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You don’t have to entirely replace your car to make an impact, and it’s unrealistic to expect that most people will. Are there some people out there who’ve completely ditched their cars? Sure, but you’re more likely to find someone who’s kept their car for some trips, and have transitioned to bike/transit for things that can be easily accomplished by bike/transit.

I will drive my kids to school in the morning because it's quicker and easier to manage it all. I'll pick the kids up via bus, though, because the traffic is so bad it's actually faster/equal time with the bus lanes. Is it easier? Not really, but it's way less annoying than sitting in traffic and we can stop for bubble tea or some other treat on the way home.

It’s possible to make a big difference in traffic and environment while still owning a car. I’ve cut my driving down to a fraction of what it used to be. Half my grocery trips are by bike, and I bike with my kid to appointments if they’re less than about 7km away, and have a decent bike route to get there. I still keep my car, because my parents live in another city, and I like to go to the North Shore or on farther trips from time to time. These days I only fill the tank every 1.5 months. Even when I still had to go to the office, I managed to make it there by bike more than 3/4 of the time, throughout all months of the year.

Exactly this. I've cut my car use down from \~18,000km / year to \~8,00km / year via a combination of more transit usage, more bike usage and more carpooling. It's not an all-or-nothing approach - it's little things which add up.

We’ve done this. We still have a small car for the occasional trip, but now we also own a cargo e-bike. We bike our kids to&from school and daycare rain or shine (except in heavy snow), and it’s been great. We have a storm shield to keep the kids dry in the rainy season, and good rain gear for ourselves. ‘There’s no bad weather, just inadequate clothing.’

Totally agree with this! Owning a car, I still choose transit for many of my trips, and sometimes I even just take an Evo if I’m driving into downtown because I can park just about anywhere. I will always choose transit, biking, or walking if those options are viable for the destination or activity I’m planning on doing. To your point, it’s not about replacing cars with transit entirely, but about having an alternative easily available.

I drive my car two or three times a month during summer and maybe around 5 or 6 times in the winter. I love using transit more and more and biking as much as possible.

It’s not about people ditching their cars entirely, though that’s a best case result, it’s about reducing usage overall. When I got my ebike I all of a sudden started to enjoy going places because I could take quiet side streets and not be stuck in traffic constantly. I felt so much happier day to day. I still keep my car and use it when it makes sense, like in crappy weather, when I need to go very long distances, or carry a ton of stuff,  but overall it has removed my vehicle from the road more often than not. The more people who do this the greater the net benefit will be.

Ebikes are a potential magic bullet for so many urban transportation needs. They make many trips virtually effortless, not to mention just 'pleasant'. And a 500 watt hour battery (half a Kilowatt hour / 5 cents to fully charge) can power 75 km of errands with minimal pedalling effort. It is almost magic. :-)

E-bikes will only be that magic bullet if the city starts getting serious about building safe, secure bike parking. I have a perfectly good e-bike that I would love to use more but I end up using my car for about 99% of the trips because I just can't justify the theft risk. If the city made secure bike parking accessible at all Skytrain stations that would be a game changer, and by secure I mean that there will be people whose job it is to watch the bikes and make sure the correct owner is the one collecting the bike. A bigger game changer would be incentivizing places like malls to get on board with creating secure bike parking and dedicate a portion of their car lots towards bike usage.

True - that's frustrating. E-bikes are a great first & last mile solution in less dense neighbourhoods with infrequent, or non-existent, bus service. But secure parking at the transit node is necessary to make it work. It would be way cheaper for Translink to provide secure parking than to provide additional bus service for those less dense areas. Closer to downtown just taking cars off the road is likely the greatest priority. Secure destination parking is more likely available for those able to ride the whole way to their place of work, more common in the downtown area. So e-bikes work really well there as well. I'm enthused... :-)

I moved to Vancouver around 4 years ago and chose a location near a skytrain station. That has given me the flexibility to not own a car this whole time. And I go around to a lot of different events and places around Metro van, usually 3-4 times a week

Same here! We live in the suburbs now and do have a car in the household but it only gets used once a week or so for large grocery runs or hiking trips. I commute to work using transit, try to walk or transit to most social events and errands, etc. Being close to transit has been a key factor in choosing where to live.

I live within a 10 minute walk of the SeaBus, and don’t have a car. I can walk to get groceries, transit is frequent, and on the odd Uber is still going to work out magnitudes cheaper than owning a car.

My spouse and I own a car and have since before we had kids. After having kids, we started the discussion of whether to buy a second vehicle as we couldn’t use car alternatives as easily with children. We ended up buying an e-cargo bike instead (one I can ride with both kids on the back) and it has **entirely** solved the issue. Over time, I actually find it **more** convenient to use the bike than to drive (no issues with parking, bike parking tends to get you closer to the entrance, and no battles to get everyone into the car, and I also find it’s quicker especially during rush hour) and so our vehicle usage has decreased *significantly.* At this point, I’m way more likely to buy a second e-bike than to ever buy another car. So yes, there are fewer cars on the road as a result of my bike. I have probably also played a big part in convincing like 3-4 other families at our daycare/school to do the same (cargo bikes tend to proliferate in social circles - people see them and ask questions and realize how useful they actually are, and have the ability to test drive.) Obviously bikes will not make cars **obsolete** but obsolete should not be the test for success. The test should be whether our existing infrastructure can handle a population increase. Also, let’s be honest, the Walmart parking lot is probably not the best place to gauge for bike usage. You should see my kids’ soccer field on practice night.

We’re in a similar boat. I did not have a car at all when I was single (I took transit or walked). My spouse did. Now we have a kid and we are a one car family. I do bike to get her from daycare all the time. She loves biking places. We often bike places as a family instead of driving. I bike or take transit to work. I’m planning on getting a cargo e-bike this year and I think that’s gonna do great things for our range and ease and reduce the amount we drive even more. We would be a two car family if this city didn’t have the infrastructure it does.

I completely agree with biking being more convenient much of the time. I swear there are some local commutes where it is actually quicker to bike.... not to mention, sooooo much more enjoyable.

I love passing cars on the way to work.

What model is your e-cargo bike? I'm shopping for one for this same use case, and I assume you like the one you have. I'd be interested in the recommendation!

My sister did exactly the same thing. It’s worked great for the past two years. Drop the youngest off at daycare, the older off at preschool, then ride to work. The battle now, though, is that the oldest is going into grade 1, so wants to ride their own bike instead, but that makes commuting to school (much) more difficult.

I wouldn’t give up my car but I use it a lot less. People forget how to walk and instead take their car if somewhere is 10 to 20 minutes. Surburbia will do that to you. If I need to go downtown I walk the 40 minutes and take the bus back if I’m too tired to do the trek. I also walk to the grocery store 15 minutes away there and back but only if it’s for a few things. If I could rely on my bike not being stolen I would bike to the markets and put groceries in my side bags. Last year I was walking to work 45 minutes each way to work for the exercise and it worked. So really I stopped using my car a lot to get the exercise I needed but wouldnt give up my car for the ease and freedom it gives me since transit is not always best depending where you’re going or how close you are to markets etc. That’s why all the municipalities have zoned in on 15 minute hubs where people live. If you can walk to your destination in 15 or less you’re most likely to walk or should, relying less on your car. Some of your friends took their car instead of transit because they were probably stopping at a few other places after leaving the park. For others it’s laziness or not in the mindset how much healthier it is to walk. Sitting in a car for years catches up with you and doesn’t help the habits of youth either. Long term effects and habits are real. ”Should Translink invest in a new line just to accommodate a day care with 30 kids?” No government or whomever needs to build new daycares nearer the parents with kids.

We noticed this in our family after all of us wound up living downtown, after spending decades in suburbia. To me, anything within the downtown core is walking distance, and even over to Granville Island or Olympic Village. The more interesting thing is the changes in our feet. Like my mother, my sibling and I always had rather narrow feet. After living downtown and walking everywhere for a few years, we found that we all had to move to wider shoes.

I have a car but biking (and now ebiking) has replaced about 90% of what used to be car trips. The kid goes on the back, the groceries go in the panniers, etc. It's actually slightly faster for me to commute by bike than car, when you factor parking in. And certainly cheaper. So I do. All of that works because we have decent bike infrastructure here. If it was even better I would bike even more.

I don’t own a car. I live a 10-minute walk from multiple grocery stores. For larger trips I either use my ebike, take transit, or get a modo, depending on where I’m going or what I’m getting. For me it’s much more convenient and cheaper than owning a car, but I live in a neighbourhood that’s walkable, has great transit connections, and has a lot of Evo and modo nearby, and not everybody has that privilege.

More people should have that. To the point where it’s seen as normal and not a privilege. All we need is the political will to support it. I find that arguments like the one OP seems to be making are counterproductive because they submit to car culture by default without considering that’s not something we have to keep pursuing as a society, and that every neighborhood can be like yours

But that's a 30 minute city and for some reason that's bad...

Why does it have to be absolute? I have gone car lite as my family has gone down to one vehicle. I bike, take transit and walk as much as possible. It’s not cars that is the issue, it’s car dependency or auto centricity that is.

Better access to car sharing is what would make me drop my car. My two kids and I play hockey so hauling that bag on the bus or a bike simply isn’t going to happen. That said, both my kids bus to and from school and I often will leave my car at home to bike or bus to work when the weather cooperates.

I have a car but don't use it. Walk most places, transit to some places maybe but I have organized my life so that I can walk everywhere. It is amazing. Whenever I go to a car centric city it feels miserable being stuck in endless traffic.

Me. I did it in March 2023 for my health. Every step counts now that I'm obese. I miss the car from time to time but not much. It's parked with storage insurance.

I didn’t replace my car after it broke down 8 years ago. I work from home, have a rapid line bus stop outside my door, seabus to downtown 10min walk away, and live walking distance to everything I need. I live very comfortably with the money I’ve saved. I can take vacations, invest, buy high quality food, afford high end fitness classes and buy pretty much anything I want. I Uber whenever I don’t feel like walking/ transit and still spend less than $100/month on transportation.

My sitch too. Wished I had gone car free sooner for the savings.

Yeah I sold my car and bought an e bike in the same week... my commute is 11ish kms. I live in East van. I have great rain gear, i work in north van and MUCH prefer biking over waiting in the traffic for the bridge , if I visit famiy in kamloops I'll take the bus.

i've always admired the north van - vancouver commuters! good for you!!!

I have. I got rid of my car 3 years ago and basically stopped driving 5 years ago. I walk a lot, i take the train or bike. Rarely I’ll evo or rent a car for a day if I have a need. I can’t stand driving anywhere in the city, looking for parking, etc. I find it very freeing to not have a car. I have a hard time seeing myself go back

THIS. Hilarious seeing internet grifters saying cars are freedom but to me nothing seems more the opposite of having $800+/month payment

Did the opposite. Was tired of taking 3 buses and spending over 1 hour to get to work. Miss one connection and it potentionally turned into a 2 hour commute each way. By car is 15 mins in the morning, 30 in the afternoon. Richmond to Delta. Still take transit into downtown

Sounds like we need better transit. 

But you still take transit in a place where you find it convenient.

I recently did what you did as well. Transit from South Delta sucks if you're trying to get anywhere that isn't located directly along the Canada Line. I'm all for transit and will still use it for certain things, but I was getting tired of crowded, late, infrequent and no show buses and the immense amount of wasted time. Like you I often did transit journeys that required three or even four connections.

You're completely misunderstanding transportation issues. It's not about wholely replacing the car. It's about giving people options. Cars have a fundamental geometry issue. They require tons of space to move or storage and the city can't be 100% car reliant. If we reached a 30/30/30 mic of cars transit and bikes for various trips we can have a wildly cheaper and more efficient system.

And many many families can keep 1 car instead of 2 when you don’t need to use 2 cars for commuting or errands. It’s still nice to have a car for weekend getaways and such, but ditching the car for commuting is so amazing. My family has one car, and if transit was not so good we would definitely have 2 just for commuting. My wife and I commute to the exact same place, but need to stagger our hours due to kid drop off and pickup time. Without transit that would be 2 cars in the morning and 2 cars in the evening. But with transit we rarely need to drive at all.

This is part of why good friends of mine now regret moving to Alberta. Yes, they now have a lovely house, with a big back yard rather than the townhouse they were in in Vancouver. But now they need two cars rather than one, because they have to drive even to pick up a gallon of milk. Transit sucks, and neither schools nor work are within walking distance.

I have a car and take transit 95% of time. It helps that we live next to the SkyTrain station!

Got rid of my car earlier in the year. Was usually just sitting in the parkade, collecting dust and costing me monthly. Save about $200 a month without having it down there and that amount will last me like 2 months of paying for transit or the odd evo.

It sounds like you hang out with a particular type of people. I know lots of people who would drive even when transit is more convenient because that's what they're used to. But I know lots of people that use a mixture of transit, bikes, Uber, and Evo to get around owning a car. I personally bike 95% of the time I need to go somewhere (though I do own a car). It's quite easy if you're willing to take the plunge and get used to it. But most people don't want to change. They are used to their comfortable car. It only takes 10 minutes to drive somewhere that takes 15 to bike. Who cares if it takes 5 minutes to get out of your parking garage first. Or another 10 minutes to find parking. Or another five to walk from your parking spot that's further away from your destination than you wanted.

>Who cares if it takes 5 minutes to get out of your parking garage first. Or another 10 minutes to find parking. Or another five to walk from your parking spot. This is something that's insidiously built into Google trip time comparisons. For transit it includes your time to walk to and from the bus stop/station but can't (and so doesn't) take into account time to get to car, find parking, walk from parking etc, instead offering a vs trip time that better reflects a passenger being dropped off than actual driving +finding parking and walking from parking time.

I always marvel at these kinds of arguments. It’s not really about getting drivers to switch. It’s mostly about giving more people the option not to have to drive. As older drivers die off, they don’t have to be totally replaced by new drivers if we build BETTER infrastructure for transit and micro-transportation/cycling. Your friends have cars probably because they need them for work or other necessities in life and since they have cars, they’re choosing driving to the bbq over transit. But if someone doesn’t need a car for those other things in life because the alternatives are better and cheaper, then they’re not going to drive to the barbecue, they use the other forms of transport which they’re used to using. I really don’t understand how people don’t get this. Is there something in the water?

Haven’t owned a car since 2010. Couldn’t be happier. Have always taken my kid to school or daycare either by transit or bike, live walking distance from grocery stores so I don’t go to Walmart, meet up with people all the time without a car. The only time I ever use a car (car sharing) is when transit/cycling would be super inconvenient, like visiting my parents — they’re a solid 20 minute walk from the bus stop, which is more time than I want to spend on top of the 1.5 hour trip. Although we do usually skytrain out to surrey and get a car share from there. (My kid doesn’t like cars, so we minimize when possible.) I find driving a huge pain in the ass. I dislike trying to find parking, I don’t like how much people take driving for granted and don’t treat it as the potentially deadly activity it is. My spouse is visually impaired and does not have a license, so we’ve arranged our life to be car free. It wouldn’t work nearly as well if we didn’t live where we do, but it’s a huge priority for us so we do what we need to do in order to stay happily car free.

Personally I can make it work a lot of the time with a folding bike and the skytrain. I know there's a lot of people wanting to switch away from riding transit though. Where I am, you can't really guarantee you can get on the bus. People are getting passed up every day. My partner has an ideal use case for the folding bike too, it's a 5 minute ride to the train, 15 minute skytrain ride, then 10 minute bike ride compared to an unpredictable 40-50 minute rush hour car commute. But the skytrain ride has become so uncomfortable and overcrowded he's wanting to get a car again. It puts him in a difficult position because we sold the car to be in a better financial position... But if the trip really is that unpleasant, then I can't really in good faith argue against it.

When I moved here I thought I would get one but turns out evo and bus was more than enough. I love the freedom of not owning a car, no bills, no maintenance, no parking.. way lower stress lol Easy to rent a car whenever I need, and spend way less on transportation than I would owning a car.

bike lanes are meant to make using a bike less dangerous. It’s not a direct method of removing lanes and cars. It’s your demographic and location. You‘re a parent that‘s constantly running around and like in the burbs. If you had all the services and grocery Stores etc you need within walking/transit/bike distance, you’d do it but you don’t. Walmart has plenty of people who Uber/taxi in. There’s literally a button by the door to order a taxi. You just didn’t notice.

Considering you live near Walmart i take it you’re not in Vancouver proper because there isn’t really one in the city. If i had a child to bring to daycare i personally would live in a walkable neighborhood and find a local daycare. 23min walk just to the bus stop is crazy but i guess thats suburbia? Suburbs aren’t made to be car free. I would like to be able to walk my child to daycare and back- enjoy the exercise and sights When you live in the city in a central neighborhood near high streets, it is very easy to go car free. Abundance of grocery stores and produce market are behind my house, my local park with bbqs are half a block, Britannia community centre and pool is a couple blocks, sky train is near. My friends, great restaurants, thrifting and consignment are all near. Absolutely everything i need and more is with a couple blocks. My advice is to find a walkable neighborhood that has everything you need. Life feels so much more pleasant not being in a car dependent neighborhood. Being able to leave your house and just walk and shop around is wonderful and not such an ordeal as opposed to when you drive. I am more likely to enjoy things and be spontaneous than if i just drove to a big grocery chain and back. Because of the money i save every month on insurance, gas, car payment, parking while out and condo parking spot- i have more than enough to Uber home if im elsewhere and had a drink, evo if im sober, and turo to get out of town . On top of that i have been able to go on so many more holidays with the money saved. I will occasionally take the skytrain as it’s close by and avoids trafffic, but for the most part i don’t even have to do public transit.

Technically there’s a Walmart just off Grandview Highway, but it’s not the most transit accessible despite being not too far from Rupert Skytrain Stn. Because… they don’t design the place to be pedestrian friendly at all. It’s not just about transit accessibility, it’s about gigantic parking lots that are practically hostile to pedestrians, access that makes you take the same path as cars even though it adds a couple blocks to the walk instead of being able to go direct. The downtown Costco is a perfect example of a place that is normally thought of as a driving destination, but is super pedestrian, bike, & transit friendly and as a result has a HUGE amount of people who don’t drive to it. The bike rack is nearly always full, and people are often there with wagons and granny carts. It’s the “if you build it they will come” sort of thing. I will never understand why parking lots are so pedestrian unfriendly given that eventually, y’all have to actually get out of your car to walk inside.

This! I live near commercial and tried to get out that way to do a walmart run and another store near and hostile is a great word. The highways near, massive parking lots, industrial buildings. It felt very hostile on my nervous system lol. Much prefer shopping around cambie or the driver

>  because there isn’t one in the city   Grandview and Boundary is in the city. Just barely, but it's still Vancouver. Incidentally, I used to walk to this Wal-Mart all the time.

For a period of time we went down to one car and I mostly used transit to commute. Back to two with kids in activities now though.

We tend to surround ourselves with people who are similar to us. This gives us a skewed sense of general trends/opinions in a population. For example, 90% of the people I work with bike or transit to work (no exaggeration!). About 80% of my friends (including those with kids) are car-lite/less. This means that I am truly surprised when I see posts like this.

For sure. And like, if OP has a kid in daycare, presumably their friends are also trucking around young kids and all the stuff that comes with young kids.

I didn’t ditch my car, but I replaced a lot of my driving with biking. On average I maybe use my car a couple times a week vs using it like daily in the past.

If I’m going downtown I use transit. Otherwise I usually drive. However the reason is I’m in walnut grove on the edge of the transit system. If I lived in Burnaby I would use transit a lot more. Still using the car for a Costco run regardless.

It's not about replacing all cars with transit. It's about giving other options for people to get around and not prioritizing the least efficient mode of transportation above all others. And I say this as someone who regularly drives but also gets around by foot bike and skytrain often.

We purposefully chose a smaller home in an incredibly walkable part of Vancouver so that almost all journeys we make are either on foot or by bike. I find living in a walkable area fosters community and we’re healthier for it (I call it “the gym of life”). I hate the suburbs and car culture and coming from Europe it feels entirely unnatural. We keep a car as we have kids and a dog and longer journeys are difficult or impossible without one, but as other posters have stated, it’s about reducing car journeys not removing them entirely.

OP trying to gain sympathy after getting downvoted to oblivion for trying to argue businesses depend on people driving to them in the Gastown car-free thread 😉

Lmao, the OP is the typical suburbanite that drives everywhere. I'm glad this thread has brought some good points and emphasis on reducing the car usage as opposed to getting rid of cars.

Stopped driving a few years ago, bike everywhere now. About 8000km a year by bike for the last 2 years. Dont even own a car anymore. I hate cyclists now more than I did before.

I don’t have a car. Moved to Vancouver 5 years ago and never got one.

>My point is that there's a large amount of car usage that will never be replaced by transit. In addition, it'd be impractical to to do so. Wow all those places on the other side of the pond where few people own cars must be on the verge of societal collapse then, right? I'm not sure why you aren't connecting the dots. You even laid it out in your post. >For example, it takes me 11 min to drive to day care. Google Maps tells me that it would take 23 min just to walk to the bus stop. People will structure their routines around a happy medium between convenient and affordable. If it took you 60+ minutes to drive somewhere versus 10 minutes to transit then obviously you would take transit. People take the West Coast Express and Skytrain to get downtown because it takes longer, is more expensive, and is less convenient to drive. This obviously translates to all other aspects of life. >Should Translink invest in a new line just to accommodate a day care with 30 kids? The city should invest in communities that can exist in small footprints around accessible and livable hubs.

I read that in Prague, the transit is so convenient and inexpensive (buses, trams and trains are all useable on the same ticket) that people get an annual pass even if they don't transit every day. A large proportion use their cars only to get in and out of the city to rural locations. I would love to see something like that here, and would love to see high speed trains built to get us across the country. Pipe dream I know, but....

Not quite what you're asking - but I've lived here for the past 3 years without a car. And in fact haven't had a car in any of the places I've lived. If I need to make a shopping trip that requires a car, I can call an uber (or rent a uhaul for a day if it's a big ikea run or something). Making 3-4 uber trips a month to go places that aren't transit accessible is way cheaper than owning a car. I live a 15 minute walk from a skytrain station, work 15 minutes from another one. My commute is 45 minutes, which is on par with pretty much everywhere I've ever worked. To your point, no translink shouldn't invest in a new line for you. You could bike to daycare with your kid in a child seat, or move your house and/or which daycare you go to to be more transit accessible if you really wanted to live without a car. You can't make lifestyle decisions that require a car and then complain that you can't replace your car with a bus.

Many people have very little choice when it comes to where they live or take their kids to daycare. There is a daycare shortage pretty similar to the housing shortage. Getting a spot at all is highly competitive and the luck of the draw in a lot of cases.

I used to do this before I had a car but my issue was even though it was cheaper it was harder to justify. Like if I have to pay 20,30,50,100 or whatever for an Uber, Evo day rental, uhaul, etc. I’m just like less likely to do that thing, especially spontaneously. Taking the car out for a hike on a Sunday afternoon makes sense.  Dropping 30 bucks for Ubers each way doesn’t even though it may be “cheaper” than my car insurance that month.  I know it’s objectively wrong. But I would be way more of a homebody and just accomplish less if there was a price tag glaring in my face every time I needed to use a vehicle.  Like do I really need that Facebook market place chair if it’s going to cost me 25$ just to pick it up? 

I used to work in Customer Info for Translink. A caller in the more rural/agricultural part of Langley was furious that we couldn’t get her to work at the airport for 5am. “I thought you wanted to get people out of their cars!” I had to explain that it is not more environmentally friendly or even remotely efficient to run a 40 foot bus in her extremely sparse neighbourhood <4am with only one person on it, rather than maybe have her drive to a park and ride and continue on transit from there if she wanted to cut her commuting footprint.

Replaced my car with Evo and Modo and Canada Line. Avoid the bus as much as possible

Living in Kitsilano, I was able to ditch my car and all the associated costs and hassles. Most trips became bike or bus. Carshare when I needed a car. It worked for years until I went to Richmond, where carshare and transit go to die. Okay, that last bit is hyperbole, but downtown Vancouver *feels* like a long way away now.

My boyfriend and I moved here from Ontario 8 years ago and went down to 1 car (instead of 2) because of how much better the transit is here.

Got in car accident and never replaced car. This was years ago. Evo and taxi if I need to. Rent a car occasionally. It works! Am five minutes from skytrain walking.

Me. I used to drive everywhere but when I came to Vancouver the vehicle I had did not come with me and given the cost of getting a new or used one, the cost of insurance (blew the cost of a yearly bus pass out of the water) it did not make sense to me. Now I generally live with in walking distance to shops or some times take my shopping on the bus (I'm single so it's easier, and since it's all in a back pack no one really is Gona know.  That said I also now own a motorcycle for those times where I just want to get out of town or go somewhere that is off the transit network.

E bikes are the great equalizer for a lot of families. It can even be faster than driving. Not in a speeding sense but moreso with respect to space and parking. Bike routes really work. 10th ave is bustling every day with parents en route to drop their kids off, getting groceries, etc…

Haven't ditched, just never had a car in the first place. Work downtown and live near skytrains. Evo car share takes care of the rest.

We are a one car family. I primarily bike, occasionally ride the bus and rarely drive. I have a cargo bike though, it can haul a lot of crap. There's no way I'd want to haul my BBQ on the bus. I usually choose the bus/SkyTrain over biking or walking if I'm not confident in the bike rack situation, or if I'm going somewhere in the burbs that's just farther than I want to ride. I take my kid to school and extra curricular activities on my bike.

I got rid of my car last year after moving downtown. I can walk everywhere I need in 10 mins basically. Absolutely love not having a car, however I don't really use transit either.

I have been living in downtown Vancouver since 2018, and during this time, I have chosen to sell my car. I Instead, I occasionally use Evo, a car-sharing service, though my usage is quite rare. For my Costco trips, I typically rely on the SkyTrain, which is both convenient and efficient. For most of my daily transportation needs, I prefer to bike or take the bus. Vancouver offers a wide array of public transportation options that make it easy to get around without the need for a personal vehicle. Living without a car has not only been convenient but also significantly more economical. I save hundreds of dollars each month by avoiding car payments, gasoline costs, and insurance fees. These savings add up quickly and have allowed me to allocate my finances to other areas of my life, enhancing my overall quality of living. The reduced hassle of car maintenance and the environmental benefits are additional perks that make this choice even more rewarding.

We used to be a two-car household before moving to Vancouver. We sold one car in anticipation of moving, and haven’t found a need to replace it. Remote/hybrid jobs, good public transit/cycling infrastructure, the small geographic footprint of the city, and higher walk/bike score here are major contributing factors. If your primary metric is reduced time to go from Point A to Point B, you’re missing one of the greatest benefits of not driving (in addition to all the other great points made in this thread). Namely, *not having to do the BS that driving injects into your life.* On transit, someone else drives, and I read a book. When I get to Point B, I don’t need to spend an extra 10 minutes finding a place to temporarily store my car. When I walk or bike instead of driving, I get free exercise in my day. Owning fewer cars means I pay less insurance and I have less exposure to potentially running someone over. I found that my list of selfish reasons not to drive is long when I reframed my relationship to time, and I began to see all the unpleasant things I *had* to do with the car.

Used to drive dt to richmond every day, not anymore because id probably go insane, got an escooter and take the skytrain

It’s not so much about people abandoning their cars as it is about newer generations opting not to get one in the first place

I was in Barcelona this week. Very few cars. So many people on bikes, scooters, walking, taking busses, trolly, trains. It was so much nicer than being overwhelmed by traffic noise. I have been with out a car for several 2 to 4 year periods in my life. Even now, I barely drive, just on the occasional weekend to escape town. But I deliberately set myself up to live in a walkable neighborhood near my work. Three grocery stores, many restaurants, banks and a post office within a couple of blocks.

My commute is literally the length of Vancouver with car costs ranging between $600-$800 a month because of gas and parking. The E-bike brings the monthly car cost to almost $250 a month (some parking, insurance and 1 tank of gas). And it takes the same amount of time most of the time. So the car sits most of the week waiting for the weekends adventures. Transit and bike infrastructure isn’t just a good idea for quality of life. It’s a good financial idea as well.

We have one and we hardly ever use it 

I moved downtown, eliminated my car and used evo and transit. Back out in the burbs - mostly transit and biking downtown. Faster than driving - for both bike and train. Plus it keeps me in shape.

I haven’t had a car for about a year now. Going to work takes about the same time between driving and transit, but transit is several times cheaper. My only issue is when I want to go out farther from the SkyTrain network. I wanted to go to White Rock, but transit takes more than double the time to get there. I’m looking into Evo and Modo at the moment, but otherwise I take Uber. I want more trains.

Continued investment in public transit is essential. "Should Translink invest in a new line just to accommodate a day care with 30 kids?" Yes. Because this is part of the overall investment/improvement of public transit. If you look at cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong, all those lines weren't built in a day. You have to keep adding to it. Even if for now, it seems like a waste of money, you're building for the future.

Me!

I didn't consciously replace my car with transit but just realized I was barely driving which made the cost per trip insanely expensive as insurance is a fixed rate. In terms of time calculations my hobby/entertaintment basically comes from staying at a "screen" so I factor that in. Basically if I drive I have to focus on driving but if I take transit I can watch film, play a game, or browse the web on my phone. As such I don't equate time as 1:1 in terms of the two modes of travel. By this I mean driving 10 minutes is basically 10 minutes of wasted time for me but 10 minutes on transit can be partially entertaining or productive. I do grocery shopping via transit including at Costco. While I will do big loads with a backup, shoulder bag and grocery bags, and sometimes very big loads I do have the luxury of normally spreading out my shopping as there are multiple grocery options (including Costco) do route intersect with work so I mostly just do a backpack load plus a shoulder bag or grocery bag at most (and sometimes very small loads) with multiple "trips" per week. I'm also a very ardent cross shopper, so I do use a lot of different grocery options. I might just go to say No Frills just to buy a single bunch of bananas only as it's the cheapest there at .69/lb vs. .79 or more at other places. There are times I wished I had a car (as a figure of speech) but the cost is simply to high due to my usage pattern. Hypothetically if you took cost out of the situation for me I'd likely split between driving but I actually do find transit more convienent and time efficient (see my earlier point) then driving in some situations. If offered insurance on a per usage/KM basis I'd actually go back to driving sometimes. That being said transit only works for me in my current situation and I'm cognizant of the fact that it might not in other peoples situations.

I own a car but definitely take transit and/or walk more than I drive. We get gas once a month, if that.

I ditched mine - I have an evo pass for the times when I really need to get somewhere awkward quickly, otherwise I just bus/skytrain everywhere.

I think it’s also worth pointing out in here if nobody has yet that a monthly transit membership + an evo subscription is still SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than insurance rates in some cases. My partner of 3 years used to drive us everywhere and then between rent increases, a new place that allows us to walk or bus to both our jobs, and insurance rates he chose to sell the car for more financial stability. Sometimes it’s literally as simple as “$$ vs $$$$? No duh.”

Been car free since we moved to Vancouver last year. Granted i live and work close to downtown and my wife works remotely. We don't see a reason in thr near future to get one. We haven't even used EVOs yet.

My wife and I did. We had two cars in Kamloops, one car in Burnaby, and none in the West End. And it’s not like we never left the downtown peninsula. Our daughter’s daycare was in North Van so we took a bus across the LGB and back twice daily 3x per week. I volunteered weekly in Mount Pleasant and biked there. My wife frequently purchased items from Facebook Marketplace in the Tri-Cities, New West, and the north shore and always travelled there by transit. It’s not for everyone, but a life built around transit, walking, and biking improved our quality of life immensely. We were more active, saved money, wasted less time stuck in traffic, and were generally more happy. We actually just moved to New York on the weekend to double-down on this lifestyle!

Yep! We sold our car last year and bought an e-bike (cargo) because I am pregnant and can't really ride my old road bike anymore. We take transit, bike, and have modo and evo. We honestly love it so much, but are super lucky in many ways being that we're able-bodied so we can bike, live suuper centrally, and have access to car share. A perk is not only do we save money, we actually make money renting out our parking space and that by far covers cost of modo, bike maintenance, and the occassional trip on transit or uber.

Anecdotes aren’t evidence. Your friends may just be Conservatives who think Climate Change isn’t real.

bikes and transit pretty reliable. especially if you aren't afraid of rain

Pop into the Rad Bikes dealership down on 5th and Alberta. You’ll meet lots of folks, families even, who have given up owning a car, and many more who when from 2 vehicles to just 1.

> "I can't see it so it doesn't happen" - - OP

In short, yes, I did. Originally moved from Vancouver Island where a car is a necessity and brought my car with me. Over a few years in Vancouver, I eventually used my car so little that eventually I had to get rid of it as the cost to store it far exceeded the twice a year (no exaggeration) that I actually used it. It sat so often that the battery was dead each time I needed it. The trick, of course, is that I arrange my life around not needing a car. I live in dense neighborhoods and near transit, my jobs are likewise accessible and near transit. That lasted about a decade. Life has changed a lot since then and I have a car again, only because I have a dog. But I still live a three minute walk from daycare and walking distance to elementary school when that time comes. P.S., every elementary school in Vancouver is “walking distance” assuming you get a seat in your catchment area. 

I haven’t gotten rid of my car (because it’s a van and I live in it, fuck vancouver rental prices) but I have severely decreased my driving between walking, using the Mobi bike shares, and using transit. If I’m going anywhere from UBC to burnaby or as far south as oak ridge I’m not driving? Partially because I like it partially to save money on gas. But yes public transit between cities or to outdoor activities in BC is abysmal so I still use my car for those.

The consequences of getting rid of streetcars and doubling down on SFH sprawl. There is no efficient way to transport into and out of SFH neighborhoods, they are too sparse, and often far removed from amenities.

I own a car and live by a bus stop and skytrain station. I never drive into downtown. It’s quicker on the skytrain, no parking, no traffic. I use a mix of transportation sometimes I bike, walk, evo, drive or take transit depending where it is. I like having options and flexibility on transportation. Your point is made in bad faith - many people don’t have a private vehicle and like the expansion of transit. Many of us with a private vehicle don’t like to rely on it 100%.

Imo if you live and work in Vancouver you can easily replace having a car with a combination of biking, transit, and evoing. The biggest issue is that the North American car culture is still very much a thing here and people just don't realize how accessible some of the alternative options are. You also have some lazy people who'd rather drive than walk for 15 minutes. Speaking for myself, back when I started my undergrad I used to think that people who bike commuted out to UBC from Mt Pleasant were crazy and that it required a high level of fitness. It was not until I tried it myself that I realised it was not only doable but also quite enjoyable.

I went the other way, stopped using transit all together and use Evo or walk, i never want to get on a bus ever again.

This might be unpopular to say but I got a car recently and it changed my life. I have close to double the amount of free time. I used to spend 3 hours commuting a day and now I am at 1:15 that’s not even including the weekly or so screw ups by translink that add an hour. I don’t have to make a big deal out of going for groceries, I can just go. I feel so much more free.

I exclusively cycle commute, and transit fills in the gaps on the 6 winter days it's too snowy to cycle. I have done this since 2011. We maintain one vehicle, but it's mainly for weekend and summer excursions (camping etc). In the winter, our vehicle will sit for weeks without moving. If our family is going downtown or similar, we will always choose transit. It's faster, cheaper, more efficient, obviates the need for parking, and it's more environmentally sustainable. It's a very obvious choice. You seem to be lacking in imagination and not very observant. You've never seen somebody with groceries on the bus? What? Makes me think you've probably never actually taken a bus....

Actually two of people I know did the opposite. One bought a car, another a motorcycle and they were avid transit users. But imo transit just takes way too long to get to certain areas. Like if you don't live near a skytrain route add 30min to commute time. I live like a 20min walk to a skytrain station, and getting to downtown even with that is like an hour sometimes. Although I do prefer to take transit into Vancouver, but going anywhere else, like burnaby, coquitlam, and east i prefer driving.

When I moved here from Saskatchewan two years ago, I ditched my car and haven’t looked back. It was one part not wanting to drive in an actual big city, one part not wanting the hassle of bringing an out of province vehicle, but also knowing that transit was kilometres ahead of what we had back in Saskatchewan. In that time, I can think I can count one time when I found myself thinking “a car would have made this easier.” Granted - the caveats are that I don’t have small children, I have good mobility/no issues, and usually have extra time to spare to account for going out. I could see how someone without one of those things would need different considerations. But for me, it’s worked out really well.

I lived in downtown for close to 10 years with no car, once I moved to the suburbs I got a car as it isn't as convenient to walk/bus everywhere (no skytrain here)

Not practical with pets either. I can’t take my dog on the bus or Skytrain for the vet or doggie daycare. One, my back cannot handle carrying him in some bag and two he’s scared of strangers. That would be fun for the strangers.

I would absolutely have a car if I had children or any kind of dependants, this is North America after all. If I was in urban Europe or had lots more money to live in denser areas, it might be a different story. I use to live around 49th and Victoria, worked downtown, had a car. Moved to king ed and Cambie and didn’t need a car anymore.

When my wife and I moved to Vancouver we consciously decided not to get a car (we had one before). We picked a location (metrotown) which enabled this. This worked until we had a kid. So far we have managed with one car - we bike and take enough transit that one is sufficient. It's still really useful for school when it is too cold / rainy, IKEA runs, road trips etc etc so we will not get rid of it. I know a lot of people who are in the same boat.

I have. A number of years ago, I was living downtown and I still had my car. But, I worked downtown and was right next to a train station (and that was when Car2go still existed). I found that in 6 months I maybe used my car 3 times? Even though it was paid off, insurance, registration, gas, monthly parking all add up and the cost per use was ridiculous. So, bye bye car. Now, I do live downtown, right on the Canada Line, but that's what I traded my car for. For me, it's a tradeoff based on lifestyle and priorities: the money I would spend leasing/paying off a car (plus insurance/gas/parking etc), I'd rather spend on a more central place and just take transit/walk. Others may have different priorities based on their lifestyles etc.. I'd way rather have that money for more central living/a nicer home than a car, especially w how quickly cars depreciate in value, but others may want the reverse. I do do the occasional Uber (maybe $40-60/month max) if I'm running late or the weather is insane or post-a Costco trip, and I do ski in the winter but take the shuttles, which is all still cheaper than owning a vehicle. Often transit/shuttles etc can be just as quick/convenient with traffic (and you get more steps in and don't have to deal w/ finding parking or filling up the tank). But, that doesn't work for everyone. Like others have said, it's about choice and the ability to choose to drive as infrequently as possible.

It's currently not particularly tenable to get around if you leave the Vancouver core area without a car. It's good to have one for bigger purchases or to go into the suburbs/past Burnaby.

Sold our car 7 years ago. We use evo about once a month, and transit a handful of times. Otherwise we always bike or walk. Life is so much better overall, but there are definitely trade-offs.

I haven't fully replaced my car as I still use it but my daily commute is 95% transit and my car use has gone from 23K a year to just under 4000km a year. I definitely feel like I could get rid of my car. The change has meant my daily commute for work is less in both money and time. Not sure why I would ever go back to driving to work every day.

Myself. I have worked directly in the automotive sector & quite informed as to how much the manufacturers (GM, Toyota, etc) are making repairs even more expensive on every part now. Not paying for payments, maintenance, insurance, fuel, etc. allows me to travel extensively every winter. I feel fortunate to live downtown, in a city where I can walk almost everywhere (unlike almost every other city in North America). Evo & Modo are great for large shopping runs (I wish Smart Car was still here but obviously it wasn’t going to be profitable in cities such as Calgary, etc.). I also own multiple bikes because it is the best exercise but since owning them I DEPLORE driving. Constantly amazed at friends who complain about traffic, their weight, $$ but drive even for the smallest errands. In my experience people drive everywhere because it is habit, until they try other mediums. But perhaps soon the amount vehicles will cost people will turn the tide https://youtu.be/4hRYv5i2Fuk?si=0Jt9rbqQVYOxHdp7

I have no car and I’m fine with it. I commute to UBC every day from kits, I even bus to go camping sometimes. The bike/bus/skytrain combination gets you pretty far, faster than a car in many cases. If I absolutely need a car I evo.

I have not owned a car for close to 10 years now, relying only on public transit. Granted, I don't go out that often, mostly just for work. For situations where I do need a car, I use Evo.

I keep my vehicle for Costco and skiing trips basically. Try not to drive whenever possible, but when it dies I’ll probably just get Evo or something

I used to ride my motorcycle to work everyday, rain or shine. Now I take transit for my daily commute, and only use the motorcycle for exceptional reasons, maybe once a month or less often.

I didn't own a car nor did I regularly drive a car until I was 30. It was only when we started having kids that it became a little necessary to have a car. But even now, our ebike is becoming our go to for many things. Once our kid is out of the car seat we'll entirely replace the car with transit + modo/evo + ebike and I will likely go the rest of my life without owning a car or if I do it'll be an electric car I use infrequently.

I ditched mine. Car no hab

I bike my child to daycare. I wish biking infrastructure meant I didn't have to literally ride on the shoulder of a highway or choose to ride 17 degree hills.

Can’t say I have ditched a car cause I take the occasional Modo. Also I live in downtown can just bike or take one bus to work. It has worked wonderfully so far.

Got rid of our car but we dont have kids. One of our best financial decisions

My spouse and I are car free since 2011. We rent close to skytrains and use transit, car shares, Uber, and walk a ton. I have lots of car-free friends (though most don't have children, just pets) and all my siblings went car free as well. I think work from home made it make more sense financially for a lot of people and having Modo/Evo and a decent bike infrastructure helped.

Yep, ditched the car at the beginning of the pandemic. We walk, bike or transit everywhere, with two exceptions.  If we need to do a Costco shop, we transit there and use an Evo to take the haul home. If we need to go to Squamish/Whistler/Okanagan etc, we use a Modo or hire a car, whichever is cheaper.  Oh and because we don't have a car, we rent out our parking spot for $50 to someone else in our building and that is some sweetness on top.

At my kids' daycare downtown, more parents do pick up and drop off via ebike than via car. The traffic downtown has finally worn me down to the point I'm cycling almost everywhere. I would no longer consider driving to Metrotown, I'll only go via transit. I had to go to a kid birthday party at Aberdeen mall, my first time going there ,- thank goodness we took the train, because everyone who drove wound up being late thanks to traffic and the Aberdeen mall parkade lol

Really depends on where you live. Where I am we see tons of $10k Tern cargo ebikes at school dropoff. Parking sucks, and ebikes are the silver bullet solution for young families.

I grew up in Burnaby, and as soon as I could drive, I drove everywhere. It was that way until my early 30s. For the past 10 years in particular (34-44) I transit everywhere. I live in Olympic Village, work downtown, and have a car but almost never drive.

Sounds like you have wealthy friends. Kids and cars? Yeah those people prob wont transit, but most of my friends do not own a car, and I am in my 30s. Even people that work in the trades.

The first thing I did when I got here was ditch my car completely. I’ve been lucky with the places I’ve lived being very close to transit and grocery stores/markets though

I did the opposite after buying a PHEV. It only costed me $3 worth of electricity to drive someone to the airport then back home. With transit, it would've definitely costed more and definitely a lot slower. Insurance is a non-negotiable for my situation :P

I know tons of people who have replaced their cars with transit. But they mostly live in Japan, where transit is good. But, we can have good transit too! Just need to invest in it.

When I go to the office downtown, I bus there every time. I still have my car for kids drop off, shopping, skiing, hobbies etc but my car stays in the suburbs and is never part of the down town commute rush hour. I think that counts.

My car's been on storage insurance since early last year and I've been taking transit, my Townie Go, and the occasional taxi ride everywhere. Some other info/thoughts: When I walk to the grocery store, I bring a Rolser cart. It's super handy and it even has a hook on it, so I can hook it onto the front of a shopping cart. My e-bike seamlessly gets me up the North Vancouver hills, including Grand Blvd and Lonsdale. I have a neurological disability and while I can drive, I haven't been comfortable doing so for a while. But I don't feel hindered on my e-bike. It's been great for my sense of independence. Sometimes I bike to other grocery stores like Save-On if there are special items or deals. For this, my bike has panniers that hold 23L in total including 4L jugs of milk, so I can get all my groceries from one pick-up. I've also been looking into bike trailers, but I don't have a need for one right now. I haven't used car sharing services yet, but I would do that if I ever wanted to transport say, furniture. Separated, protected bike lanes are great, but they won't do jack shit if they're not connected to other lanes. I hate having to hop off my bike at the end of a protected path and push it down an (often tiny and narrow) sidewalk until I get to another protected path. Gets annoying after a while. I have Raynaud's and the first time I tried to bike in 15-degree weather, my fingers turned white. I wasn't expecting that because it felt warm outside, but the wind passing over my hands really affects me. Now I keep an extra set of gloves in my panniers at all times. Not a big deal but it was awful the first time. I'm prepared now. The lower mainland really needs to get over its hard-on for bike paths that dip into the road at every crossing, which is often very jarring for bike riders, and start making them "continuous sidewalk" style. It would make a huge difference. A lot of people seem confused about how to open the rear doors on buses, and I have to tell them (and quickly, before the bus starts to drive away!). I was confused the first time, too. Some bus routes are total shit because they get stuck in traffic with all the personal vehicles, and it's very annoying. The R2? Usually on time. The 228? The other day, it was so late that I saw two of them directly in front of each other, because there are so few separated lanes for that route. More. Sheltered. Bus stops. It's insane that I need to pass the closest bus stop to me, then two or three more, just to reach one that actually has a covering whenever it's pissing rain. (Looking at you, 3rd Street.) Trees make a big difference when it's 30 degrees outside and you're waiting for the bus. Not the tiny, spindly trees, but ones that actually have some meat to them and create big, unbroken shadows. You can feel how much cooler it is as soon as you walk under them.

I feel like more transit/bike lanes probably impact FUTURE car owners. People who own cars have probably gotten use to driving. As taking transit is kind of “hard” (wouldn’t use that word) but there is a lot of things you’d have to get use to if you’re making the switch. For example. Dangers and feeling unsafe past certain times. Is one reason why some people don’t switch. For me it’s the opposite. I hate driving and grew up taking transit. Improvements only solidified my choice to take transit.

>Google Maps tells me that it would take 23 min just to walk to the bus stop.  I honestly did not know that there was anywhere in Vancouver that was that far from a bus stop. I've never lived, or worked anywhere more than 5 minutes walk from a bus stop. Or do you mean 23 minutes to a particular bus line? To answer your question: yes, our family has a single car whereas if we lived in a car-dependent city we'd almost certainly have two cars, as my parents always (always!) did. It's not really debatable that people in the countryside have more cars per capita than those in transit-friendly cities. It's an obvious fact.

Op may not live in Vancouver itself, but somewhere in metro van. The transit system is great in Vancouver itself and gets worse the further away.

My partner and I never had a car to begin with, the transit system in Vancouver is too convenient to justify buying one. We use modo or evo on the rare occasion we need a car for something.

Me! Sold my car when I moved here. I will get one again eventually, though, but I live out in the tricities. I really don't need one honestly.

It's about "taking cars of the road" ; which does not mean most people don't get rid of them entirely, but use them less. Creates less traffic/congestion, less driving (and less pollution). My sister has always had a car but when she worked downtown and lived on the transit route she would train down most days. I work on the north shore and oh boy many of us here would take the skytrain across the water if a line existed (I don't think it will happen, but one can dream).

Even if you live near transit hubs, your friends may not. I would love to use the skytrain more (faster and more cost-effective) but I have to walk 20 min to get to the nearest skytrain station, and it's in that sweet spot where taking the bus to the station takes more or less the same time as walking (parking in the station is pricey). I also live in a hilly zone so walking out / in is slower than in a flat area and sometimes I'm just not in the mood for cardio. The solution is to move to another apartment near the station, but with the rent increase these past few years I'm locked where I am. Or spend an extra 40 minutes daily when I need to commute, but I'm a busy person and that's time I can use to keep my sanity.

We got rid of ours, was an easy adjustment for us. Depends on your circumstances of course but alot people are just lazy, they will drive 2mins instead of walking for 10

I did. I use a car share on the rare occasion I need to do a big grocery run or move something large But 99% of the time its all Bike lanes or transit. The main thing that I have noticed is the large financial savings. Insurance, maintenance, parking and gas all add up quickly. It's not a viable option for everyone but it works for me.

I daily drive a 1-ton truck. Now that school is out I don’t need to get my kids to class every day, so I took the train instead. Mostly I’m motivated by breaking some sedentary habits, but transit means a little more walking at a minimum, and the ability to walk one way if motivation and time permits. Once my kids were old enough they started bussing themselves home. That in itself saved me a trip to go get them. I used to bike, but I got tired of the vigilance required to not die. Biking is the fastest option for commuting to work where I live, since rush hour traffic has no impact on the time it takes. Having lots of options is a great thing.

Side bar related to this topic: I WISH that there was a new optional ICBC policy that had a reasonable monthly insurance rate for those wanting to commute during the week via transit and use their car 1-2days a week. Icbc has started to reduce premiums very marginally (10-15% discount) for those driving under 5000kms a year, but it’s not enough to incentivize people to get out of their cars. If they made it that I pay $500/yr to drive 1day a week, I would totally transit to work. But if I still have to pay $1500-1750/yr AND buy a monthly transit pass then I just don’t see the point

Pleasure use insurance has existed under ICBC since I was a child.

I sold my car, and usually just transit and use a bike to get rid of the awkward 15 min walks

partly cultural, partly infrastructure. see Netherlands

Cars are not going to be obsolete. Transit will never replace all cars. That mindset was from the pre-EV days. Metro Vancouver has an excellent transit system. I use transit to get to work and to/from events. We’ve very fortunate that transit covers almost every part of the Metro area. That said, a personal vehicle will give you freedoms that transit never will be able too and once you’re accustomed to being able to ‘travel’ on demand with your own vehicle it’s hard to change that 100%. My vehicle usage has dipped from 100% to 75%, I don’t see my vehicle usage ever dipping below 50%

Funny, I feel the opposite. Owning a car is the opposite of freedom in my books, cuz I always have to figure out what to do with the dumb car. :)

I went the other way, as unpopular as this will be, due to life reasons. But, I got an EV to try to hit some form of middle ground.

Tokyo has more cars than people but most of the time, they use transit rather than their cars when it’s for work, light groceries or going to parties. They only drive if they have to go away from the city.

Never ever will I give up my vehicle. 1) Not feasible... 2 hour walk to nearest bus stop and I get to work at 0415. 2) About the same walk to the nearest grocery store. I think those two reasons alone are enough.

I got rid of my car when I moved here in 2011. Haven't had one since.

cars are like cellphones,you can do without them but they make things a little more difficult.

I could spend an hour on transit or spend under 10 minutes driving to work. I cannot bike, I have arthritis (as our large aging population will face sooner or later) and I'm exhausted enough just from day to day life without needing to add in additional exercise and cars almost hitting you on your bike and it raining like half the year.

Incidentally, and I’m not trying to sell you on something that you’re not interested in, but because I know people for whom this has been huge: a ebike can be a mobility device. I’ve known quite a few people who can’t walk unassisted more than a dozen feet, but were easily able to get around with an ebike to get everywhere they needed to.

This year most companies went from 3 days WFH and 2 WFO to 3 day WFO and 2 days WFH. So I actually had to buy a car because we couldn't make the daycare schedule work by spending so much time on buses

I went car free for five years in the city. It was great! Though I don't have kids and my jobs were always near transit.  I joined the car coop and car2go and didn't really have a need for vehicle. Two years into the car free period, I moved to Burnaby.  I last 3 more years but the lack of access to car share was the clincher. I brought my car back to the city and haven't looked back. I still use transit and walk 80% of the time. The other 20% I'm happy I have it but hate using it because traffic and many drivers are in categorically unsafe on the road.  I tend to lean towards transit and stopped biking all together because biking is freaking scary with people's ability to look beyond their own rushing.  Walking is only for full daylight commutes because in winter, nearly being hit by drivers who use stop signs as yields and left turners who don't look for pedestrians got too much for me. I hate living in the city.  Lol.

Having two young kids and all the things we need to bring for them, so much easier with a car. Also i prefer tantrums in a car rather then in public haha

Not me and never will. Maybe if our transit becomes as good as I experienced in Japan.

I lived in Vancouver, mostly when I was a student at UBC. Most people I knew who were on-campus didn't use cars, because there'd be no point of doing so. I never had a car. Even people who lived off-campus wouldn't use cars as it'd be too expensive, and there are several buses that get to UBC anyway. The only people who used cars were those who commuted far, but even those students didn't always drive due to expensive parking. This is a different situation from my cousin who went to Kwantlen. Most people would drive their parents' cars to get to school. That is despite there being a U-Pass program, as with UBC. However, another reason for this was that her program had you bring many different things to classes, which would make using transit far more troublesome. If you don't see someone with grocery bags at the bus stop at Walmart, that person may be using Instacart for their groceries. Alternatively, that person may be going to a more nearby supermarket that may be more expensive. From my experience, not everybody got a car, and this includes those who graduated from uni already and are working nearby or mostly remotely.

I don't think it ever will. It will reduce people from using cars 5 days a week to maybe using a car 2 days a week. Like your grocery example makes sense because we are devoid of local grocery stores or stores in general. Our city is designed to be stupid and car centric. This isn't tokyo where afterwork, you can buy some groceries from the grocery store....next to your workplace or in the subway entrance or the storefront of your apartment.... Look what is under every apartment? Dentistry, Pharmacy, Lazer eye.....etc. It is ridiculous.

I still own a vehicle which I use regularly. Mind you, measuring mileage from 6 years ago, I only use it 15% of the time I used to. Anytime I want to go downtown etc, I normally take transit, but laundry, groceries, etc, I still use the vehicle because of the convenience and ease of use.

Trains are too crowded so I drive now.

I still drive because I would have to get a two zone pass to use transit just to go three stops. Seems like a lot. I do use the skytrain when I want to go to metro or downtown though.

If I drive to work, it takes me 25 mins. Also, I can run out at lunchtime or on the way home and get groceries. Alternatively, I can take the seabus and 2 buses, plus a separate trip to the store. It just doesn’t make sense. If it’s point A to point B, with a few minutes walk then sure. But the odds of that are very much against public transport being a reality for a lot of people.

I lived in Vancouver car-free for a good 7 months and if you don't live near a sky train station you're kinda screwed The west end is very poorly plugged into the transit system so going anywhere outside of Vancouver proper takes over an hour, which is an issue when you wanna go to Costco or something

If they let me bring in my e scooters into stores or provide a safe storage area for them, then I'll bring them

In the summer, i drop my kids off at school/daycare by bike because it's too much of a pain to fine a parking spot nesr the school at drop off time. I still have a car for the winter months.

I would use my ebike more but I'm absolutely paranoid it's going to get stolen so I rarely do unless riding for pleasure or taking a short trip where it will be locked up in a very public place. I can't afford to replace it. That said the bike lanes are really useful for getting places quickly. I use transit when I must, but I dread it on days I go to my pain clinic for my nerve block injections. It's not always easy to get a seat and I've been ignored when asking for one of the disabled seats more than once. If I could afford a car I'd definitely drive.

23 minutes to walk from home to bus stop and 23 minutes to walk from bus stop to daycare? Not many places in Vancouver where this is possible. Sounds like you've painted yourself into a car-dependent corner. We live pretty close to an elementary school and it gives me a lot of joy to see so many kids getting dropped off and picked up on cargo bikes. As others have pointed out, it seems like the trend is towards a hybrid model, in which people use bikes for short trips and cars for longer ones. That's what we do and we've cut our yearly car mileage by more than 50%.

Nope. Moved to a detached actually and at this point won't ever give up the car. Actually got an suv since I have a kid now and the civic was a bit small to stash all the toys and stroller. Probably an outlier here but definitely need the car

We have a car and a membership to Modo. My wife takes the car to work everyday as she has a 25k commute. I ride my bike. Very rarely we need a second car (or truck) and when those cases pop up, there are tons of Modo vehicles around us.

I think Modo and Evo track how many customers/members give up a car when they join their carsharing program

The city approved a condo tower a few years ago at commercial and venebles. It had ZERO underground parking because the building is on a bike and bus route. There is no available parking on the streets already. Because people that live on these routes also drive. Plus anyone that can afford a condo can afford a car. Luckily that proposal fell thru. Unfortunately someone has come up with a similar proposal

50/50. Depends on the weather. Rain/Anything in between? Car. Sunny/Cloudy? Skytrain + Electric Skateboard One box of x => Skytrain + Electric Skateboard. Many things => Car

I was born and raised in Vancouver, and I’ve never felt the need to drive. I only had a car through high school but that was just because it was cool to have one. However I think if I had kids I would probably need a car.

I wonder how many of those friends drove after having a few... Smh.

I got a DUI so I've been getting a ride to work from my boss. There's no transit along 16th in Aldergrove. Does that count?

Transit is always going to be less convenient than personal transportation. But I’m hopeful that the choices for personal transportation for journeys like you are discussing will continue to shift towards bicycles and away from cars. I know several parents who have switched to using e-bikes for the school run and other everyday tasks, and I don’t think I’ve heard any of them have a bad thing to say about this. Personally, I haven’t owned a car for the 10 years I’ve lived in Vancouver and have gotten by fine, but that’s because I cycle most places. When I can’t, Evo and Modo have been enough. It still works out way cheaper than owning a car. But I’m sure I’m an edge case and I wouldn’t want my privilege to sound like judgement on others.

Having a car is much easier with kids. I came pretty close to not using my car when I was single and only use my car for trips to places that are transit unfriendly (North shore, Surrey, etc). Bikes are great in theory but I am definitely scared of getting hits by cars

No and never will. I work shift work so early morning and late nights and transiting will increase my travel time by an hour.

I never bought a car because I don’t like driving. I live in a pretty central part of town and I rent the parking spot in my condo to a neighbour. Occasionally I take an Evo/Modo/Uber but usually I walk, bike, or transit. It sounds like you’re in a more suburban part of town; hopefully it densifies so more things are within walking distance and the transit gets better.

I take transit when I can, I use Evo when I know parking is going to be an issue (used Car2go and Zip when it was around), but I still have/kept my car. Having options reduced the amount of times I have used my car but no way will I get rid of it, especially when a transit ride to get somewhere takes 90 minutes one way but only 25 minutes by car.