National Dump the Pump Day

Apparently today was National Dump the Pump Day, brought to us by the National Public Transportation Association in an effort to promote the use of public transportation. While I did not take public transportation today, I have dumped the pump recently. Something major is wrong with my car and I've been holding off on getting it fixed for awhile, sort of seeing how long I can make it without a car. It's been about six weeks and it's not been bad. I'm lucky that I can walk to work and be there in about 12 minutes. If worse comes to worst (like there's a major storm or something), I do have the option of taking a bus that leaves about a block from my house and drops me off directly across the street from my work.

Probably the times I miss my car the most is on the weekends. I have to run all my errands on foot or by using public transportation and some days it's harder than others. I have a grocery store about two blocks away and another about 8-10 blocks so I go to both regularly. My other most common errand-running is to the library, which is about 4 blocks away. So those two things are pretty easy, although it does mean that I can't buy too much from the grocery store at one time. Hanging out with friends isn't too tough because a few of my friends don't have cars anyway so we usually meet at spots accessible by public transportation. Going shopping or to Target, one of my favorite stores, is the toughest. I wouldn't call myself a shopaholic but I do like to go shopping every once in awhile. There are a couple malls or shopping centers directly off the Metro and I've also discovered a bus that leaves from by my house and goes directly to Tyson's Corner Center, one of the biggest malls in the area. I tried that out a couple weeks ago and it was super easy. There is a Target on a bus route and I did that in early May but had my car been working, I would've been to Target at least a couple more times since then. The Target I like best is not a quick bus ride away, unfortunately. I guess there are worse things than not visiting Target several times a month.

I've found that I actually enjoy taking the bus. It's nicer than taking the train because you are above ground and can actually look out the window and see sights. It's also cheaper. And, it's kind of a neat way to see a new area. Plus, the NextBus system lets you plug in your stop information and see exactly how many minutes away the next bus is... that enables you to stay at home until the last minute and not have to sit at the bus stop waiting.

In sum, I do plan on getting my car fixed soon but I gave up my parking pass at work, so I have given up the pump in that respect. While I walked often even when I had my parking pass, this means I can't drive at all so it will be a bit of an adjustment.