It’s a wonderful thing that the Pope’s new ride will be a plug-in hybrid, but vroom vroom doesn’t sound as sexy as it used to. Not when gas is $4 a gallon and the average car causes 600 pounds of air pollution every year. Obama’s pledge to up fuel-efficiency standards to an average 56.2 miles per gallon by 2025 is all well and good. But in the meantime, a troublesome economy is driving people to drive less.
AAA’s Fourth of July holiday report cited a decline in car travel and a shift towards alternative modes of transportation. Biking and low-cost interstate bus travel are on the rise. Might this be the start of a new era of footprint-sensitive vacationing? (Let’s think positive and say, “Yes.”)
So, where should you take your next car-free getaway?
These six cities may not boast mass transit systems like New York’s, but they do have what it takes to make discovering their best features an easy, fun, and affordable experience without a car.
Photo: Brandon WattsSan Antonio, Texas
Known for its historic preservation, San Antonio is making its future about conservation with a freshly launched B-... Read more
