Millis Transfer President & Director, HEARTLAND EXPRESS INC
Robbie Hobein & David Millis: Becoming (Mostly) Car Free is Easier Than You Think
Our accidental journey to becoming (mostly!) car-free involves silly questions, cool gadgets, e-bikes, Christmas tree challenges, ...
About David Millis
David Millis, president of Millis Transfer and a director at Heartl Express, has been speaking publicly about his personal shift away from car dependency. In a September 2024 talk, Millis and co-speaker Robbie Hobein described their "accidental journey" to becoming "mostly car-free," which they said began with the question "can we carry kitty litter on a bike?" Millis stated that the household sold its pickup truck, added two e-bikes, and that the remaining car "mostly gathers dust." He claimed the family saved at least $40,000 and "significantly reduced" their carbon footprint, and said they are "noticeably happier." Millis cited studies suggesting that owning and operating a vehicle costs about $112,000 per year versus "a few hundred bucks" for an e-cargo bike, and that if every household in Denver retired a car, 4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide could be saved annually. He also described his background in a separate appearance, noting he worked in financial services for more than 30 years, qualified as a chartered accountant, and led Deutsche Bank's European and India loan operations teams.
Transcript (9 segments)
H
Host0:01
no just I just ask that you stay engaged that you learn from our speakers, that you hold space for them because what they're doing is rad. Also, in case I'm sorry I didn't mention this, just to make sure Ethan, are we live streaming? Yes ma'am, fantastic. If anybody wants to text family members who are too afraid to drive here tonight or who live out of state and don't know what the hell you're doing this evening and you would like them to participate.
Pretty exciting and they are pretty fabulous. Robbie Hobin and David Millis. We have to emphasize the 'is'. As per us, they're for right now they're my backup dancers. I asked, hey Stephanie Vil who is one of our community members is live streaming right now. Hi Stephanie. So one of the questions I asked is what song would be on a loop in hell and Robbie gave me the same answer that I would have given: Baby Shark. And something that always makes Robbie laugh: farts. Which is valid except Parker her farts are not funny. I didn't know dog farts did what they do anyway. Without further ado, please welcome our first speakers to ignite.
D
David Millis1:58
Thank you. Tell me when to stop. Tall people, all right. How about that? Okay, so why should we even want to move away from using cars? Because the planet is burning up and you need to do something damn it. No guilt trips tonight. There are some surprisingly great benefits to ditching your motor vehicle. Studies show that it costs about $112,000 to own and operate a vehicle per year versus a few hundred bucks to keep a e-cargo bike going. And you get healthier without even really trying.
To this day, whenever I get on a bike I become eight years old again. Riding bikes is fun and we rarely yell in a car. And adding bike lanes improves safety for everyone, in cars or bikes, and pedestrians. If every household in Denver retired a car we could save 4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. Okay, yeah, this all sounds well and good but it won't work for me. Ebikes excel at hauling all kinds of stuff, whether they're kids or groceries or partners. But aren't those things expensive? For the cost of owning a car you could buy a shiny new e-cargo bike every year and still come out ahead. Raise your hand if you could use an additional 10 grand every year.
Studies show that most vehicle trips are less than six miles. That's a leisurely 21 minute ebike ride. And we're focusing on the nearby trip, not that road trip to San Diego. Yeah, but studies show that us overweight people feel happier when riding ebikes. And you won't have to sweat the hills. Ebikes are magical. I don't feel safe? We're safer when we plan the route thoughtfully, wear our helmets and our blinky lights, and ride with others. And studies show that riding is still safer than riding in a car.
We started our journey a few years ago with a truck, a car, two road bikes, and fashionable spandex and funny shoes. And then the question that started everything: can we carry kitty litter on a bike? This led to the heroic flatbed trailer, followed quickly by the amazing Urban ArOE cargo bike. And you'd be amazed at the stuff that you can carry on an e-cargo bike. How about eight bags of groceries, four huge leaf bags, a rototiller from Home Depot, and most importantly, Robbie. So along the way our mindsets have changed. Jumping in the car is no longer our default choice. We'd rather try to ride our bikes or walk or ride the train or the bus.
Some of you might say, but I'm in a hurry, I got to use the car. But driving is stressful. Biking and walking makes me feel better. I don't care if it takes a little bit longer. And with all the bike lanes that are being built, biking is getting pretty zippy. Hey, we like our workouts too. And the thing is, if you're walking and bicycling a lot more in your daily life, you might not need as many scheduled workouts. As a result of our journey, we've saved at least $40,000 and significantly reduced our carbon footprint. And we're noticeably happier. The remaining car mostly gathers dust. Did you say $40,000? Okay, which brings us to today. We sold the pickup truck and added two ebikes. And we're having more fun than should be legal.
Which brings us to a gentle challenge for you, our audience. Why don't we invite you to go to a local bike store, which sells ebikes and e-cargo bikes, and go for a spin. And on Google Maps scale out to about a five mile radius from your home. How many cool grocery stores and cool places are within biking range? Remember, we're not saying you have to get rid of that prized car or truck. Just use it less. I'm Robbie Hobin and I'm David Millis. Mike, whorey? Les? Thank you. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for joining us.
H
Host7:13
You did it to kick it off. That was wonderful, thank you. All right, ladies and gentlemen. I don't know if you guys knew, probably not, who here was here 10 years ago? Nobody. Okay, I didn't know how to use a mic stand then so it was like I'm gonna take it off because I didn't know how to make it shorter. Thank you.