"According to the CAA, the average Canadian spends $8,525 per year to own a car and drive 18,000 kilometres. Other than food and rent, a car is a family’s biggest budgetary expense. This amount, which varies between $6,891 and $11,963 according to the type of car and the province of residence, includes depreciation, interest, maintenance and gas. It does not include parking, parking tickets, snow removal or indirect costs such as time wasted in traffic.
It is possible to be less dependent on a car by mixing different kinds of transportation that cost less but often are just as efficient. This mix is called the Transportation Cocktail.
It really isn’t efficient to buy a car and only use it for one or two hours a day. It’s better to pay for a car ONLY when you use it. This is the case even if you spend several thousand dollars in car rentals and taxis. In greater Montreal, where 50% of adults don’t own a car, the average household spends only $329 per month in travel costs. This is well below the Quebec average."
So, what makes up a Transportation Cocktail?
1. Car rentals
2. Car sharing
3. Public transportation and taxis
4. Inter-city transportation
5. Walking, cycling, rollerblading
6. Delivery services
Want more details? Need more convincing? Have a read of Equiterre's "Trousse Cocktail transport" (Transportation Cocktail Toolkit) site.
I am also putting together a separate post dealing exclusively with car sharing networks/companies. I should have it completed for early next week, so stay tuned!
