Considering "Car Free"

Reason one - Financial

Like any family, we often wish we had a little more money.

We pay $385/mo for our lease payment, $115/mo for insurance, and about $200/mo for gas, for a total of about $700/mo.  Gas prices are now about $1.30 per litre, and obviously will only continue to rise.  Thank goodness we only have one driver in the house!   We recently spent $550 on front brakes and other servicing to the car, and were informed that we are going to need two new tires before the snow flies.

We researched what going car-free would cost us, as a comparison.  An adult bus pass is $87/mo and my wife and I would each need one.  That is less than what we pay in gas in a month.  The children qualify for board-subsidized bus passes, at a cost of $85, but that is for the entire school year.  A summer pass is $71.  So, for three children to ride the bus for one year, it would cost us less than a single month's car payment plus insurance.

We found out about an organization called Hamilton Care Share.  For a really moderate price (basically about $4-5/hr, plus $0.30/km, which includes gas and insurance) we would still have access to a car.  We'd just need to get to one of the locations to pick one up.  There are three car-share cars located within 3 km. of our house.

Even including the occasional taxi ride, when necessary, we could save well over $350/mo.

Reason two - Environmental

We burn upwards to 40 litres of gas in an average week.  That's over 2000 litres of fuel in a single year.  Sure, the Matrix is a low-emissions vehicle, but every little bit helps, right?

Reason three - Anti-Consumerism

I'm most stores' worst enemy - the person who entirely ignores all advertising, all promotions and all purchase incentives.  I actively avoid branding.  Our car is our single biggest participation in consumer culture.  There is some sense of feeling liberated at the thought of distancing myself one giant step further from consumer culture.