brmmm

That last post was awfulness incarnate, no?  In today’s upbeat and hippy-sparkly-good-times post, let’s be smug about public transport!

I HAVE LASTED TWO AND A HALF MONTHS IN AUCKLAND WITHOUT PURCHASING A CAR.

That, my friends, is a freaking miracle.  Oh don’t worry, by no means have we been car-free:

• We have had minor lapses involving a rental car for a week (apartment hunting);
• We had a courtesy car for a week while we moved (we thought we bought a car but it was a total puppy, had the courtesy car while the dealer *tried* to fix it); and
• We borrowed a car for a wedding and a visit to the burbs.

But generally the only spanner in the works has been my sister K living out in buttfuck nowhere (i.e. the south eastern suburbs) and my extended whanau living even further south.  We are still actively avoiding the car hunt at present, trying on Auckland’s public transport for size.

Now, you might say: “But A, many many people live in urban centres and rely exclusively on public transport.  In fact, that’s how you got around for the last three and a half years”.  Why yes, dear reader, that is in fact the case.  But if you have a passing acquaintance with Auckland, you will be familiar with the following list of unresearched, unreferenced ‘facts’:

1. Auckland’s public transport network sucks.
2. Because of our home-ownership fetish, Auckland has a fairly low population density over a broad area.  It is also geographically odd, being an isthmus of land between two harbours and hence is difficult to get around.
3. Kiwis are notoriously tight and massively resent expenditure on infrastructure.
4. We think that we’re all clean and green and what not anyway so what does a few k’s on the odometer matter?*

All of the above generally = need for a car.  Total chicken and egg sitch, I realise that.  If we had fewer cars and used public transport more, there would be a greater govt spend on public transport.  So P and I are currently doing our part.  This consists of taking the bus when we go to see his family and didn’t want to drink drive anyway.  I KNOW.  We’re so SELFLESS. 

PLUS we cannot agree on the right fucking car to buy.  I am tight (see point 3 above) so the budget is not all P dreamed it would be.  Also, I refuse to drive anything that makes me look like a moron and P look like a douchebag.  (I hate that insult but in this context it just seems so…right).  I consider anything with dumb-ass spoilers over 30 centimetres high to be douchebaggy so I don’t think I’ve been too demanding but P has a veritable blindspot when it comes to boy-racer vehicles.  But honestly, when have you ever seen a 30 year old white woman in a 2 door car with a spoiler and a growly engine and thought “SHE’S SO COOL” or even just not thought “SHE’S A DICKWAD”?  Riddle me this, readers.

 

I WOULD LOOK LIKE A WALLY DRIVING THIS. FACT.

 

Apparently it is also lame that I’ve cut out convertibles (MY HAIR people, MY HAIR).  And that I don’t want anything vintage (it’s all very well for hipsters but I’m not driving anything that might fall apart on me.  I still can’t change a tyre ffs, not for want of teaching by my parents either.  NOT a feminist issue let me be clear, more of a hopeless issue).  So we'll remain vehicle-less for a while longer, I predict. 

*I totally cannot be smug about carbon footprints this year though (*ahem* 30 something flights in 2012….).