I have embedded a quick survey in this post. It’s only two questions. I want to ask you the readers to help me decide what I should do with Frank Sinatra the Elantra.

As you may or may not know, my transmission went out three weeks ago. I thought the car was shot and decided to fix the car with cash and still have $1000 in savings. That was going to take me a while, so I was expecting to be carfree for a while. Well, it turns out that my car is still drivable. It doesn’t go into fourth gear though. now the question is whether I should keep the car or not.

You may have to leave your RSS Reader and visit the post’s page to see the survey.

Update: I’ll keep it open for another day or so. Then I’ll share the results.

The Bicycle Commuter Benefits Act was passed on Friday. It was hidden in the “bailout.” Basically, it offers $20/mo towards bicycle related expenses if you ride a “substantial” amount. I would consider that another benefit of going carless, and even more motivation to sell my car! Getting paid to ride: yes!

In an attempt to get this benefit at my company I have drafted an email to my HR representative. You can read the email below. I have emailed it around to fellow cyclists. We are going to use this as a catalyst for a more bike friendly environment. Not that my company is hostile. We could use a few better perks like a bike rack or a shower. Those types of things.

Hello [kept anonymous],

I came across the Bicycle Commuter Benefits Act that was passed into law on Friday. Here are some highlights of the bill:

· Employers reimburse employees $20 per month, tax free, for “reasonable” expenses related to bike commute (including equipment purchases, bike purchases, repairs, and bike storage)

· Bike must be used as a “substantial part” of the commuter’s trip to work for the month

· Begins 1/1/09

Both the Green Team [I’ll ask for official blessing tomorrow at the meeting] and  JPL bicycle enthusiasts agree that offering this benefit would do exactly that: benefit JPL.

We believe it would encourage more people to ride their bicycles to work which would decrease our carbon footprint as a company. Offering this benefit is even press release worthy, and is yet another thing we could put on the Best Places to Work list. Also, it is tax deductable for JPL.

We,  the growing number of bicycle commuters at JPL, ask you to consider offering this benefit.

http://www.cyclelicio.us/2008/10/bike-commuter-benefits-act-passes.html

http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2008/10/bike-commuter-a.html

I would spend my $20 on some equipment I still need. Then probably on regular tune-ups. How about you?

The dealer told me Saturday that my car was drivable; it just won’t shift into fourth gear. That means if I turn the over drive off I can drive it up to about 60 mph. It uses more gas because it revs high, but it’s definitely drivable for around the city. It’s officially a beater. My Check Engine light is on and the O.D. Off light is on.

Why am I a hypocrite? The name of my blog is “Going Carless.” I can’t call it that if I have a car.

I have to tell you; I am disappointed. I wanted the car to be kaput.

I was just gearing up for this experiment. Now I have a new set of questions.

Do I keep the car and take Toby’s advice of driving $30 or less a month. I was thinking only use it for trips over 15 miles (like to visit my girlfriend). Since the car won’t go into fourth it has put natural limits on my driving.

I am still leaning towards selling it and getting whatever money I can for it. I would be paying roughly $100/mo for gas and insurance. I could rent two cars for that same price, and not have the hassle of titles, registrations, maintenance.

Rest assured my loyal readers. The experiment will continue. I just need time to figure out in which capacity. In the meantime, I will be riding my bike as if i don’t have car. It’s just now I don’t have the clout to get rides from co-workers.

What do you think? Sell the car (I know what Robert thinks)? Keep it but with restraints ($30/mo gas or only use it for over 15 miles)?