I enjoy your carless posts, as a kindred, carless spirit. I live in the outer neghborhoods (Dunning), about 8 miles from work, and largely avoid CTA, as well as cars, through biking. Pondering some of your posts, I think you might be well-served by some 2-wheeling, as well.

Contrary to popular opinion, urban biking can be safe, can be done year-round, and can be a highly functional form of urban transport. I use a mountain bike for my commute to work, and most trips over a few miles. For these trips, I like to use higher end equipment, like clipless pedals, and (in winter) thermal bib tights, neoprene, and high intensity trail lights. Not necessary, but neither are the surround systems, heated seats, fog lights, and SUVs my 4-wheeled counterparts enjoy, and at a very small fraction of their price.

For shorter trips and errands, I use a small folding bike — no lock required, just fold and bring inside. As needed, I alsouse a tow-behind trailer that assembles in about 2 minutes, and carries 80 lbs.

These 2 bikes, by themselves, address 80-90% of my transport requirements, pretty painlessly, year-round, and fit easily into a 1 BR apt. They aren’t free, but they’re a whole lot cheaper than a car, with far less maintenance required. More exepnsive, and somewhat more complicated than walking, but cheaper, and generally faster, than CTA.

For longer (a relative term, I know) trips, bikes merge nicely (with some planning) into CTA and Metra. All CTA buses have bike racks, all trains permit bikes aboard during non-rush hours, and Metra permits folding bikes aboard any time.

I think it’s a great way to expand your “independent horizon,” and could probably cover some of what many address with car-sharing.

Cheers