I dare you to go without your car for a whole month and only use public transit or a bicycle to run your errands.

You don't want to?

Okay, I'll do it for you. Let's call it "The Brainshrub Bus Project".

For the month of July I will not use my car unless public transit is not available, or, there is a dire emergency. (Editors note 08/07/2006 - This project has been so interesting, that I'm extending it indefinitely.) I will report my experiences here on Brainshrub.com and describe the benefits, or shortcomings, of the Asheville Public Transit system.

This project was inspired by the observation that Americans complain about higher gas prices, traffic jams, global warming, the war in Iraq and a host of other problems associated with an automobile-based culture. Yet, they shun public transit - the most obvious solution.

I'm hoping to prove that you are not as much of a slave to your car as you think you are.

Outside of major metropolitan areas such as New York or Chicago, most Americans consider public transit as too inconvenient for a busy professional to use regularly. It is thus relegated as a subsidy for the poor to get to work, rather than a way to make a city run more efficiently.

I don't know why this is so.

Perhaps Americans secretly dread being exposed to the poor on their way to work?

In any case, I'm done complaining about our collective dependency on petroleum for transportation. I'm going to do something about it by putting my money, and my feet, on the bus.

Asheville is a mountain town of about 60,000 people. It's fairly representative of most American cities: We have sprawl, highways and malls. Everything in the Brainshrub Bus Project should be repeatable in urban areas of the United States.

My home is about 5 miles from the center of town, so this project will require a bit of logistics. I can't just roll out of bed and go to work... in fact, I'll be looking for a new job this month. Therefore, if the transit system does not work efficiently I may find myself late for interviews.

Let's see what happens. I have to admit that I'm a bit nervous, I haven't been without a car since I was 16.

To see all posts for the Brainshrub Bus Project, click here.