How many Americans get around using a car? Everyone can drive, right? The answer might surprise you!
Roughly a third of people living in the United States are nondrivers. This roughly hundred million people is made up of individuals with disabilities, young people, elderly people who have aged out of driving, and those not able to afford the increasing cost of owning and maintaining a motor vehicle. And yet these nondrivers are often left out of planning decisions, where projects to reduce automobile delay and travel times are given hundreds of millions of dollars with table scraps left for the other modes.
The Week Without Driving is a campaign founded by a disabled advocate in Washington to help elected leaders, policy makers, and transportation planners understand what it is like to navigate our cities and towns without relying on a personal automobile. By taking the Week Without Driving pledge, people commit to getting around using non-auto modes (asking for a ride if necessary) and reflecting on the experience.
In partnership with our allies at Transbay Coalition, North Bay Transit Riders, and Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, we are calling on Marin County’s elected leaders to participate in the Week Without Driving the week of October 1st to October 8th. 2026 will be the 5th year of the campaign, which was joined by over 1,000 elected officials across 47 states in 2025.
Click here to send an email to Marin County’s elected officials encouraging them to participate in the Week Without Driving. To learn more about the campaign, or for information about how you too can take the pledge, check out the website here.