does the Prius enable sprawl?

obviously some people bought the Prius to reduce their large gas bill or prevent one when moving farther out. as for me, i have sacrificed a huge amount of money to not commute. i have a 14 mile RT commute which i do all electric (except for Earth Day which i ride bike. this year i did not work that day, but made the bike ride anyway)

now, other factors were included in my not going elsewhere for work including the birth of my youngest Son who just turned 3 a few weeks ago. i work 4 -10 hour shifts so along with my mother in law (who is a nurse and work about 6-8 12 hour shifts a month) and other family members we are able to keep him out of daycare which saves us a ton of money, so my pay is "subsidized" by that non-expense.

but all that was fine until April of last year when our contract was renegotiated (was supposed to be due to downturn in economy, but my personal feeling is that the company knew that moving elsewhere was much more difficult, etc...) and that caused a very significant reduction in pay to the point to where it is unsustainable on the long term.

now, we have no bills, money on hand, yada yada, so the thinking which was to hold out until Son hits school in 3 years then move on with my extended range EV so i can continue to commute gas free.

with the Leaf coming out much quicker than expected i may move that timetable up.

for those of u that know me, i had a CD earmarked for an EV that matures july 2010 which was my estimated date that one would be available when it was created july 2007. well, last year i was offered a great price on the 2010 along with a sales tax waiver making it a more than $5,000 discount which i decided i could not pass up so half of the CD went to the 2010.

i still have enough left of that to sell the Zenn, one of the Pri's and that should just about cover the cost of the Leaf. with that, i will probably expand my job search area to outside the Olympia area. hopefully, something will come up before that happens as spending 2 hours a day driving is not how i want to spend my life

 

I don't know the statistics, but having looked at some exurb developments around Denver (since I'm retiring soon) while driving downtown to work, my anecdotal observation would be that there are far fewer Prii in Exurbia than in central Denver. There are a lot of duallies and Suburbans out there.

As for driving more, my lifetime average is about 1100 miles a month (including road trips), and I'm averaging about 1150 miles a month with the Prius. Of course, that's 78 gallons of gas a month (with the pickup that the Prius replaced) versus 21 gallons...

 

You'd like ReBoot. The main character's name is Bob, and he's the computer's guardian. There's plenty of 'in' jokes and funny cultural references. It's a classic.

Me either. Driving seems to bring out the worst in people, especially driving in rush hour traffic. Public transit is cheaper and less stressful, but still not exactly productive. Cycling's great in the summer and walking is tolerable all year, but not commuting at all is the best. Sure, I could make more money downtown playing with the big kids, but that's not how I want to spend my life either.

 

since the major pay realignment i went thru last April, i am in an unsustainable cash flow. my previous goal if the pay thing does not resolve itself is to move on when my Son starts school in 2½ more years. this allows me to be alone with him 2 days a week.

this might have to change and with the Leaf, at least i can increase my job search but the likelihood of getting one with the hours i have now will probably be impossible, so we will see.

 

The alternative to suburban sprawl is high rise apartments. Some of us would rather commute to a house and garden on a quarter acre of land than live on the 22nd floor of a hideous tower.

 

not always true. i live in "high density" housing. zone either 8 or 10 units per acre, each free standing. for X amount of houses, a certain level of green space, wetlands drainage and recreational facilities have to be provided. this allows "surburban" like living in the middle of town. this method has been widely adapted in my area. it also provides "affordable" housing (not really, but way cheaper than the $400,000 alternative) for first time buyers, etc.

 

False choice.

 

It is. Jeff Rubin keeps talking about it.

Why Energy Efficiency Ignites More Energy Consumption | Jeff Rubin

 

Does driving 50 miles per gallon make people more willing to drive a 150 one way commute?

 

I suspect cheap fuel does more to promote urban sprawl than efficient vehicles.

 

"More willing"... um, probably not, but it might make that commute a tiny bit less painful.

It is very unfortunate that anyone has to commute that far. I was miserable doing 56 miles one way.

 

Hmm...very interesting. To the OP I'd say I don't think The Prius "enables" sprawl. Basicly you are looking at a specific benefit of The Prius-High Gas Mileage and a specific flaw of a Hybrid-needs time to warm up...thus some distance driven..to be most efficient and thus gain benefit from being a hybrid.

I recently decided against getting a Prius. Despite a great admiration for the vehicle. One of the reasons is that I currently have a very short daily commute to work. I knew that on a day to day work week basis, I'd be seeing very little benefit from the Hybrid technology. It was still a tough decision, because I tend to put miles on my vehicle on weekends...but I knew that my current situation would probably make me frustrated. It wasn't the only reason I made the decision I did make, but it was a considered factor.

I guess it's your choice of the term "enables" that I disagree with. The reason people choose to live where they live is often very personal. The choices people make in transportation is also very personal. Some people may use the "benefit" of high Hybrid gas mileage to enable the lifestyle you define...but many other probably are not. On both sides of the ledger.

For example, I have friends, a couple that live way out in a relatively remote area...still connected by freeway and they have electricity and ammenities but it's about a 40 mile drive into Portland, from where they live. (Unfortunately to an extent) They have a Huge Dodge Pick-Up and a V6 Jeep Product. It's just the choice in vehicle that they wish to make. Given their rural location they use it as a justification for owning a big pick-up.

So I know it's semantics...but I think the more precise question is not "Does The Prius Enable Sprawl?" because I think the answer to that is clearly no. I think the more correct question is "Does The Prius Justify living beyond the Suburbs?" and like my friends that live rurally but have decided to drive large low gas mileage vehicles...that is a personal decision. You can certainly drive farther and use less gas with a Prius, but whether that justifies moving farther away from an urban center or your daily employment is a personal decision.

The converse is also that The Prius is excellent in a traffic jam and in congested traffic. Which happens more often in and around cities.