After two decades living on a small island where even the simplest errand necessitated getting in my car, I moved to downtown Vancouver and vowed to make amends for my unsustainable ways.
I took small steps, shopping within walking distance of my condo even if it meant paying a few more pennies per litre of milk. I bought a second-hand bike with a basket big enough for groceries. I sold my car and signed up with the Modo car co-op.
No sweat.
Then came the really hard part: committing to transit.
Intellectually, it made no sense not to. I live mere blocks from Burrard station and the 135 bus that goes directly to SFU’s Burnaby campus.
But I am of a vintage that associates transit travel with loserville. Growing up, the only person who took a bus without shame was under 16 and simply hadn’t acquired a driver’s license… yet.
But when I saw my grown kids whizzing merrily around town on transit courtesy of their U-Passes, I figured it was time to get over myself.
I signed up for a discounted two-zone annual pass through SFU’s Employer Transit Pass program and gave myself one full year to prove transit wouldn’t work for me.
That was four years and four annual passes ago.
Along the way, I learned five important and practical lessons in sustainability, including:
It doesn’t have to hurt: Sometimes I walk; sometimes I take my bike; sometimes I take Skytrain; sometimes—but hardly at all now—I take the car. Going green is an iterative process (as the IT folks like to say). Make one small sustainable shift in your lifestyle (like taking transit one day a week) and see where it leads you.
It’s easier when it’s a habit: By committing for one full year, I gave myself time to get used to the different rhythms and routes that go with taking transit. Now I barely need to consult a route map or schedule to get where I need to go.
You don’t buy what you can’t carry: There’s nothing like taking transit on a shopping excursion to sort out your needs from your wants. I even take transit to Costco now. If it doesn’t easily fit into my two big carrier bags, I just don’t buy it.
Sharing spreads the load: Every time we decide to share a car or a ride or even a lawn mower, that’s a little less wear and tear on old Mother Nature. We are trading minor inconvenience for the greater good.
What doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger: Of course it’s not all rosebuds and rainbows. Some people really do need to shower more often or dial back the screamo blaring out of their earbuds. And yes, it does take me a little longer to commute than it would if I was driving. But I use my transit time to read, or reply to emails or sometimes just to meditate on my day. And because taking transit necessitates a lot more walking, it’s easier to get those requisite 10,000 steps in every day…
*Lead image adapted from a creative-commons licensed photo by PoYang_博仰 on Flickr
