I reach my workplace, primarily/typically, by:
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Re:Prius C (Score:4, Informative)
Yeah, but 100% of its energy comes from gas in the first place, so you should've said conventional. It just happens to temporarily store some of that energy as electricity to help improve its efficiency. That said, it is indeed a nice car; I have the "liftback" model, for lack of a better name for the non-c variety.
Dear Americans! (Score:5, Informative)
A SUV is not a "small vehicle".
Re:Comments on bicycle commuting (Score:5, Informative)
Don't forget to let your car insurance company know that you don't commute by car. I know they knocked $1500/yr off my premiums when I switched to public transit. Easily enough to cover the cost of your bike and gear right there.
Bike Commute tips: (Score:5, Informative)
1. If your workplace offers a shower, and you wear clothes more formal than can be reasonably worn for your bike commute, bring in the full week's worth of clothes on the first day of the week.
2. Alternative: If you can get away with it, bring only two/three outer-shirts and pants for a week. Bring new underwear (including undershirt,) and socks every day and mix up the outer shirts/pants each day so it's not so obvious your'e re-using. (Obviously this works best for a low-effort office job where you don't stink up or stain your clothes during the workday.)
3. If your workplace DOESN'T have a shower, and you work in a town center, check for fitness clubs nearby to see if they offer a 'bike commuter package' or similar, where you just get access to the showers.
4. In bad weather, decide if you are going to go for "stay as dry as possible" or "get wet then change". In mildish climates with less strenuous commutes, "stay as dry as possible" can be a reasonable choice, where you don't sweat under the "dry suit". In warmer climates or with more strenuous commutes, just get wet then change when you get there.
5. Look for local bike commuting promotion organizations. (Portland's powerful Bicycle Transportation Alliance - http://www.btaoregon.org/ [btaoregon.org] - is a WONDERFUL organization.) Support it. Use their resources.
6. If you can't do your full commute by bike now, look for combo public transit/bike options. When I started my current job, I couldn't do the full commute (big hill in the middle,) so I would bike two miles over flat terrain to get to an 'express' bus line, and take that in. Reverse that going home. After a while, I got in better shape to where I can now do my full 7 mile commute (home at 200', work at ~0', 450' hill in the middle,) no problem.
7. Biking can be faster! My drive in, from starting my car in my driveway to finding parking to walking to the office, takes me 30 minutes. The neighborhood bus line that passes closest to my house takes 45 minutes. My bike ride is currently 25 minutes (and falling as I get in better shape.) Yes, I have to add 10 minutes for a shower and change, but a bit better shape, and I'll be faster biking than driving. (Biking two miles then taking the express bus takes me 30 minutes, and is easy enough that I can wear my work clothes, so no shower time added. It's an express, not a miracle.)
8. WEAR A HELMET! Really. Save yourself a headache (literally and figuratively.)
9. Use Google Map's "bike" directions option to find good bike routes. Look for local city-made bike maps. Many cities have dedicated bike paths and less-busy side-streets optimized for bike traffic (fewer stop signs,) just a block or two off a main road, making for safer and more convenient bike commutes.
10. OBEY TRAFFIC LAWS! Don't piss off the drivers and feed the stereotypes of all cyclists being entitled assholes who ignore all laws. Stop for stop signs (unless you're lucky enough to live in a locale that allows "Idaho Stops" where bikes can treat stop signs as yield signs instead.) Signal. If you're in the road, act like a car (consistent 'ride line', don't weave between parked cars, etc.) If you're on the sidewalk, act like a pedestrian (stay to slower speeds, obey the walk/don't walk signs.) Either way is fine, but be consistent. Don't switch from road to sidewalk repeatedly.
11. Carry essentials on the bike: Pump, tire repair kit or spare tube, basic bike tools (tire lever, allen wrench multi-tool,) enough cash to get home if your bike becomes damaged beyond simple road-side fix (cab or bus/train,) water bottle, energy bar. I fit all of the above (minus the water bottle,) in a small seat-post bag. Never take it off the bike except to use or refill.
12. The cash is important. Don't ever rob it for other uses. Just enough to get home from anywhere along your commute (around here that's $2.50 for the bus.) That way, even if you forget your wallet, or are truly flat-broke (or have only plastic, and your form of transit doesn't take credit cards,) you can always get home. Obviously in some less-well-transit-equipped cities, that may mean $40 for a cab that can carry a bike...
I use my Stupid Truck. (Score:4, Informative)
I'd rather have a smaller vehicle, but honestly, the cost to me to have two vehicles is more than I'd save by driving a commuter car to work, and the pickup on the weekends. BUT, I just ran the numbers again, and at $4.00 per gallon of gas, a commuter car would save me $1,430 a year (17 mpg for my truck, and assuming 40 mpg for a commuter car). Extra insurance per year is $900, so now I'm only saving $530 per year.There's no way I can get a commuter car for $530 a year, so I stick with my truck. And don't try telling me that I can always rent a truck when I need one. I USE my truck, AS A TRUCK, every week. I carry bikes, camping gear, fishing gear, lumber, dogs, yard stuff (dirt, mulch, topsoil, plants). During the fall, I use it as a truck to haul tons of mulch around, and I tend to fill up the truck with mulch easily more than 40 times.
Basically, I'm stuck with my truck.
Downhill Flyfishing! (Score:5, Informative)
Are you trying to say you can't go fishing or skiing in a Matrix? Because I find that hard to believe. Every fishing rod I have seen you can disassemble, and there have been these handy inventions called ironically enough a "ski-rack".
Or are you trying to actually say you can't go fishing AND skiing, to which I must assume you mean cross-country and ice fishing, otherwise I guess you might be right as downhill skiing and fly fishing would definitely be at the harder end of the spectrum of things to do, but I don't think that has any relevance to what kind of car you drive.
As to the whole "Glad it works for you" sort of comment, I would guess they used it right while you did not, in that I would go out on a limb and say your average, nay the OVERWHELMING majority of auto consumers are not a dog pack owning, orchard farmers with distant friends.
If fact I would say that MOST truck buyers never really use their trucks for their intended purpose of doing work and hauling stuff, but like the idea of owning one regardless.