By Lisa Montanaro
Sometimes it’s the very people that don’t intend to be an inspiration that inspire us the most. Such is the case with Robb Davis, who served as the Mayor of Davis from 2016-2018 (yes, his last name matches the town he served as a public official). He made the decision to go car-free in 2003 and it fundamentally changed his family’s life. It also served as inspiration to others to convert to more cycling and less driving. Maria Contreras Tebbutt, Director of The Bike Campaign, credits Robb as the reason she and her family decided to pare down their car use. “He’s been a ‘roll’ model to me and responsible for our conversion to one less car. He takes personal carbon footprint very seriously.”
Robb’s initial decision to become car-free was prompted by a host of reasons: live a more simplified life, reduce the impact on the planet, decrease automobile use and expense, and reduce consumption of resources. It seemed like a utilitarian choice at first, but eventually spring boarded into biking to maintain the focus on a healthy lifestyle and change the dynamic of his family. Robb and his wife have two kids, who at the time they decided to go car-free were fourteen and eleven years old. Robb studied how often they used the car, and whether leaving it in the driveway was a hindrance to any of their activities. Within four months, they sold the car to a friend, and officially became a car-free family. Then he started noticing benefits he didn’t initially anticipate. Not only did they not miss the car, but they also enjoyed spending more time at home. Being car-free also translated to buying less overall. Robb realized they’d gotten into the habit of buying more than necessary. Robb started to view his former car as enabling choices that no longer seemed appealing.
Eventually, being car-free become second nature. They walked, biked, and used public transportation – including Amtrak, which has a station in Davis – to engage in all their activities. They even moved to a new house twice within the city of Davis, transporting all their belongings, including furniture, by bike. They enlisted the help of friends and had a lot of fun in the 
process.
Robb and his family were car-free for sixteen years from 2003 and 2019. Then in 2019, Robb and his wife realized the kids were out of the house and they were empty nesters. They longed to see the distant spots of the beautiful state of California they couldn’t easily reach via public transportation and bikes. They leased a car with the intention of putting it to good use for a few years. But then the pandemic happened, forcing them to pivot in 2020 like so many others. They put off their travels and instead Robb started using the car for a significant volunteer project with Yolo Food Bank as the Coronavirus Response Coordinator. He helped to activate a countywide weekly doorstep food delivery program for senior citizens and other homebound residents within days of the announcement of California’s stay-at-home order. It felt satisfying to repurpose the car for a good cause rather than watch it sit in the driveway unused after all the years of not even owning one.
What kind of impact did sixteen years of being car-free have on Robb and his family? A major one. After years of public service for the City of Davis first on the City Council, then as Vice Mayor and eventually Mayor, Robb worked at UC Davis for the Global Affairs Global Learning Hub as the Director of Intercultural Programs, a position he held until recently. He walked to work as he only lives a mile from campus. He still bikes as a means of transportation even with the leased car at the ready. His son, now thirty years old, happily enjoys life without a driver’s license, and his daughter just got one when she moved to Pennsylvania with her own family, which includes three children. Robb is excited to start his next professional venture as Impact and Innovation Officer at the Yolo Food Bank in Woodland and is considering biking to work for his daily commute of 14 miles one way. After the lease is up on his current car and the pandemic is more under control, Robb may revisit the idea of going car-free again. And if he does, he will undoubtedly put the same kind of careful thought into the decision that he did when he first came up with the idea. A decision that had a positive ripple effect on him, his family, his friends, and his community. Robb Davis may not have intended to be a “roll” model on two wheels, but the label certainly fits.
This article was written by Lisa Montanaro, commissioned by The Bike Campaign. For more information about how to “Drive Less. Ride More.”, contact Maria Contreras Tebbutt at funmaria@sbcglobal.net or www.TheBikeCampaign.com.
Lisa Montanaro is the author of the book The Ultimate Life Organizer and is a freelance writer for print and online publications. She is currently writing her first novel. When not writing, Lisa helps organizations and people be more productive. And when not working or writing, Lisa can be found on two wheels cycling!
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A salute to this life decision!
One does not need to go car free to massively decrease their car use. I did as Robb did and decided to do almost all my in town travel by bicycle – great advantages for health and lower footprint, and commuted by rail and over half my Bay Area trips by taking bike on Amtrak. I keep the auto for seeing far away places like Robb intended for his leaser, and for when the bike doesn’t work. Often the Jeep would sit for weeks, even over a month, not moving. You need a really good battery for that.
Unfortunately, the pandemic has changed things. Amtrak is now a rolling enclosed space so few are riding. The Capitol Corridor changed the schedule so it no longer works for me for either commuting or leisure – no late return train from the Bay Area and no convenient morning train to Sacramento that matches normal work hours. That’s OK for now, but I may be forced to drive as things return to normal — if the train schedule is not restored to its former glory.
Regarding the Capitol Corridor, I’ve read that Amtrak plans to reinstate more service in the 1st week of June. Although I’d be curious to see which train #’s they choose to hold off on reinstating.
I’ve never stopped riding the Capitol Corridor through the pandemic since remote clinical lab work doesn’t exist and I have noticed the change in passenger volumes from having a whole train car to myself in March, 2020, to what seems to be almost 40-50% capacity on certain trains I’ve ridden this past month. I suspect as more people get vaccinated that passenger numbers will more rapidly approach pre-pandemic numbers than currently forcasted.
More info:
https://www.capitolcorridor.org/blogs/get_on_board/april-26-update-from-managing-director-rob-padgette/
Thanks for the info, Frank…
When I was actively employed, would often use Amtrak Corridor trains to go to classes, meetings, in the Bay Area… also have used it for ‘recreational’ visits to the City (SF)… often like Alan, taking a bike along for local travel…
A few times, happened to be on-board when there were A’s or Raiders games happening… tended to be a “party-train” (“faithful”, many of whom were getting ‘sloshed’), but I found a seat that was at least on the ‘edges’…
We have greatly reduced our car use although it was facilitated by a move closer to downtown. I quit driving to meetings in the Bay Area, in part driven by how traffic made the drive longer than the train. One car sit for several weeks between drives. I use it almost exclusively for long trips and the insurance costs are low enough that it’s cheaper than renting. We just replaced our other car with an inherited hybrid and that also often sits for several days between trips for errands. Our next new car will be an EV, and when I can rely on an EV for a roundtrip to Madera and Fresno, or a single day drive to LA (trips we make regularly), we’ll go all EV.
I frickin love this article.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/relationships/let-s-talk-about-cycling-and-the-power-of-white-privilege/ar-BB1gC9xl?ocid=msedgdhp
Stick a fork in it, the world’s officially gone crazy. Or, at least the U.S.
But in the meantime, do your part and ask for forgiveness – if you’re white.
Racism is embedded in everything, from seeds to bicycling to mowing one’s lawn, I know because I read the Vanguard.
Unfortunately, it’s not just the Vanguard. I come across this type of thing every day, when surfing the Internet, etc.
But I’m starting to see more significant backlash against it (mostly outside of California), as well. Good for them.
What’s surprising is how fearful some companies have become, in regard to “not” embracing it (and punishing those among them who reject it).
I initially read this about a former mayor being a role model for a *care free* lifestyle and tried to think of which mayor that might be.
Just so long as you don’t read “underserved” as “undeserved”, you’ll be fine.
(Actually, the difference between those two words might be viewed as similar to the opposite poles of the political spectrum. The importance of that extra “r”.)