When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency

One third of people living in the United States do not have a driver license. Because the majority of involuntary

non-drivers are disabled, lower income, unhoused, formerly incarcerated, undocumented immigrants, kids, young people,

and the elderly, they are largely invisible. The consequence of this invisibility is a mobility system designed almost

exclusively for drivers. This system has human-health, environmental, and quality-of-life costs for everyone, not just for

those excluded from it. If we’re serious about addressing climate change and inequality, we must address our

transportation system. In When Driving is Not an Option disability advocate Anna Letitia Zivarts shines a light on the number of people in the US

who cannot drive and explains how improving our transportation system with nondrivers in mind will create a better

quality of life for everyone.

Drawing from interviews with involuntary nondrivers from around the US and from her own experience, Zivarts

explains how nondrivers get around and the changes necessary to make our communities more accessible. These changes

include improving sidewalk connectivity; providing reliable and affordable transit and paratransit; creating more options

for biking, scooting, and wheeling; building more affordable and accessible housing; and the understanding the

unrecognized burden of asking and paying for rides.

Zivarts shows that it is critical to include people who can’t drive in transportation planning decisions. She outlines steps

that organizations can take to include and promote leadership of those who are most impacted—and too often

excluded—by transportation systems designed by and run by people who can drive. The book ends with a checklist of

actions that you, as an individual living in a car-dependent society, can take in your own life to help all of us move

beyond automobility.

When the needs of involuntary nondrivers are viewed as essential to how we design our transportation systems and our

communities, not only will we be able to more easily get where we need to go, but the changes will lead to healthier,

climate-friendly communities for everyone.

• Publisher: Island Press
• ISBN: 9781642833157
• Number of pages: 240
• Dimensions: 229 x 152 mm