During October, 15 individuals from around the San Francisco will give up their cars as part of a Low-Car Diet program (a diet Weblog's Sarah Gilbert went on back in July). The idea should demonstrate the ease of living in transit-friendly Bay Area. Each participant will have their car keys locked away for 30 days. They have pledged to use alternative forms of transportation, such as bicycles, busses, trolleys, ridesharing and walking. They were also given a membership to Flexcar, an program that offers on-demand access to a fleet of low-emission vehicles.

San Francisco is well-suited to such a test. There are mass-transit stops in most neighborhoods, and most amenities such as restaurants, night life and food stores are within walking distance.

Related:

• Low-car diet: too much stuff

[Source: Carbon Free]

I've been having fun experimenting with a variety of transportation alternatives in the month since I began my low car diet. I've bussed a lot, taken the light rail known locally as the "Max," even riding transport for free in "Fareless Square." My husband had made plentiful use of the bike and ride option (he sticks his bike on the front rack on the bus before work, then rides home late at night when the schedules are inconvenient or nonexistent). We've done the Flexcar thing, and I've biked a ton.

But the easiest option, by far, is simply to walk. I walk to the grocery store with the boys and fill the bottom of my sturdy jogging stroller with canned goods, milk, wine, veggies, bread, juice, and goodies of all kinds. I walk to the neighborhood coffee shop when I need to get away from the house and jump on their free WiFi. I walk to the high school track in our neighborhood to do intervals and let my four-year-old play in the sand. I walk to the knitting cafe for companionship and a yarn fix.

Biking and bussing may be faster, and the Flexcar? It's super cool. But walking is its own reward and it's just so much easier! No helmets, no car seats, no locks or reservations. Just throw the little one in the stroller (he can even climb in himself!), throw my gear in the cargo hold and away we go. Best of all: it's utterly, completely, in every way, free.

Late last week, my family hopped on the bus to meet up with representatives from Flexcar, who planned to "orient" us on how we would soon choose biking, walking, bussing and (most importantly) using the Flexcar carshare service over our own car.

I've long admired the Flexcar vehicles from afar. They're parked in their own special spaces "reserved for carshare vehicles" with pretty iconic posts, near bus stops and with space for locking your bike. But signing up for the service seemed a Herculean task, fraught with so many questions and the most monstrous hurdle of all: a membership fee. Yikes!

A chance to use the Flexcar service for free, without any upfront investment, was a big reason why I said "yes" to the concept of the low car diet. But I was also eager to get my questions answered. We sat in a darkened room in a government building downtown. Everyone had nametags and pizza. And everyone was getting their questions answered.

It was paradise. And I'm sharing the questions (and their answers) with you:

I think the hardest thing, so far, about reducing my dependence on my car is all my stuff. Not only do I have the typical human things to take with me everywhere -- money, cell phone, spare clothes, beverages, books, laptop, power cord, camera, knitting, all those things I might use while I'm out -- but then there are my two young children, and all their gear.

It requires discipline, or a stronger back.

Either way, I have to laugh. Our car has become a storage container. I stop in before heading out to catch the bus for spare change for my fare, or to collect that extra package of diaper wipes I know is under the passenger seat. Our car is where we keep the car seats (we take them with us if someone's giving us a ride), the maps, the bags to be donated to Goodwill.

The other hardest thing? Bringing stuff home. It's a lot harder when you're travelling by bike, or bus. Especially when (like me) you have a 30-pound toddler to carry, as well.

Read more of Sarah Gilbert's Low-Car Diet:

• Low-Car Diet: Not Counting Carbs
• Kicking off my low-car diet