Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Car Ownership in Cohousing over Time

[Raines Cohen (raines-coho-L]

As perhaps one of the most radical examples in this area, I figure it's 
probably time for me to chime in on this thread.

Here at Swan's Market Cohousing (downtown Oakland, CA), there's been some 
informal car-sharing for a while... someone borrowing a neighbor's car by 
prearrangement, often while the vehicle owner was away, in exchange for a 
ride to the airport. As the only member who didn't own a car at all, I 
was probably the most active participant in this form of exchange. I 
still rely primarily on bicycle, ferry, subway and bus for my 
transportation needs... with little that I need more than a few steps 
away between the grocery and markets and restaurants in our building, the 
weekly Friday farmer's market out front and the Sunday market nine blocks 
down at Jack London Square, and Chinatown two blocks away. With the 
subway a block away, downtown San Francisco and Berkeley are just 12 
minute rides. And Silicon Valley is a 45-minute Amtrak ride away, when 
the clogged freeways can easily take twice that during rush hour.

I rent out my parking space at below-market prices (we have one space per 
unit, in a secure garage below half of our units) to a neighbor household 
couple with 2 infants and 2 jobs. My few neighbors who have two cars rent 
spaces nearby, mostly in the "renter's garage" below the other half of 
our units, within the complex. Guests with cars have to contend with long 
hunts during busy hours, meter-feeding every two hours on the street 
($1/hr), shifting vehicles every other day to avoid street-sweeping 
tickets, or pay up to $12 per day at the multi-story city lot across the 
street (except nights and Sundays). Sometimes we can make arrangements to 
share a space when the owner is at work or driving out of town (we 
generally figure something out when contractors are here with trucks to 
make a repair). Several cars sit in their spaces most workdays, as it is 
far faster and cheaper to get to downtown SF by transit than driving 
during rush hour and trying to park. 

My neighbor Joani and I have co-invested in an electric car, the Corbin 
Sparrow ( http://www.corbinmotors.com/ ). It's a one-seater, 
freeway-legal but ideal for use around town (maximum range/efficiency in 
city traffic: 40-60 miles per charge). She's the primary owner, and it 
does take some ongoing work to figure out scheduling and logistics.

It helped that during construction we specified that several spaces in 
the garage should be equipped with electric outlets... I had to do just 
minor rewiring to add a timer (to prevent overcharging and shift the 
charging to take place after midnight when overall demand is low so we 
won't contribute to peak demand) and upgrade it to a 20-amp GFCI outlet 
in place of the standard 15-amp one (it charges on standard 110-volt 
power; we would have had to run a new line from the electric panel in the 
CH basement -- 50 feet, indoors -- if it used 220 as some full-size e-car 
chargers do).

The nice things about driving the electric: zero emissions (our off-peak 
electricity is mostly hydro; in many other places, you'd unfortunately be 
relying on coal being burned elsewhere -- but it's amazing how much more 
you notice smells in the air when your own vehicle isn't producing any); 
reduced costs (we reimburse the HOA for the electricity our charging uses 
- about a penny a mile, so perhaps $5 a month (gas equivalent assuming 40 
mpg and $1.50 a gallon: $20), not counting our occasional offsite charge 
at a client site, business we patronize, or public charging station in 
Berkeley or SF); reduced maintenance (there's no oil, transmission, 
carbuerator, or air conditioner to break; we do have to budget for 
eventual battery recycling); and positive mood influence (peds and other 
drivers are always gawking, smiling, and giving thumbs-up... kind of the 
opposite of road rage).  We bought the car slightly used from a dealer, 
so we're not even getting any tax breaks. Its small size does mean we can 
park it in most motorcycle spaces, and even shoehorn it into an otherwise 
unusable corner of the garage when a guest needs Joani's space.

A couple of neighbors and I have joined City Car Share, 
http://www.citycarshare.org/ . This nonprofit operates a fleet of cars, 
mainly new VW bugs (also some Jettas and Golfs, and soon hybrids and 
pick-up trucks), for rental by the hour from a variety of locations in 
SF, and now in Oakland, including one 5 blocks from us. Members put down 
a $300 refundable security deposit, and pay $10 a month, $2.50 an hour, 
and 45 cents a mile -- including gas, insurance, registration, 
maintenance, and the parking spaces. Rentals are reserved via the 
website, and members get an electronic keyfob that unlocks the vehicles 
at the location they select during the period they reserve. At least one 
neighbor is considering selling or donating a second car -- it mainly 
serves as a "backup" now. We've had a couple of presentations from the 
program's East Bay director, Daryl Norcott, in the CH... once after 
dinner for community members, and once for a bicycle group meeting here. 
We looked into a group membership to cut down on the deposit $, but that 
wouldn't work the way the program is currently structured.

If I really need a car for a longer out-of-town trip and a friend's car 
isn't available to borrow, then I can rent one. Enterprise has been 
advertising weekend specials for $9.99 per day (either unlimited mileage 
or 150 miles/day, which is high enough for most places worth getting to); 
a friend says it's worth the trip to SFO airport to get an SUV from 
Budget for $150 a week for longer excursions. And Hertz has an office in 
the hotel/convention center across the street; Enterprise is also 
downtown here.

I haven't taken the time to calculate how much I'm personally saving by 
operating this way - but it's probably at least a couple of thousand $ a 
year - not counting the productive/recharge/relax time and even sometimes 
billable hours I can generate while in transit (I actually find that I 
can be much more productive and focussed while in transit -- especially 
on trains -- than at home or client sites) -- or the therapy bills that 
could result from having to cope with the stress of an ordinary car 
commute. I do know that our community's location qualifies for Fannie 
Mae's new "Location Efficient Mortgages", which allow for higher 
debt-to-income qualification ratios for loans, based on presumed lower 
costs related to less car use.

But the key thing is: some of these things I could do living on my own, 
but the opportunity to do all of them, and the connections with neighbors 
that let me maximize the benefit from doing each of them, comes from 
living in Cohousing. That, to me, is what it's all about: not that 
cohousing embodies any of these particular values in and of itself -- but 
coming together in community with intention and knowing our neighbors 
serves as a springboard to help us achieve so much more than we could 
alone.

Raines


Raines Cohen <coho-L [at] raines.com> <http://www.swansway.com/>
Back from a fine holiday tradition: Kung Pao Kosher Comedy!
( http://www.koshercomedy.com/ ).

  Vice President, Swan's Market Cohousing [Old Oakland, CA]
Where we're learning from having some bicycles stolen.

  Member, East Bay Cohousing [no site yet] <http://www.ebcoho.org/>
Which has adopted membership policies; dues start in January.

  Boardmember, The Cohousing Network <http://www.cohousing.org/>
Reminding you that your employer may match your tax-deductible donations 
to this 501(c)3 educational nonprofit organization.


_______________________________________________
Cohousing-L mailing list
Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org  Unsubscribe  and other info:
http://www.communityforum.net/mailman/listinfo/cohousing-l