History
The Undriver License: v.1.0, v2.0, v3.0
Undriving™ was invented in 2007 within the innovative Seattle neighborhood group, Sustainable Ballard. Projects in this all-volunteer group arise where there’s passion, and one man who adamantly thought no one should drive a car was beating the drum in the group’s Transportation Guild. Yes, cars are a huge part of the climate crisis – but what could we do that was engaging, inviting, even fun? After months of discussion our founder coined the term Undriving – and the idea for the Undriver License™ followed closely on its heels. From there, the whole program practically designed itself!
The Undriver Licensing Station made its debut at the 4th Annual Sustainable Ballard Festival in September, 2007, where it was an instant hit. In a rainy fall weekend, we licensed 436 Undrivers of all ages – who each made a pledge to reduce their car use (or car use on the planet in general, if not their own) in the coming month. They also received free bus tickets from King County METRO.
We quickly realized we had a winning program on our hands. Not only does Undriving readily engage people to reconsider their car use, it effectively leads to change: our surveys consistently show that 72 percent of Undrivers establish a new transportation pattern as a result of their pledge.
We began getting requests to participate in other events, and the Undriver Licensing Station hit the road. Since our launch, we have licensed over 4,100 Undrivers at more than 36 events around the region. We have presented at the World Carfree Conference, the Safe Routes to School Summit, Seattle Bioneers Conference, and Seattle Green Festival, where we debuted our Big License setup in March, 2009.
We have also received inquiries from all over the country (and beyond) from agencies, universities, hospitals, and organizations who are interested in doing Undriver Licensing in their locales. We plan to develop a toolkit for others to carry out the program, as well as an Online Licensing Station so that anyone, anywhere, can get licensed, 24/7.
So far, Undriving has been running primarily on creativity and resourcefulness – the same qualities we bring forth in Undrivers. Urban Sparks, a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to helping community projects come into being, serves as the fiscal sponsor for Undriving. Our small but mighty team is currently exploring organizational structures to best enable this grassroots effort to grow into a national and international movement. Your donations are most welcome!
Images above: Licensing is an evolving invention! V.4.0 will be an automated online licensing station.
Undriver License 1.0 – produced with Polaroid insta-film camera and laminator borrowed from the King County Police Union’s My ID Club.
Undriver License 2.0 - produced with corporate-ID card-making software and card printer, set up with assistance from Polaroid Commercial ID Systems (now Screen Check).
Undriver License 3.0 – printed to card printer from our Big License setup – with cutout for photos and dry-erase finish for writing your name and Undorsements.
