour bridge bus mode share from 11% to 50% in a decade, but fewer are aware of the changes on our emerging cycleway network.

I see office workers, grandparents, children, and families getting about effortlessly every day. However, as soon as you get a block or two off the cycleways, most of them are suddenly gone; cars make it too dangerous for most people to be comfortable.

Such developments make it possible for some families to go car-free, while many more have realised significant benefits from moving from owning two cars to one, or even just leaving their car at home more often.

What are your top tips for car-free living?

1.??????Start by scoping out your options

Step one is not selling your car! You should join a car share so that you can see just how easy and instantaneous it is to access a vehicle; memberships are often free.

2.??????Test your options regularly

A couple of times a year, you should test out your options for travelling to work, or somewhere else you go frequently. Your train or bus option may have improved, or there might be new options to ride a bike. Things are constantly changing, and just because those options may have been inconvenient two years ago, it doesn't mean they still are.

3.??????Try out an e-bike

It's free at most bike shops because they know that just getting someone on an e-bike can completely transform their view, even if they are sceptical. E-bikes come in all shapes and sizes; there are options for carrying cargo, babies, children and bikes designed for people with limited mobility.

At the worst, you will have a fun day while checking them out.

4.??????Experiment and see where it takes you

Many people I've spoken to who ultimately sold their car only got to that point many months after they started exploring their options, perhaps after waking up one morning and realising they hadn't used their car in weeks.

Going car-free won't work for everyone, but it can work well for a massive number of people who don't realise it yet. If you're one of them, you'll have an enormous opportunity to become healthier, happier, and save a tonne of money.

Get out there, and give it a try!

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.