My wife and I made the transition from being car-centric to bike-centric last year. This had been a long time in coming. The recession sort of kicked us into gear.

I’ve been biking to and from work for over 15 year in the hilliest city in the U.S.  We live about 400 feet above sea level with steep hills making up the final four blocks to our house from any direction.  We’ve been raising three children through home schooling and now private schools.  Our oldest transitioned to college two years ago.  In 2008 we owned a 1997 Dodge Caravan and a 2004 Toyota Prius.  We were averaging about 3,000 miles per year on the Caravan with 2,000 being logged each summer on a trip up to Seattle and the San Juan Islands.  We were averaging about 9,000 miles per year on the Prius.

My wife got interested in an electric bike early in 2009 as we evaluated ways to become more ‘green’.  She bought an Electra-Townie, added an Extracycle conversion kit to it, and a 400 watt electric motor.  With that, she was all set and began doing all grocery shopping at Trade Joe’s on her new ‘vehicle’.  After our 2009 summer vacation up to the San Juan’s we took the final plunge by selling the Carvan and getting me an EcoBike with a 250 watt electric motor and a membership in City Car Share as an auto backup.  After this summer’s vacation (taken in the Prius) my wife stepped up to a regular bike to complement her electric one.  Neither of us is now hung up about walking the last blocks up to our house, if necessary, on our regular bikes.  The electric bikes are our luxury transportation options effectively leveling out the challenging terrain we live in .  One of our daughters dances six days a week at a studio about a mile from our house.  My wife regularly takes her to and from the studio on her electric bike with the ‘extended’ back seating area.

For over a year now we have been essentially a four person family with one car, six bicycles (two electric) and Clipper cards for our girls (easy access to public transit in the Bay Area).  We’ve used our City Car Share membership for four rentals in the past year and a half which is much less than we anticipated.  Our mileage in the Prius (including the 2,000 trek to the Pacific Northwest) was 6,000 miles between the fall of 2009 and the fall of 2010.

Economically, we’ve traded in an aging Dodge Caravan costing us $800 per year in insurance premiums, $600 dollars per year in maintenance and about $700 per year in gas totaling about $2,100 per year for about $300 per year in bicycle maintenance and $120 in annual City Car Share membership fees.  In addition, we are more physically active individually and find the extra time it takes to get places in the city is almost offset by the inconvenience finding parking and walking to our final destination.

A Whole Foods grocery store opened in our neighborhood, Noe Valley, in the fall of 2009.  After the initial opening flood of interest parking in the 40 space lot has remained at a premium.  It is unusual not to see cars backed up waiting for a spot any time I visit this store.  With the EcoBike I never go to this Whole Foods by car and never have a problem getting immediately parked.  This ‘parking convenience’ spills over into almost any other activity we engage in including visits to museums, evenings at the symphony (yes we ride in formal outfits), and going to Major League Baseball games (including this year’s World Series).

The moderate climate of San Francisco is a real benefit. We do ride in the rain, but don’t have to face freezing temperatures or snow and ice on the roads.

If we can make this transition, in the hilliest city in the U.S., it can happen with families in other major cities with moderate climates more easily.  Electric bikes wouldn’t be necessary if hilly terrain is not an issue.  Take up the challenge; explore this ‘greener’ cheaper transportation alternative.