Week Without Driving
September 30 – October 6, 2024
Thank you for participating in the 2024 Week Without Driving!
This past Sunday, the Week Without Driving came to a close after running from September 30 through October 6.
BEST hopes that participants came away from the weeklong challenge having learned more about what it is like to move through your community without driving or striving to drive less, and maybe also having found some inspiration to push for communities that are built for safe travel of all modes, ages, and abilities.
Provide Feedback!
Did you have an especially eye-opening experience while participating in the Week Without Driving this year, or have ideas for how we can make it an even more successful event next year? Did you not participate at all? Let us know in the feedback survey below!
What is the Week Without Driving?
If you have regular access to a personal vehicle, you may not understand what it’s like to rely on walking, biking, riding the bus, or asking for rides. But for roughly a third of Americans this is their everyday reality.
These people include those too young to be licensed to drive, young adults who choose not to drive, older adults who have aged out of driving, those with disabilities that prevent them from driving, and people who cannot afford to own and operate a personal vehicle.
During the national Week Without Drive, Monday, September 30 – Sunday, October 6, 2024:
- Check out the calendar below and attend events without driving to learn firsthand about the barriers and challenges nondrivers face, and work to create more accessible communities for all.
- Do and learn what you can. Some might go the whole week without driving. Others might find they must drive but nonetheless wish to learn what it is like for those who can’t.
- Keep an open mind and try to imagine yourself in someone else’s shoes, observing what that would be like.
- Share what you learn! We want to hear your stories about what transportation options are better or worse.
Sign the Pledge!
- I believe everyone regardless of age, ability, or background should be able to get around safely, practically, and comfortably.
- I pledge to learn about the barriers and challenges nondrivers face in their daily lives and share what I observe.
Calendar of events
We’ve invited almost 100 community partners to take part in the challenge and to offer individual or group activities. Check out the calendar below for fun, local events that you can make a plan to bike, bus, or walk to!
Suggested activities
- Walk: Take a stroll to a nearby park or corner store.
- Bike: Commute to work or ride for fun.
- Ride: Take a public bus to work or shopping.
Further reading
- Week Without Driving challenges driver-centric culture in Portland metro area and beyond (Think Out Loud, OPB, 10/2/24)
The fourth annual Week Without Driving challenge kicked off on Monday. The event was created in 2021 by Disability Rights Washington to highlight the barriers nondrivers face, including those who have disabilities, with using public transit or sidewalks and bike lanes to get around. This year the challenge has expanded to all 50 states with the help of dozens of local and state organizations. And while it’s open to anyone, the organizers hope to recruit elected officials whose policies can shape public transit investments and planning decisions in local communities.
- Week Without Driving Challenge Expands to 50 States from Seattle Launchpad (The Urbanist, 10/2/24)
This week, officials and advocates nationwide are participating in the Week Without Driving Challenge. The event has grown to all 50 states in the union, but it has its origins in Washington state as the brainchild of Anna Zivarts, an organizer with Disability Rights Washington and director of its Disability Mobility Initiative.
- Week Without Driving has arrived—here’s why it matters (Smart Growth America, 9/30/24)
Started in 2021 by author and Director of the Disability Mobility Initiative Anna Zivarts as a Washington state based campaign, the Week Without Driving challenge illuminates the ways our current system is failing, and encourages us to envision a system that works better for everyone. With the support of America Walks, Week Without Driving has now expanded into a national effort and is happening September 30th through October 6th this year.
- Recognizing Nondrivers Can Spur a Revolution in Transportation and Housing (Anna Zivarts, The Urbanist, 9/29/24)
Simply to suggest so many nondrivers exist forces a conversation about how our mobility needs are discounted as unimportant, secondary to the “real” people who can drive where they need to go. It’s the conversation we need to be having, but it is a challenging conversation for everyone who is benefiting from the status quo.
- ‘Week Without Driving’ Challenge: Are You Up For It? (Todd Litman, Planetizen, 9/18/24)
The Week Without Driving challenge, scheduled Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 this year, encourages motorists, particularly policy makers and planning practitioners, to experience the challenges facing nondrivers in automobile-dependent communities.
- When ‘Prioritizing All Modes’ Is a Lie (Anna Zivarts, Planetizen, 9/16/24)
In many cases, it’s impossible to prioritize the safety of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users without sacrificing some speed.
- WEBINAR: When Driving Is Not An Option (America Walks, 9/4/24)
“When Driving is Not an Option” shines a light on the reality for non-drivers and explains how improving our transportation system with nondrivers in mind will create a better quality of life for everyone. This book is written by a low-vision mom, disability advocate, and fellow non-driver Anna Zivarts.
- Don’t Forget About Non-Drivers in Rural America (Anna Zivarts, Streetsblog USA, 8/23/24)
“Too often, advocates for reducing car-dependency focus solely on dense urban areas. But in doing so, they write off too much of our country and discount the reality of too many non-drivers.”
- Steering Away from Car Dependency Is Not About Toughing It Out (Anna Zivarts, The Urbanist, 6/26/24)
Anna Zivarts published When Driving Isn’t an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency with Island Press in May 2024. The book outlines her experience as a low-vision nondriver and shines a light on the frustrating, dangerous, and sometimes deadly situations involuntary nondrivers face every day. This is a letter she wrote in response to her mother’s reaction to the book.
- Talking Headways Podcast: When Driving is Not an Option (Streetsblog USA, 6/20/24)
Talking with the great Anna Zivarts about non-drivers, car seats, and the week without driving.
- Can We Go Beyond Car Primacy—to Policymaking That Serves People and Places First? (Sightline Institute, 6/12/24)
Non-driver Anna Zivarts’ case for steering away from car dependency.
- WEBINAR: When Driving Is Not An Option (Transit Equity Network Presents, 6/7/24)
In our next panel discussion, we will feature author and disability advocate Anna Zivarts to discuss her new book, “When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency.” This book gives an insight to how to redesign our transportation systems to meet the needs of nondrivers—many of whom have a disability or are out of the qualifications of a driver’s license.
- What If Non-Drivers Helped Plan Our Transportation Systems? (Anna Zivarts, Next City, 5/10/24)
One-third of Americans don’t have a driver’s license. Anna Zivarts says it’s time for transportation planners to include them in decision-making.
- The Dawn of the ‘Non-Driver’ Movement: A Conversation with Anna Zivarts (Streetsblog USA, 5/9/24)
“At the end of the day, there are going to be folks who still can’t drive and can’t afford to drive — and there are still going to be a lot of us.”
- When Driving Is Not an Option with Anna Zivarts (The War on Cars, 5/7/24)
We talked with Anna about how, by designing our transportation future for those who can’t or don’t feel comfortable driving, we could build a system that works better for everyone and that would be more equitable, safer, and more environmentally sustainable.
- UO students help BEST plan Week Without Driving campaign (BEST, 4/16/24)
- Why Did 300 Elected Officials Give Up Driving for a Week? (America Walks, 10/24/23)
National Week Without Driving allowed us to ask elected public officials and transportation professionals across the country to use the system they funded, designed, and built for us. And our elected and public officials did just that. Almost 300 elected officials, public officials, and transportation professionals from twenty-nine states and Washington D.C. participated in the #WeekWithoutDriving challenge.
- WEBINAR: How National Week Without Driving is Shifting the Transportation Paradigm (America Walks, 10/5/23)
Join America Walks and Disability Mobility Initiative to talk about how Week Without Driving has gone national.
- To Help Save the Planet, Take the ‘Week Without Driving’ Challenge (Streetsblog USA, 9/29/23)
Former Sierra Club President Ramón Cruz is urging Americans to give up driving for seven days—and support policies to make it optional for everyone.
- Week Without Driving Goes Nationwide This October—Join Us! (The Urbanist, 9/22/23)
Nationally, more that 123 groups from 35 states and Washington D.C. are hosting the challenge in their communities, organizers report.
- What a Week Without Driving Can Teach (Anna Zivarts, Bloomberg CityLab, 9/18/23)
For many Americans, hanging up your car keys for an entire week feels like a lot to ask. It shouldn’t be.
- Could You Go a Week Without Driving? (Anna Zivarts, Streetsblog USA, 5/25/23)
Yes — And Here’s Why You Should.
- Leading the National Week Without Driving, October 2-8, 2023 (America Walks, 5/4/23)
The prioritization of driving in the United States has caused people without the ability, choice, or want to drive to face challenges that are not well understood or forgotten by those who drive.
- WEBINAR: The Week Without Driving Campaign (America Walks, 10/20/22)
The Disability Mobility Initiative just completed its second and very successful Week Without Driving campaign to draw attention to the transportation needs of non-drivers. Participants included state legislators, county commissioners, even the head of the state DOT! How did they build the campaign, how did it affect participants, and how can you run this campaign in your community? Learn from the organizers and participants, and help the Week Without Driving to spread to more places next year!
- It’s Not Just Highways. The Time For Street Reform Is Now. (Anna Zivarts, Next City, 10/12/22)
If we want to address barriers to access, and the public health and climate impacts of car-dependence, we must make it easier for non-drivers to get around our communities.
- Why We Still Need a #WeekWithoutDriving (America Walks, 9/20/22)
- Ditch your car for ‘Week Without Driving’, World Carfree Day (BikePortland, 9/16/22)
In a society where driving everywhere is the norm, people who don’t drive very often—or at all—are seen as strange or radical. But what’s truly radical is not even trying to do something else.
- The Interview: Cyclist and Activist Anna Zivarts of Disability Rights Washington (To Be Determined Journal, 8/19/20)
Anna Zivarts is an outspoken advocate for disability rights and safer mobility and access for all. As a former NYC resident and bike racer now living in Seattle and working at Disability Rights Washington, Anna offers her perspective on urban mobility, parenting, and her days as a racer.
External links
- Week Without Driving: Sign Up (The Street Trust)
- Week Without Driving: Sign Up (America Walks)
- Week Without Driving (America Walks and Disability Rights Washington)
- Week Without Driving (National Campaign for Transit Justice)
- Week Without Driving (Disability Rights Washington)
- When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency (Anna Zivarts, Island Press, 2024)
Similar events
Two similar challenges in September aim to help people shift their own travel habits:
- Get There Car Free Challenge: Monday–Sunday, September 16–22
Oregon’s 12th annual statewide challenge to help make Oregon a better place to live, work, and play by shifting travel and work habits one trip at a time. Get There Oregon, launched by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and local partners across the state, helps commuters and employers shift commute habits and work practices one trip at a time.
- Car Free Day: Sunday, September 22
An international event celebrated annually on September 22 to encourage people to get around by methods other than driving alone, and instead use public transportation, walk, bike, scooter, telework, and/or rideshare for a day.
A month of biking in the spring and walking in the fall are focused more on personal fun and exercise:
- May is Bike Month: May
All throughout the month of May, join your community in celebrating everything bicycle. There’s something for everyone.
- Walktober: October
Do you like walking for fun, exercise, or errands? Or wish you had more reasons to walk? Get ready for Walktober this October 2024—a month filled with walking events! Walktober is being organized by the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG).