Tag: car_free

It’s fairly easy to do without one if you make your housing and
working arrangements around it. I’ve been car-free since 1996, but
we’re mostly urbanites, so this may not work for everyone.

Most of my ideas come from a great UK magazine called AtoB.

• We live very near a TTC subway station
• I cycle during the summer, take transit at other times. A TTC
  pass for $90/month for an annual subscription just can’t be
  beat.
• I have a Brompton folding bike (amongst far too many others, to
  Catherine’s eternal dismay) which rides well, and plays well with
  others on crowded transit.
• Catherine can use rental cars (I don’t have my Canadian licence
  yet, for various annoying bureaucratic reasons). They’re cheaper
  than running a car if you only need them now and again.
• Taxis work for getting big stuff from stores. (Unless you’re
  buying an eMac computer, which comes in a box too big to fit in a
  taxi …)
• All of our furniture was delivered, at less cost per trip than
  even hiring a U-Haul.
• We get most of our groceries delivered from Grocery Gateway
• We’ve considered signing up for AutoShare, a car sharing service in Toronto. A few of our friends use it, and find it convenient and
  reasonable.