How to Live Without a Car in NYC
When I moved to New York City from Chicago, I did not have a car. I didn’t want one. I’d lived in Manhattan for years without one, and I knew I could do it again. But I did have a challenge. How would I get to work, to the grocery store, and to my favorite coffee shops?
I’m lucky. I live in one of the best neighborhoods in the city, and I’m close to public transit. If I wanted to, I could walk to work. And when I need to go farther than that, I can take the subway. But even though I live in the heart of the city, I’m still far enough away from my office that I have to take public transportation.
I decided that I wanted to live car-free for a month. I had a long list of reasons why I didn’t want to drive. I didn’t want to pay for parking, I didn’t want to deal with traffic, I didn’t want to spend hours in the morning finding a parking spot, I didn’t want to worry about getting a ticket, and I didn’t want to spend money on gas.
But, I figured, if I was going to live car-free, I should do it right. So I started looking into car-sharing. I found out that there are several options in the city, including Zipcar, Car2Go, and Enterprise CarShare.
Zipcar
Zipcar is an international car-sharing service. It allows you to rent a car for a day, week, or month. You can choose from a variety of vehicles, including sedans, SUVs, minivans, and hybrids. You can also choose from a number of locations, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, and Long Island.
You can use the app or website to search for a vehicle and reserve it. Once you have your car, you can return it to any of the Zipcar locations in the city. There is no need to worry about paying for gas or parking; Zipcar takes care of both.
Car2Go
Car2Go is another car-sharing service that works similarly to Zipcar. You can choose from a number of different vehicles, including sedans, SUVs, and minivans. The company is based in Germany, but has expanded to the United States and Canada.
Like Zipcar, Car2Go lets you search for a car using the app or website. You can also reserve a car at one of the company’s stations. You can drop off your car at any of the company’s stations, and then pick up another one at another station.
Enterprise CarShare
Enterprise CarShare is another car-sharing service. You can choose from a number of different vehicles, including sedans, SUVs, and minivans. You can also choose from a number of locations, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island.
Like the other two services, Enterprise CarShare lets you search for a car and reserve it online. You can drop off the car at any of the company’s stations, and then pick up another one at another station.
