Tip of the Week: Car sharing works
Today is Car Free Day and if think you can’t possibly live without your own personal vehicle, think again. With gas prices on warp speed (not to mention climate change, traffic, smog, obesity, and many stinky results of too many cars on the road), this is a good time to consider whether car sharing could work for you.
I’ve been a member of Vancouver’s Co-operative Auto Network (CAN) since 2001. When Andrew and I moved here we discovered that car insurance was outrageous, the parking expensive, and the alternatives (such as public transit, walking, and CAN) pretty good. Andrew takes the bus and a skateboard to work at the University of British Columbia. I walk, take the bus, and use a CAN car whenever I need to (several times a week for work and errands).
How does it work? It’s a co-op, so members jointly own all the cars. There are vehicles parked all over the Lower Mainland — more than 100 cars in the fleet with new ones being added all the time. Scroll down this page to find cars near you and read the FAQs for details on how it works. Once you join, you pay a monthly fee to cover some of the fixed costs of the car and when you use a car, you pay low fees by the hour and by the kilometre. The fees include gas, insurance, maintenance, and BCAA. You have access to a car (or truck, van, stationwagon, Mini, VW Bug, Prius… yes there are some cool cars available!) when you want it. You don’t pay for more car than you need.
Email CAN if you want to know more. It’s not 100% car free — but it’s a step in the right direction!
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