Don't tell me what to drive.

 

The Biden Administration wants me to give up my gas-guzzler. The environmentalists want me to use public transportation. Are you kidding me?

Here’s why I will not relegate my old-fashioned fuel vehicle for an electronic battery-powered vehicle (or use the transportation system).

 

First, it costs money to buy a new car and EV’s are expensive. In addition to buying the car, I would need to pay an electrician to install a power charger. Sure, you don’t do a lot of the basic maintenance with an EV that a gas vehicle needs, but when an EV needs service, get out your checkbook. Try to find a mechanic that works on EVs…good luck. You’ll need to use the dealer and be prepared to replace your tires more often (these cars weigh more and put more wear on tires/brakes). Plan your trips careful IN ADVANCE to make sure there are charging stations on the journey route. Excessive cold and heat make a difference in performance. If you live in an apartment /condo, are there charging stations sufficient for the total units? Are charging units considered an amenity, or an extra fee? Will your landlord install the charging unit in a rental house, or do you have to foot that bill?

Ok, how about Public Transportation. Fantastic if you live in a major city. Consider the San Francisco Bay Area’s BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). This part above/part underground is not 24 hours. Ferry service across the Bay runs on limited times. This means using buses if you want to avoid a vehicle. Ever ride the bus in Alameda County?  In Washoe County (NV), the RTC (Regional Transit Commission) you can get from reno to Carson City during limited hours on weekdays but forget the weekends. Want to go from Reno to Lake Tahoe? Take a cab!

Want to use a train to get around? There are no commuter trains in Nevada and few systems in the coastal states (mostly limited Amtrak and some cities with light rail (San Jose, Seattle, Salt Lake among less than 30). Rural communities may have bus service in their major cities, again limited hours.

Leave the confines of the cities and venture into the rural areas of the US…what do you have? Not a lot. Talk of high-speed rail services between cities has been thrown around for decades. Fingers point between the government and environmental groups as to why a shovel of dirt has yet to be lifted. Who wants to risk waiting for a couple of hours for a bus in the snow? When the serious winter arrives and the ice storms cut power, what good is an electric vehicle when it can’t be charged. On that point, during fire season in California, the rolling back-outs in the past had people with EV’s complaining about the lack of charging availability.

Hard to drive off from an approaching wildfire when the car is out of energy.

Meanwhile, go to Europe and buy a rail pass. You can use the systems to get around with ease. Do folks own cars? Sure, they do, but with gas prices higher than in the US, cars are reserved for grocery shopping, weekend getaways, or an emergency.

Therefore, I will hang on to my gas vehicle. Let those liberals in DC drive an electric vehicle. Don’t regulate my life. Let me have a choice with any laws. That is FREEDOM.