Is it possible for you to live in Connecticut without a car? Are there other options for transportation in CT, like buses and rideshares?
What about bike paths?
In this article, you’ll find out if it’s possible to live in Connecticut without a car, what other transportation options there are here, and what cities are the best for people without cars.
Let’s get right to it.
Do you need a car to live in Connecticut?
With the price of gas being as high as it is and many being concerned over the environmental impacts of our reliance on cars for transportation, many folks are looking into different ways to get where they are going.
That isn’t prompting folks in CT to use alternative transportation, though – not in any major way, anyway.
And Connecticut isn’t particularly well known for being a good place to live for people without cars.
In fact, not a single city in Connecticut is listed on Lawstarter’s Best Cities for Living Without a Car list for 2022. We didn’t even crack the top 150!
To make things even less appealing to folks who don’t own a car, over 90% of Connecticut residents are car owners and commute an average of 25 miles per day.
That’s a lot of car owners and a lot of driving.
An explanation for the high percentage of car owners and the average miles driven per day in Connecticut likely has everything to do with the geography of the state.
Connecticut, the 3rd smallest state in the country, is home to a whopping 139 state parks, 3,000+ lakes, ponds, and reservoirs, and around 100 rivers.
Connecticut’s amazing natural landscape is one of the top reasons people love it here, but that’s a lot of nature to navigate if you don’t have a car.
Connecticut is not all natural landscapes, though. There are some pretty great cities here for people who don’t have cars.
The best cities in Connecticut to live in if you don’t have a car
There are some cities that are better for foot and bike travel than others.
Here are some great places to live in Connecticut if you don’t have a car.
Hartford
Hartford is a great city in which to live if you don’t have a car. Its Bus Division has routes throughout Hartford proper and reaches neighboring cities like Farmington
The city is also actively planning new bike lanes and has been making progress with its “bike boulevards” initiative over the past couple of years.
There is also the Hartford Line, which runs along the 1-95 corridor through Hartford, that people use to get around the city.
With plenty of places to work and live, and many green spaces and activities, lots of people even find this city pleasant to navigate without a car.
New Haven
New Haven is a great place to live in Connecticut if you don’t have a car. Some people who live in New Haven actually prefer not driving due to horrible traffic and lack of parking.
New Haven is a relatively compact city that’s zoning allows for easy walking and biking between commercial areas, business districts, and residential areas.
The bus routes in New Haven extend all the way out to the neighboring cities of East Haven, North Haven, Orange, and Hamden.
As far as biking goes, New Haven isn’t the safest place. However, the city is actively working on making it safer by installing a cycle track.
Train travel is also a great feature for folks who don’t have cars in New Haven.
The Hartford Line extends all the way from New York City, through New Haven and Hartford, and up into Massachusetts.
Riverside, Darien, and Old Greenwich
Riverside, CT is in the #1 spot for public transportation use – the primary indicator of whether or not a city has good public transportation.
Darien and Old Greenwich are similar in location and proximity to New York City, which makes them easy to navigate without a car.
So, you now have a good idea about if you can live in Connecticut without a car and where it’s the most comfortable to do so.
Large cities and anywhere that’s close to New York City are going to be your best bet – and you’ll want to be sure most of your activities stay along bus lines.
If you live in Connecticut without a car, we would love to hear from you!
Do you find it difficult to get where you need to be when you need to be there?