Just one?

Here is an article in the mainstream press about getting down to one car (or no car). I found it interesting and pretty informative overall. Here is an excerpt:

Further, cities and states have real incentive to invest in trains and buses. Studies show that property values -- read tax bases -- grow rapidly when public rail systems are built. One report found that the value of homes in one Dallas neighborhood doubled when a light-rail system was built nearby.

"City after city is finding that good public transit is good economic strategy," Millar says, adding that there is a 6:1 return on federal dollars invested in public rail systems. Public transit systems in Los Angeles, Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Dallas and Minneapolis have cleaned up their dirty, low-rent images of the 1970s and '80s, and are investing in slick technology to make them even more appealing. (For example, San Francisco's BART system now allows downloads of schedules and maps to iPods.)

I think the more we can rely on public transit and each other, we will make more progress. I have been car free for about 7 years now and intend to stay that way. While it is easier to be car free in a city like NYC, when ever I visit or think of where else I could live, one of the top priorities is being car free.

Here is Bloomberg's comments on the gas tax