Gas prices are steadily climbing all over the nation due to the ongoing war in Iran. The price of a gallon of regular gas by a whole dollar in the last month, and the energy secretary prices may not fall under $3 until 2027.
I know this because I researched it, not because it emptied my wallet. I don't have a car.
Other Ohioans carry the in the country, as the median price to fill up a gas tank is 5% of Ohioans' median weekly income. No percent is way better.
Many are considering alternative forms of transportation, like biking or walking. I鈥檝e even seen more Rollerbladers ricocheting through Downtown Cleveland once the weather got warmer. But some people are going as far to ask the question I've already answered: Could I actually be car-free?
Yes, you could.
I acknowledge, much of American culture is built around the car. Many major U.S. cities chose to prioritize car infrastructure over investments in public transit. More than a quarter of Downtown Cleveland鈥檚 surface area is parking lots.
And culturally, the car remains dominant; as many car-centric activities and milestones 鈥� from restoring muscle cars to road trips in RVs, and even the excitement around getting a driver鈥檚 license 鈥� are all woven into the American culture.
However, young Americans, specifically Gen Z'ers like me, aren鈥檛 necessarily following these trends. Getting a learner鈥檚 permit or driver鈥檚 license used to be a rite of passage for American teenagers, but now, many are delaying the milestone. The number of 18-year-olds in the United States with their license from 80% to 60% in 2022.
They decide not to drive for a number of reasons: fear of traffic fatalities, concerns about climate change and the high economic cost.
But is the answer really to live without a car?
When I moved to Cleveland almost two years ago, I shopped for a Downtown apartment, but not for a car. For transportation, I pay for a monthly transit card through work, and I also pay $10 a month for Lyft Pink, which gets me reduced prices and priority pickup for rideshares. It is possible to be car-free, but it's also very hard.
Cleveland, like many other major U.S. cities, is dealing with the . The city limits expand so far that traveling around the city is hard without a car. Trips that would take 20 to 30 minutes in a car often become a two-hour slog, rushing to catch buses and trains.
Even simple trips that folks take nearly every day like going to the grocery store or the doctor鈥檚 office, often require a more planning than just jumping behind the wheel and hitting the gas.
Even worse for the car-free, public transit doesn鈥檛 get much investment. Cleveland鈥檚 RTA is considering cutting routes, which can mean longer wait times, fewer route options and overall worse service, all of which directly impact my ability to get around. Certain cities don鈥檛 have access to public transportation at all. Wayne County its transit authority back in September 2024, leaving the city of Wooster to construct a service for those affected.
So, it's not easy. But living car-free is possible.
For all its shortcomings, Cleveland鈥檚 public transit system is still very effective. In the last two years, I鈥檝e learned to love it. Taking a bus or train means I get a better understanding of the layout of the city. I can make small talk with other passengers, catch up on emails or just take some time to get lost in my own thoughts. Sure, it鈥檚 a much slower lifestyle, but in an era of immediacy, that isn鈥檛 always a bad thing.
By no means am I trying to convince you to sell your car to join the car-free lifestyle. I get it. I'm lucky that when I need it for work, I have access to an 精东影业 van to go around to different cities in Northeast Ohio collecting stories and talking with community members.
But living without your own car, as I do, can be helpful.
If you're curious, why not start slow? Pick a day to commute to work via bike, bus or train. Plan a weekend outing that has transit stops available nearby. The goal can even be as small as walking to pick up a coffee nearby instead of driving.
I can feel the benefits. I've never driven into a Cleveland pothole. I don't have first-hand knowledge of why they call it Dead Man's curve. And when the highway is socked in with snow, I put on my boots for the three-minute walk to work.
And being car-free has helped me get a better understanding of my neighborhood, while slowing my life down just a little.
"The Cut" is featured in 精东影业's weekly newsletter, The Frequency Week in Review. To get The Frequency Week in Review, The Daily Frequency or any of our newsletters, sign up on 精东影业's newsletter subscription page.
