Steve and I are always seeking out ways to simplify our lives given our frequent travel. One of the best things we’ve done in the past few months is to sell our car and join Peg City Car Coop. Joining a car share program is smart for frequent travellers. We should have done it long ago.
How a car share works
A car share program is for people who need occasional use of a vehicle for short periods of time. There are a few different models of car sharing. They may be organized as a company, public agency, a cooperative or even just as a group of people on an ad hoc basis.
Our car share is a coop. We paid a one-time, refundable $500 share purchase to become a member-owner of the service. After that, there was a one-time $25 application fee. Each time we need a car, we book one online. There are three within a 5-minute walk from our condo (one is within less than a minute). We pay $4.50/hour and $0.30/kilometre. If you are a more frequent driver the hourly rate can be reduced to $2.50/hour with an additional payment of $25/month.
Money Saving
The first big advantage to car sharing in our case is that it is saving us money. We live in a central location with many amenities close by. We both work from home. Owning a car was a huge money suck. Our condo does not have parking so we had to pay for a space. Then, there’s insurance to pay, gas and regular maintenance. Even with using the car share 2-3 times per week, we are coming out ahead. Plus, when we’re travelling and not using the car, we aren’t paying to use it. There is now more money in our travel pot.
No worries
Equally important as the money saving, car sharing has taken a load off our minds. We are not “car people.” I could change a tire in a pinch, but I’d be swearing the whole time.
When we owned a car I was always procrastinating about getting the oil changed. I turned up the radio when I’d hear an odd sound that might indicate a mechanical problem. Even though we live in a winter city, we couldn’t be bothered getting snow tires because it was such a pain (it’s just safety, after all!).
When we travelled for longer periods of time, we had to have family or neighbours check on our car periodically to make sure it was ok (our parking space was not enclosed).
Joining Peg City Coop has lifted a 4-door sedan-sized weight off our shoulders. No more maintenance, no more worries when we travel. About a week after we joined, we were in a fender bender accident (not our fault). We immediately dreaded the pain of having to make a claim and deal with insurance adjusters. We were shocked to learn that all we needed to do was fill out an incident form and the coop would take care of the rest. How amazing is that?
Travel perks
Peg City has reciprocal agreements with a number of car shares in other North American cities. We’re looking forward to taking advantage of this feature. These agreements will allow us to access a car at an affordable price when visiting one of these locations.
It’s greener
Of course beyond all these personal advantages, car sharing has some significant benefits to the environment. It reduces the number of cars out there, encourages other modes of transportation for closer distances that really don’t require a car, and improves urban land use and development.
Why didn’t we join a car share sooner?
When we finally decided to sell our car and take advantage of our local car share program, it wasn’t without some trepidation. We worried that there might not be a car available when we needed it. We wondered if it really would save us money in the long run. Would we miss having our own car at our instant disposal? None of these fears has materialized. Car sharing has been the perfect solution to our urban, frequent travel lifestyle.
If you enjoyed this post, why not subscribe to Tag Along Travel? Twice a month, you’ll receive an email with links to recent posts.
[…] We used to own a car that sat parked a lot of the time. We ditched it two years ago and joined a car coop. No more worries about the car’s safety as it sat idle for weeks and no more money out the window […]
Peg City Car Coop sounds like a perfect fit for you guys. I knew other cities had car share programs (my daughter was in one for a while in Vancouver), but I didn’t realize Winnipeg had one. That’s great. The reciprocal agreements with other cities is a nice feature for travellers.
[…] Joining a car share program gets rid of at least one of the worries of frequent travel, saves money and is just a smart thing to do. […]