A good start and choices that make it easy to have a car-free commute

Although I didn't complete my sign up for the Car-Free Challenge until today, I have not yet been in a car this month so I'm off to a good start.  Fortunately for me the easy part is my commute to work in Berkeley which is usually by bike, sometimes by bus if the weather is bad, and very rarely by car pool.  I have not driven myself to work since I started my current job a year ago.  As I was signing up and estimating how much driving I might actually do this month in taking the kids to out of town events or other activities, it occured to me that a car-free commute is not so difficult if one actually considers that when choosing a job or a place to live.  I have always been aware of or considered my commute when making such decisions, but that has never been my sole criteria.  So today I decided to tally up the result of those job and housing decisions.  Since graduating from college I have had 11 different commutes, each defined by a particular combination of job and home.  for each one I had a primary mode of transportation that I used to get to work.  3 commutes were by bike.  3 were by carpool or vanpool.  3 commutes I drove a car or scooter.  1 was by bus (this included waiting for the bus in 7 degree weather every morning). 1 was a telecommute.  Of course I know people who have done much better in cycling or taking transit with much longer commutes than mine and I am duly impressed by their success.  My hope is that people participating in or hearing about the Car-Free Challenge will at least start thinking about how their next housing or job choice impacts their commute options and make choices that make it easier for them to be car-free.