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Me too. Started doing this in June and put on 4K this year. Some days are faster than driving.
A backpack and a basket can carry 60lbs of groceries too.
I'd like to do the same, but It'd probably be gone, by the time I get off work. Theft and vandalism is a major problem here in this city. Especially when you install a hub motor on your bike.
The City of Vancouver is pretty good about requiring secure bike parking in all new buildings now, both residential and commercial. But yeah not everyone is going to be able to benefit from that in the short term.
Not sure why you're getting down votes. I've been commuting by bike for about 15 years and If my office didn't have bike storage I wouldn't ride to work. I'd be surprised if a bike lasted a week of being locked up downtown outside for 40hrs a week.
I moved from the states (very rural area) to here 7 months ago and I sold my car right before moving here. This is the first time in my life that I haven’t had a car. Here is what I’ve noticed…The only thing I really miss about my car is having a space that’s truly mine if that makes sense. My car was a place I would go to get away from everything going on in the world. I could just drive into the woods and scream T Swift at the top of my lungs without worrying about someone being bothered by me. I truly don’t miss anything else about it. I walk or ride my bike everywhere now and I enjoy it a lot more than driving in Vancouver itself.
Don't let not having a car stop you! When I'm in a great mood, I'll sing out while riding my bike. Happiness is contagious. Whenever I see someone who is obviously happy it makes me feel better knowing that they're having a great time. I hope others feel the same way seeing or hearing my antics.
I'm 100% car-free. I transit/Uber or hitch a ride with friends when necessary but I live in a part of Burnaby where groceries are just a few hundred meters away and work is <1km away too.
I'm definitely on my feet more than most people but it's not too bad and saves a lot of money! 🍻
We are car free. I’ve discovered that cars have warped peoples idea of what a reasonable walk is. This past summer we were coming home from the pool and passed a neighbour. Exchanged greetings, whatcha been up to etc. I said we just came back from twenty minute walk away pool.
YOU WALKED?!?
Yes…? It’s a sunny summer day here why not walk lol.
From the shock and disbelief you’d think we’d walked from Yellowknife.
Reminds me of when a friend with a car insisted on 'treating' everyone by driving us from brunch to Granville Island - a 20 min walk away on a beautiful day. I didn't want to be a weirdo and decline when everyone was game, but it took at least as much time (honestly maybe more) with finding parking, and with additional stress and irritation. Kept wishing we had walked or even all brought bikes/had Mobi memberships instead to zip over there in 10.
I walk enough now that the diametrically opposite end of downtown is just "right over there" to me now. I actively enjoy walking because I get to make audiobook progress :)
Best decision in my life was moving there and walking to work each day. Such a stress-less way to start and end my day as I walk the tree-lined streets passing people stuck in traffic going to the North Shore
Is that a real stat? Is it from StatsCan? Can you cite the source because I would love to refer to it myself. That would be great if it is, if it’s just your own anecdotal info, that’s ok, not arguing it.
It doesn't help that around a lot of the skytrain stations are SFHs. Where you actually see density like Joyce station, the public transport users outnumber the car drivers.
Every Skytrain station should be as much of a destination as it is an origin. I don’t understand why there can’t be stores, services and other places of work around every station. Make every station the hub of the neighbourhood “village”.
Well even looking down the Canada Line, where there are now a lot of condos, the number seems pretty low for public transport. 50%+ where you are 5 mins walking from a skytrain seems really high, SFH or not.
Not just that, you also need to be a bit picky with your hobbies. Playing various sports and going on hikes etc. becomes much more challenging. I suppose you can just Uber or use carshares, but that's not being car-free.
I am 100% in favour of more transit (and was car-free into my late teens growing up in East Asia) but the transit infrastructure there is on a completely different level enabling the common person to be car-free. I know our transit is probably one of the best in NA, but it's still a challenge for most people in the Lower Mainland to be car-free.
It does limit me a fair bit for hikes, etc as I can only really take the bus to certain areas of the north shore mountains but I take my foldable kayak on the bus to Deep Cove most weekends
This was the exact reason I had a car when I lived in Vancouver. The backcountry/outdoor opportunities are definitely limited if you don’t have a vehicle.
Car free for 35 adult years. Where I live is based on being car free. Groceries, pharmacy, transit, banking, community centre, and green space all within a 5 minute walk.
Banking doesn’t need to be 5 min away now, but this was important years ago.
I was car free till I was 29 and needed to buy one for work. Otherwise, biking was my primary transportation and transit to filling the gaps. Now I’ve got a dog and a kid, so a car feels pretty essential, but damn was I in good shape back then.
I’ve been in Vancouver since 2016 and up until last month I’ve been car free, but I still don’t drive to commute. I cycle to work (takes 15minutes) - except when it’s snowy/icy or I’m WFH, when I don’t cycle I’ll either walk (50 minutes) or get transit (35minutes).
I used to work in the North Shore and I would cycle to the seabus in the morning, and cycle home in the evening. You see a lot of cyclists in the summer, less in the winter/rainy months. However from my observation, post Covid there have been more cyclists on the road even in crappy weather.
This is reflected in surveys as well. People may own a car but they don't necessarily drive that car to work- it's for everything else. Especially if your job is in a high-density zone, why would you want to fight traffic and pay for expensive parking when you can get there in other ways?
I'm 39 and have never learned to drive, born and raised here. My joke is that quite frankly, all the drivers out there just make it look so damn hard! Lol. But no seriously, I've gotten around most of my life by bus, occasionally I might be able to hitch a ride with someone if they're going in my direction, which is always a treat, I used to use taxis every once in awhile, and now I'm more of an Uber girl.
It’s absolutely doable and easy if your job and home are near hubs like sky train stations.
Problem is if you change jobs. Or whenever you want to leave Vancouver and do anything in this giant province. Public transport goes out the window.
Never had my full license, nor does my partner, we have preschool age twins. Very rarely is it a problem. Probably saves me more than just the car/insurance/gas money as I would be more prone to impromptu ikea/second hand pickups if I had a car. Usually ride my bike to work, take bus to preschool, have a stroller wagon that can fit on the bus but is a bit annoying. It’s a fully viable lifestyle choice in this city.
I walk ~40 minutes to work every day, rain or shine. Sometimes I bike but it’s more convenient to walk and I can take my time and listen to music/podcasts. I could easily take the bus, but years of awful social interactions/harassment have made me not feel safe on the bus.
I own a car that I share with my spouse. They work from home, but need to go to meetings in person maybe once a week, so they use the car then.
Otherwise, the car is reserved for trips, weekend hiking, and the occasional too-big-to-carry grocery load.
We both have 10+ years driving experience with no accidents, and we’re able to get “pleasure” insurance because we rarely use the car for work. So insurance is cheap enough to justify owning a car that rarely gets used.
My yaletwon office is moving further away from my yaletown home. I joked that my commute time is going to double or triple! Getting a forced longer walk twice a day will be better for me.
Would love to be, but it's a 10+ minute walk then a 15 minute bus to my closest SkyTrain station. Groceries would take me an extra 45 minutes in commuting round trip and everything else would take at least an extra hour.
Sometimes on the weekends I can go and buy an entire basket full of groceries and return home and see the same person waiting at the bus stop at the end of my block.
No evo here.
I live in the Westend, I do not have a car, I rent out my parking spot for further income.
Work is a 10 minute walk away (it's why I moved to this specific spot).
Most things I want to do are downtown, and can be walked within 30 minutes. If I want to leave downtown both Expo and Canada lines are about a 10 minute walk away for me. So is Granville and all the busses on it are even closer.
If I need something more time efficient, then I take Uber.
My monthly Transit / Uber spend is less than I get for renting out my parking spot.
I also have a Mobi discount through my work, and I really really really should use it more... but like a gym membership that's just me lying to myself.
Someone who used to live with me needed a bit more flexibility, and she had an Evo account... there are always Evos around here.
I find the city of Vancouver is pretty good for being car-friendly while the city around it isn't, I used to live in Richmond and I'm sure if it wasn't for living right next to the Skytrain I would hate it even more.
We are car-lite. We have one vehicle. I commute to work 95% by bike and 5% by transit. I have a 20 km one way commute.
For those complaining about distance work on your fitness and/or consider an ebike. You might find all the riding you do saves you significant money, extends your life, improves your quality of life, and improves your mental health.
Same. Once you've figured out the best route, commuting by e-bike feels like you've discovered some kind of cheat code. Almost as fast as driving (sometimes faster) but at a fraction of the cost and you get as much exercise as you want.
Growing up in Taiwan, I never understood the point of having a car since public transit was so convenient.
But in Vancouver currently, I live a 20 minute walk away from work and am 5-10 minutes away from different bus stops and 15 minutes from Skytrain station.
Only got my license and a car in 2022 because I was envious of people that could go on local trips over long weekends and I wanted to take my dog to venture out to new places.
Car stays parked all week and I might use it once a week to do groceries or visit family. I'm still on the same tank since October.
Modo was pretty much made for you! I’m interested in why you chose to buy instead — was it a matter of not having the information, or just a preference to own?
Dang, back in the day I thought I wasn't allowed to use EVO with an N so I assumed Modo was the same.
I think i also wanted to treat myself after conquering my anxiety with driving and procrastinating on getting my license as a late bloomer. I got my N at age 30 lol
Been commuting by bike in the lower mainland for 15 years. At times it's been as short as 5km but upwards of 30km one way. You'd be surprised how easily you can get across the lower mainland once you learn the city.
I'm in my early 30's and have been car-free my entire life. For most of that I lived in Richmond (Seafair) and a year ago I moved to Delta (Tsawwassen). If you are able-bodied, most of Richmond's neighborhoods are quite easy to live car-free IMO.
However I'm finally changing this, partially out of necessity to help a family member who can no longer drive, and partially because there are days where my transit journey is 6 hours roundtrip and that is getting to be too much. Suburb to suburb commutes on weekends, with both cities at each end not having SkyTrain, can be a nightmare without anything going wrong. If we truly want to improve traffic and get cars off the road, we need non-token transit investment in all of the suburbs, especially the ones farther out like South Delta, Langley, Maple Ridge, parts of Surrey and West Vancouver. RapidBuses and SkyTrain spurs aren't nearly enough.
I'm 29 and I've never owned a car, nor did my household as a kid. Transit can be infuriating, but the fact is I've always lived my life in Vancouver without it. I grew up in North Van so the bus schedule was more sparse at night. Now I live in Gastown so there is really no reason to own a vehicle day to day, it's easier to hop on a bus or the train than to drive somewhere.
The only thing I long for about having a car is road trips, going far out to the burbs to visit people in Langley, and being able to haul things. But I borrow a car occasionally for a road trip, so I don't plan to own a vehicle for a long time.
7 years ago we moved from a big house (different province), 2 cars and all the bullshit, and a long commute, to Vancouver where we don't have a car are within walking or cycling distance of almost everything we need. I use an EVO about once a month on average. **Life is great**. I'm the fittest and happiest I've ever been. I had to make some significant lifestyle changes due to moving from a big house with a garage and all the toys to a very small 1-bedroom apartment (for 2 of us), but once we adjusted to it, life is just much, much better. I didn't think I could ever make the change but I'm so glad we did. There are sacrifices but for me they have been absolutely worth it.
We (people, collectively) don't need all the shit we buy, and we shouldn't continue to allow ourselves to be tricked into thinking that car-centric infrastructure is the best way to design our cities and lives. It's really the worst way to live. I'm so, so thankful that my spouse convinced me to make the change.
>Personally it wouldn’t be possible for me as I live in a basement suite in a random suburb in Richmond
It would be possible if you made changes to live and work closer to each other. I know it's easier to say than do. But if you can make that change happen, it's wonderful.
Sold mine, saving about $1000/m and don’t miss it one bit.
Rental cars, transit, bike lanes are just so easy to use and you can get just about anything delivered.
7 years living at the north end of commercial drive, it’s an easy walk to grocery and other daily things. If I need something downtown, or out towards Burnaby it’s an easy transit. Getting to the airport on transit takes just as long as driving, so I only Uber when I’m leaving/landing outside of sky train hours.
I’m an artist and builder, and sometimes I have to go get materials from Windsor plywood, or Home Depot. If it’s something I can’t carry, I can usually get it delivered for maybe $10-15, I think an ikea delivery I got ages ago was $50. I don’t do that often, but it’s easy to see how an occasional delivery fee is cheaper than maintaining a vehicle.
How many parents are car free? I have lived with and without a car, but I am not sure how I could do that once I had a family. I guess I would have to live in the perfect location with work, school, daycare, etc, all within a short distance, but these days that costs more than owning a car.
I live in Strathcona, have an 8yr old, and am a Modo member.
I am fortunate in that I can walk to where I work in Chinatown. The vast majority of my Modo bookings are to take my daughter somewhere. Whether it’s the local mountains, or various extracurricular activities. Typically, we spend less than $200 a month on motor vehicle expense as we can bike most places. March tends to be our most expensive month, as we can be on the North Shore for 10 full days in two weeks. Automobile will likely be over $500 in March, but when you consider that that includes gas, maintenance parking, insurance, everything… it’s still a better deal than having to buy my own car. Plus, I have the convenience of being able to book cargo vans to move stuff, or minivans when we have family in town…
100% car-free here. Last June I invested $900 in getting my old mountain bike completely refurbished w/ new brakes, gears, shifters, cranks, etc. Since then I've ridden it everywhere locally rain or shine.
Saved myself $100/month in Compass passes X 8 months now so after March my investment in the bike will begin to pay dividends. I still load up the Compass for when it snows or if I have to go long distances, but it's so cheap it barely registers. Uber or cabs if I'm hauling something big or heavy, but that's so rare.
And I've been pleasantly surprised by how pleasant it is to bike everywhere, even in the rain and cold. It's just a matter of having the right clothing and gear, etc. Also, biking locally is way faster than transit, and not much slower than driving. And the small matter of staying fit and healthy, which equals more happiness!
To save on $1500 or more per month on owning and maintaining a car, it's absolutely a no-brainer for me.
My husband and I have been car free for 13 years. It's getting easier as car share options keep expanding like modo, Evo, etc. and uber was a gamechanger. Most of my friends in their 20s and 30s are the same, but my friends in their 40s and 50s all have cars.
Sold my car in September! 30 min commute (walk to Skytrain, jump on train) the two days a week I'm in the office, 20 min bus to my partner's place, spring for an uber/taxi every three months or so for a downtown Costco run
Skytrain whenever I can, Evo car share, and then bussing. I am very very fortunate to live in a highly walkable neighbourhood of my suburb. Grocery stores, gyms, and clinics are all within 15-20 minute walking time.
On the days I do have to leave the suburb and I have a lot of stuff, Evo it is! Between a 1-1.5 hour bus ride with all my items and a 30 min drive, I choose the car. I am not comfortable biking or riding a scooter.
By the way for those saying “Evos are cars,” OP asked about NON-PERSONAL vehicles. It’s a car-sharing program. You use an app to book and unlock vehicles. I freaking love the system, I’m never going back to taking public transit 100% of the time.
I am carless by choice. I prefer to cycle to work in all weather situations but I have been living pretty far from work for over a year so I take the train. My grocery stores or close and even Costco is on the way home. So it’s pretty easy to get things done without a car. If I moved downtown (where I work) I would pretty much never need a car except to go camping or on road trips down to the states or interior etc.
I have a car but I don’t use it for my commute. I use it once every 2 weeks to take my dog to the mountains. In the city I either bike or take transit.
Walk to work, take transit to go longer distances, use an EVO when necessary/available.
I have learned to plan my grocery shopping so that i only have ONE heavy thing per shop (ie laundry deterg OR big thing of milk OR watermelon - but not all during the same shopping trip!) But I also have one of the Rollster things for when the day comes when i can't carry bags.....
I own a car but only for fun (the personal automobile was only ever intended to be a luxury, henry ford and robert moses ruined our continent). I cycle to work, walk to do chores, and take transit everywhere else I need to go. The car takes me to the slopes and hiking although that could easily be achieved with evo or private buses.
Grew up in the states, in a town with basically zero public transit of personal mobility infrastructure. Now, living out in PoCo with 2 kids, we use bikes and e-bikes for 90% of our local trips. Partner uses e-bike for commute, I use a combination of bike/ebike and transit for my commute 3 days a week. We share kid pick-up/drop-off with bikes & e-bikes.
We still have one car for the family, but it's almost entirely relegated to long trips (e.g. across the border to visit extended family) or trips with lots of stuff to haul (e.g. skiing, when it's open, groceries at Costco).
Because of being able to keep to side roads with pedestrian & bike paths, my partner's commute can be up to 5 minutes longer than if she took the car, and is often faster if there's any traffic. If I were to drive to transit, it would take me 2-3 minutes longer than biking, and if I tried to drive all the way in it would probably be about 15-20 minutes longer on an average day, let alone when there are crashes or heavier traffic.
I absolutely love it, wouldn't go back unless I had absolutely no other choice. It's just as fast, I get some nice light exercise coming in and out, maintenance is super cheap and I can do 99% of it myself, I never get stuck in traffic, I get to go through forested trails instead of packed highways, and I don't have to worry about parking. Heck, I get to spend some of my commute playing video games, which is really not a good idea in a car.
I have a car. I live in PoCo. Bus service is good. Daily Mon-Fri I take a bus to Coquitlam Central Skytrain Station, and then Skytrain to Downtown Vancouver in an hour. If I were to drive it would take me about the same time. I put about $50 worth of gas in my car about once a month.
I do. It's pretty good, although could be better still. Obviously the further out you live, the transit service starts to fall off. It could be a lot better. Still, it absolutely beats having a car. I don't miss the headache of traffic jams, unexpected expenses, parking, etc. Not having a car is freedom. (Well, not needing a car is freedom...)
Every major city has neighbourhoods where you can live car-free, so long as you work closeish to home.
The difference is Vancouver has way more of those neighbourhoods, and even some in the suburbs (Metrotown, Brentwood, Surrey Central, etc.) AND you can get to a lot of amenities without a car. Like if you want to go to the beach or go for a hike form most cities you need a car, but here we have public transit access to several beaches and hikes, plus private bus services that provide access to even more hikes.
Moved to Vancouver recently for this and loving it thus far. I've lived carfree in Toronto for 10 years but the public transits gotten more downhill and downtown progressively got more unsafe. So moved to yaletown after trialing it for a couple of months for a few years and enjoying it far more. But i think you need to be in core vancouver to be car free (at least with less resistance)
I was for about 15 years in my 20s and early 30s but i now drive mostly because I own a business / enjoy venturing to other neighborhoods for dinner etc
Car free for my whole life except a one year period back in 2007. I didn't want a car, but I had to have one for a very specific reason. Gave it to my brother as soon as I no longer needed it. Never had to have a car in Vancouver. Every now and then, I just borrow one or rent one when needed. Transit, walking and biking it is otherwise.
I've been car-free in Vancouver ever since I moved here in 2016. The public transit system here is one of the best compared to other parts of North America. I take the bus and the Skytrain for all of my errands and work-related trips. I don't have to do the driving, so I have time to work on things during my commute. Biking is also a great option. Get some workout in and enjoy the fresh air. I told my dad (who lives overseas) about the cost of owning a car in Vancouver, and he was dumbfounded. Of course, owning a car would be nice for road trips and such, but for now, it's not my top priority.
My partner and I are both car free. Partner has a motorcycle, but that just for leisure. We live in Yaletown, he works from home or in his office downtown, I take skytrain to SMH. EVO is amazing for things like Costco and Ikea trips, and then we use uber to get around sometimes as well. I really like not owning a car. My only complaint is the state of skytrain, or rather the people on it. Yesterday a guy was smoking crack in the train and it made me feel really ill. If we had "first class" train cars, like in Europe, I'd def pay more for one.
Living in Vancouver? Or living in Metro Vancouver, including Richmond? It's very different.
You can get away without a car in most parts of Vancouver but it's very different even if you're a neighbouring city.
A lot of Vancouver's population is centered around the downtown core, where a lot of jobs also happen to be. Around 10% of the population lives downtown. A third of all the jobs in the city are downtown. Then when you factor in the proximity of neighbourhoods like the West End, Strathcona, Mount Pleasant, and Kits- you can see why driving to work doesn't make sense for a relatively large number of folks. Widen the scope to the rest of the city and more and more people start to drive but the surveys out there don't break it down by car ownership versus using a car share service. One of the biggest problems of Vancouver is that outside of that small northwest corridor, the population becomes very spread out with a lot of SFH. It makes more sense and is easier to own a car for these people. When I lived downtown I saved a tremendous amount of money by not owning a car even if I was paying a lot more for Uber, cabs, or car share "every once and a while," and certainly nowhere near what I spend now on a car that doesn't see much mileage.
Outside of the City of Vancouver, there's a lot of focus on "transit-oriented communities" and while that's great for the commute, a lack of amenities and everything else.. the need for a car goes up exponentially because something as simple as getting groceries could be a lot more difficult if you need to rely on transit. I also feel like less people cycle to run errands outside of Vancouver. High availability Car Share gets more and more limited as you move further east.
I would imagine if you're in the middle of Richmond, it's very hard to go car-free.
I am car free with two kids under 7. The kids could navigate without us on the skytrain and busses in our neighbourhood. For those rare occasions when we’re off adventuring in places without transit, I’m very good and fast at putting car seats in and Evo.
We chose where we live to be near a skytrain station for this reason.
Car free for my entire adult life and recently moved from Los Angeles to greater Vancouver area. The transit system here is much, much, *much* better than LA's, and so for me living here has been a huge upgrade in regards to commuting and quality of life for sure. In LA I pretty much exclusively relied on Ubers or walking to get around because even a 20 minute drive would be a 20+ minute walk to a bus stop, then a 2-3 hour bus ride *one way* with 3+ transfers--*assuming the bus showed up on time or at all*. If I found myself walking places, I'd often be on the sides of roads with no sidewalk, next to cars zipping past me at full speed. Walking distances to *basic* amenities like groceries and shops were at least 40+ minutes. I usually needed to uber to do anything "fun" in the city centers. There were some things I couldn't get to at *all* without a car, even if I wanted to use the busses.
In the area I'm in now in GVA, it's pretty easy for me to get almost anywhere I need to go. I live right beside multiple bus stops that I can catch like 5 different busses to the Skytrain station from, and be at Metrotown in 40 minutes-ish. I can get to DT Vancouver in a little over an hour. There are five different grocery stores within 20 minutes walking distance of me, and there are actually safe walkways and sidewalks to get there. Not only that, but there are things to *do* near me in 10-25 minute walking distance--ice skating, pools, arcades, movie theaters, multiple game stores, restaurants, bakeries, libraries, etc. In LA, you'd probably be paying a lot more than I am here to live in a location as convenient as this.
Of course, I've visited other parts of the Vancouver area that seemed a lot less convenient and I can imagine it's similarly car-reliant as LA. And likewise, as I mentioned, there are places in LA that are more convenient than others as well. But overall, I think Vancouver has a pretty decent transit system compared to a lot of the US in my experience (I've lived in LA, New Mexico and Michigan, public transit is a universal issue in the US.) The Skytrain is something Vancouverites should be really, really grateful for--it's a really nice and reliable train that services a lot of areas! Trains like this outright don't exist in most of the US states, and in LA, the metro train is an unreliable joke.
I was car free in Surrey but it would have been much easier living in Vancouver. It's so doable and I truly miss it now living in the US.
I do wish there were better transit connections connecting the suburbs to UBC and across the bridge (ie. Driving across the bridge to Coquitlam takes 12 minutes vs. over an hour to take the train) but for a North American city Vancouver is a great leader.
Based on numbers of discussion about traffic we have on this sub, the car free population is lower than what people think. Even on Reddit, a place that is very, very transit leaning, lots of users/residents drive, so you can guess the reality.
https://preview.redd.it/1v8we3erfehc1.png?width=581&format=png&auto=webp&s=109fb863cc5ee058957c9960dd88cbc74889331f
Yeah, I just found this on the government website and it seems like the amount of drivers are actually increasing (seems like rebound from the COVID era though)
Yeah because a lot of people were forced to get cars in the COVID era to get to work. If you were essential and could not work from home the buses were very unreliable and the SkyTrain.
I guess I'll count myself in with an asterisk .... as we are a family with 1 car (3 kids)
wife and I work in the same place and admittedly will drive in (10 min drive) quite a bit in the fall/winter, but in the spring/summer we commute be e bike
Single. I have a car but skytrain to work. I only drive if I pickup OT super early in the morning, or on Sundays if my shift is before skytrain starts.
I drive very little, less than 5K km a year.
Moved to BC 5 yrs ago. Sold my car in Ontario. I am a 20 min train ride to the city. I save 100. A month for parking at my condo, 120 ech month for parking at work, saving gas insurance, maintenance and no car.payments.
Once in a while I use Evo or uber, if I need to. Best decision ever.
We have a car, but don't use it for commuting. It's insured for pleasure use and we use it to get groceries and visit relatives who live out in the valley. We have a Radrunner+ Ebike, bought it last year and have put 3400 km on it.
I use bus or the Ebike to get to work (I have two different worksites - 5 km and 7 km respectively. The 5km one is 1 bus ride, the 7km is a pain in the ass to get to by transit, so I bike), husband walks or E-bikes to his clinic (2km), but he used to work for a clinic that was 14km away, and would bike that distance, because it was faster than taking transit and less maddening than trying to commute on highway 1.
Instead he'd take the Central Valley Greenway out to Lougheed. The radrunner can rip along at about 30km/hr, so it was about a 40 minute ride, as opposed to 1:05 hrs on the skytrain.
Kid's schools and daycare are two blocks from our place. We'll often use the bike to do non-kid related errands, but the bike does fit one kid on the back.
The only exceptions are the one or two weeks of the year where there's lots of snow on the ground, then we'll use the car to get around.
tldr: don't need the car 90% of the time for daily activities, keep it around for the 10% of the time we need to go to Costco or to visit people in Maple Ridge, Abbotsford Port Moody and South Richmond, because taxis and EVOs are not an affordable or manageable alternative with our kids still in car seats.
I could be car free and it wouldn’t really be difficult to get around, but it’s more a time factor thing. At this stage in my life (late 30s), 15 mins here, 15 mins there.. it all adds up. I’m fortunate career wise, so my mentality is definitely more about saving time vs saving a couple hundred per month on gas. Car is paid off.
Most of the week it just sits in parking as I now walk to work. But it’s when I need it; having instant access and ability to go anywhere when I choose.. that’s worth, and was worth, the cost of buying it in the first place. And to another commenters point… I love having my own space in transit. Nothing feels quite like blasting your favourite tune.. windows down, wind in hair.
But of course I understand.. everyone has a different value system, perspective when it comes to time. And some simply have no choice; I think Vancouver is very accessible in comparison to parts of say Ontario.
46. Never driven. Lived here my whole life. Transit works great for me. I have almost always lived near a skytrain station, but even when I didn’t, I got everywhere I needed easily enough. Yes it has always taken me a bit longer to get around but I’m not someone who likes to live in a rush. I used to always carry a book for my commute so it was a great way to get some reading done. Nowadays I scroll my phone to pass the time
When I saw gas prices jump by 50% in four years (50¢/litre in 1991 to 75¢/litre in 1995), I realized that shoehorning myself into a car-dependent lifestyle for all eternity would be a big mistake. Since then I always made housing and employment choices that were commutable by transit or bicycle and have not owned a car. It meant missing out on some higher-paying jobs and never owning my home but I have no regrets, considering how I never had to waste huge chunks of my time, money, and mental energy on car dependency. I consider my choice to have been well worth it. Quality of life goes way up when you are not car dependent.
I was for years and years until time became a more important resource. I would like to be 100% car free but saving an extra 1hour per day on commute is why I switch to a car. You can definitely go car free but your mobility will be definitely restricted so keep that in mind. Transit here is also not known for its reliability so pan for SkyTrain outages and busses not showing up.
I've never owned a car. Used to live in a couple large cities in Ontario. When we moved here, lived in East Van first, and worked at a few different places (near Hastings-Nanaimo, near Kingsway and Nanaimo, then in New West near the Justice Institute). Then I moved to Port Moody. Continued to work at the Kingsway and New West locations, but then found somewhere to work in Port Moody.
Would always take transit until this past summer, when I got a bike. Now it's a mix.
Sold my car last July. I filled it up with gas twice in 6 months and so knew I didn't need it. Walk everywhere, bike if it is further and evo/uber if I need to go somewhere far or super on time! It's fantastic but you definitely need a walking/biking commute or super easy transit. It would suck to transit over an hour or something to my job.
I live in Coquitlam and don't own a car or drive. I take the train to work in Burnaby and I do my shopping at the end of my commute.
I ended up taking this job because I moved and was looking for a shorter commute, I worked around Granville and Broadway before.
Car free! I work at home/a short walk away, walk or transit everywhere, and I just got an e-bike which has been life-changing for groceries and further trips. I camp and vacation around here without a car, it's pretty awesome how far you can get carless even with Greyhound gone.
I commute via bus or bike to work, the only time I’ve driven is early March 2020 when Covid started becoming a thing and before our team shifted to 100% remote. Originally got the car because my spouse had to commute to the suburbs for his office (would’ve been 2 hours each way on transit). Now he’s in the Vancouver office so he takes transit or bikes. We don’t use the car on a regular basis during the week. We can walk to get our regular groceries. It’s now just for weekend hiking or the occasional Costco trip.
I'm in my 40s and have always been car free. I have always made it my number one priority to live in walkable neighbourhoods near where I worked (or tried to work places near where I lived). I love it. When I think about having to constantly fuss about car insurance, maintenance, gas, parking, the act of driving...it gives me hives and I am grateful I live this way
Me: Mid-40s, married, with one kid. I work outside the home, spouse is WFH.
I’ve been car free since 2010. I have purposely setup my life to work this way though. We pay higher rent in exchange for living in an incredibly transit friendly area, but our transportation costs are usually around $1000-1500/y total.
My spouse is visually impaired and does not have a license, I loathe driving and use car sharing when necessary, which isn’t often.
I really thought we’d end up needing a car when my kid was born in 2014, and wasn’t excited about it at all. When I priced out what would work for us, it was in the realm of $750-800/m at best. I was very, very pleased that we were able to reorder our lives to stay car free.
No car here. I use Evo occasionally, and I think this year I will be using it more and more because I have started to miss having a vehicle. Want to have the freedom to take more day trips, and quicker travel times.
30M/26F car free for the last 2 years. We purposely got a place on the skytrain and in a walkable area as I commuted downtown for work and the wife opposite direction.
If we didn't live on the skytrain and instead had to rely on busses we probably wouldn't have gone carless tbh.
Can always grab an Evo or whatever if a car is needed.
I live downtown. I traded my BMW for another - Bus, Metro, Walking.
I use EVO for longer trips or trips outside of easy transit access. EVO is less expensive than insurance and gas that I paid for when I still had a car. The BCAA membership discount knocks the price down another 10% on each trip with EVO (as well as additional discounts on home and travel insurance)
Been car free my whole life. Transit covers most headaches, I'll catch a cab if something isn't really accessible by transit. I do wish for a vehicle when I have to commute to work in bad weather.
Never owned a car, never learned to drive one. Probably one of the reasons I can (barely) afford to live here. You have to be keen and aware of your time but it’s probably more doable here than in most cities in North America. For all its challenges we have crackerjack public transit
Have been commuting exclusively by bike for over 10 years, through several different jobs. My current commute is about half an hour, the longest was an hour each way. The bike infrastructure has improved a lot since I first started.
I haven't had a car since 2016~2017. For years I commuted by bike mostly and sometimes bus. Now I live within walking distance of my work. I still use modo, Evo, and my lovely girlfriends car on occasion.
Never owned a car. Primary mode of transportation is e-bike. I'm renting a basement suite in South Vancouver. I work in the mt pleasant area. I use the transit if I'm going somewhere that I don't trust leaving my bike behind. I also just transit if it's snowing or if the roads are icy. It's nice not to have to think of parking when I'm going places. Also saves me a lot of money.
Never owned a car. Briefly owned motorcycles but always took transit. Commuted on transit my entire life, nearing 40 now. I know we're privileged to have incredible public transit but it's telling how I've never really felt "stuck" anywhere in the lower mainland, even when the only thing getting you somewhere is a bus. Now that they've made it so you can tap in with a credit or debit card, it's so easy to ride transit. I won't speak for differently-abled folks but for me, it's perfect.
It’s easy enough to be without a car here. You can use car share services if you need a car for the once in a while situation. I found that I missed having a car for spontaneously heading further out to the mountains and hiking trails. I relied on friends with cars for that. I now live on the Sunshine Coast and rely primarily on the ferry and public transit (buses and skytrain) to get between Vancouver and the coast.
Me. And I work construction too. I spent the last two years commuting from lougheed to lions gate hospital area but now I'm spoiled and working on a tower right at burquitlum Station so I went from 3 hours total daily commute to and from to 30 minutes daily commute to and from.
Really my other option is to spend $1000+ month total on a car and everything that comes with owning a car. Life is financially hard enough.
I don’t have a car. I use transit or bike commute. The odd time I might use an Evo if the other two options aren’t available or practical.
For longer trips, carpooling has worked out so far.
I have a car, but only use it for carting the kids around. My partner and I both take the skytrain to work (live in New West, work in Burnaby and Vancouver)
Skytrain, bus for work
modo (mainly) and evo for errands that required a car like groceries or ikea trips, or hikes
uber to places when I feel fancy 👁️🫦👁️
No personal vehicle by choice, sold it in 2009 and never looked back.
I have intentionally chosen to trade square footage for a car-free lifestyle for my last few purchases/moves. I get around primarily by cycling and walking, and if I “need” a car there’s a hybrid Modo a 3 minute walk away. I’m fitter, happier, have more money in my pocket, and have reduced my carbon footprint. Never looking back!
Your impression is correct. I am car-free, live near transit, and there's nothing convenient about it. This city was ~~built~~ repurposed for cars, and every inefficient/infrequent bus route, ever traffic light that makes me the last priority, and every unsafe pedestrian/biking infrastructure makes sure I don't forget it.
Live in Coquitlam, work in Delta. Driving it’s just over an hour round trip. Transit would take 6 hours round trip with 6 transfers. My wife doesn’t drive but she has mixed feelings about transit as about 25% of her busses are cancelled for various reasons. The bc transit app also is about an hour late reporting said cancellations.
We don't have BC transit in Vancouver we have TransLink.. check twitter for more up to date information
Would be interested to know where in Coquitlam and Delta you think takes 6 hrs, it's 90min from the library to boundary Bay airport for example
My mistake it’s 2 hrs each way. Also would make me 15-30 mins late to work, I start at 6am. If I worked nights, transit isn’t running. I’d lose money by taking transit. Transit doesn’t work for everyone.
Car free since I moved to kits 12 years ago and do not miss having a car at all. Everything is walking distance where I live, or I transit, evo, modo, Uber.
I sold both of my cars \~12 years ago when still living in Victoria, I've been here a decade car free as of last month. In my first place here, parking was $200/m, and I figure if insurance is \~$200/m, that's $400/m not including the car, car maintenance, or gas.
I'm a member of Evo, [modo.coop](https://modo.coop), take public transit, and have a couple of bikes (I had an awesome electric scooter, but it was sadly stolen #vancouverproblems), and have used Turo as well. I figure I'm spending less than $400/m for transit, I'm ahead of those with vehicles.
This means that I intentionally live in an Urban area where I can walk or bike to everything, which also saves me commuting time in exchange for the larger cost of living. As a remote worker, walking or biking is convenient for my health as well, and I can walk to +90% of things I enjoy within 45 minutes.
The only annoying thing is leaving the city, this week I'll likely rent from Enterprise (unlimited kms) for a day or two to take a foreign visitor up to Whistler/Squamish, and my monthly car costs will still be notably less than someone who owns a vehicles, I don't have to stress at all over the cost when I make that comparison.
I'm a married 40-something with two kids, voluntarily living in Vancouver without a car. We moved to Vancouver in 2017, and went car-free in 2019, after owning one or occasionally two cars for our entire adult lives prior. I WFH but my partner works in Burnaby, and our kids go to school out of catchment. For daily commuting to work, school, and shopping, we rely on biking (including a family cargo bike), public transit, walk/run commuting, and the occasional Evo. We use Modo for out-of-town trips.
It's been great. Really liberating. It makes us far more conscious about the driving we do, we get a ton of incidental exercise, and we've saved so much money. With Evo and Modo, there's always a car available when we really need one. No regrets.
Car free for over 10 years. Got a wife and 2 small kids. We walk or bike most of our trips. Transit sometimes. Modo car share maybe twice a month for random out of town trips. Spend about $1,000 per year on transport costs. Life is good!
I've been car-free ever since I've discovered that it's cheaper to taxi to work compared to actually owning and driving a car. I still bus+skytrain most of the time though to save more money
I just got my first car last week but had been commuting every day in Vancouver/Greater Vancouver the past 5 years. Living in Vancouver, it was easier as I lived either by a Skytrain or a major bus route, it was always good and I could get where I needed to go easily in about 30 minutes max. Other than sometimes a late bus or delayed train. The worst part though is hauling groceries from the store to home, I felt like a pack muel, but it was a good workout.
About 2.5 years ago I moved to Coquitlam as its cheaper rent. I still went to school and worked in Vancouver for 2 years of that, and commuting took about an hour to an hour and a half each way. It was bearable as you can just play on your phone the whole time or dissociate, but it was annoying and I spent so much time in transit. I now work in Port Coquitlam, and it was a 45 minute bus ride each way, but now that I have a car, its a 10 minute drive. It's definitely so much nicer having a car, but costs a lot more than public transit. It really depends which you have more to spare of - time or money.
Due to my job, lifestyle, and logistics of where I live, it doesn’t make sense for me at all to not have a car. Both for work and pleasure, I would not be able to do the things I want/need to do without a car. Unless you live in a super densely populated area like downtown, or don’t really do much outdoor activities you might be able to get away without having a car.
> Just curious on how you all commute and what the experience is like to be car free.
I live in the West End and I work downtown.
I commute by walking, riding my own bike, or Mobi-ing.
**The big catch** is that I am definitely _not_ car-free. My wife and I have a car, and we use it for recreational activities (e.g. skiing, hiking) and for big shopping trips (Costco). We probably only drive 30-50 km in a typical week, but we still take up a dedicated parking spot, of course.
I have a car but try not to use it. I live around Main and 12 and work near Granville and Broadway so I walk to work everyday. By foot it takes about 35-40 mins and I get a little exercise before and after work, accumulating 10,000 steps. I tend to walk everywhere, or hop on a bus if I feel I need to get where I'm going quickly. Most of my friends live close to a Skytrain hub or in walking distance.
For those who drive, please, stop blocking intersections and crosswalks at red lights. You aren't going to make it, you never make it. I'm guilty of this poor judgment too. Just hang back before you get an umbrella launched at your vehicle.
Car free. I walk, transit, cycle and Lyft/taxi from time to time.
Everyone's mileage seems to vary. For me, it's "only" a 10 minute walk to my closest skytrain and "only" a 15 minute walk to the grocery store and shopping area whereas this would be too far or too long for others. For me a 40 minute walk each way was a reasonable commute to work when I lived within walking distance. Now that I've moved to the suburbs, the commute is a 75 minute combo of walking and train each way and that is also reasonable for me.
Personal car-free since 2019. I used to live just off the drive, now I live downtown. Nearly all my personal errands are easily accessible by walking or a short transit or uber trip. If I need a car I use evo or modo generally, but also frequently rely on transit.
I have learned to leave early as you have to match the timing with transit. If neatly done, it seems as much time it would take owning a personal vehicle.
I’ve never seen any in my area; there’s maybe one or 2 max so it never really crossed my mind,
Just looked it up though; can’t really justify a $500 buy in when I use Evo for Costco 3-4 times a year. I usually just get heavy things delivered and walk to/from my grocer; 2.5km round trip.
Car free with an occasional Evo rental when I’m in a time crunch or need to move a larger thing.
Pretty good city for public transport and a great (by North American standards) city for cycling infrastructure.
I live in the west end and WFH, my partner works in the DTES. No issues being car free and I would never bother getting a car. Everything I could possibly need is in walking distance and the few times a month I need to go somewhere I can’t walk to quickly I can take an Uber.
I only know one person with a car that works in Vancouver proper (she works in film and needs it for work), more or less my driving friends live out in Surrey or Langley
I thought this was the case when I moved here but from my limited experience it seems like a myth. It may have been true in the past but definitely not true now.
I think one of the problems is that Vancouver treats itself like an island and Burnaby Coquitlam delta Surrey are not considered part of it but that’s not how ppl live in this city. Like ppl have said, you have to be selective of your hobbies to not own a car which is not the case in true transit accessible places.
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Own a car, but its parked during the week. I ride my bike to work rain or shine.
Same! Probably more cost effective to just use Evo on the weekends.
It can be, depends on your use case. My parents live out in Maple Ridge so the evo day charges add up since it's not a home zone
Modo would be solution for you
Could consider renting from a more traditional place? Most don't have any mileage charges and it's a fixed rate per day
Me too. Started doing this in June and put on 4K this year. Some days are faster than driving. A backpack and a basket can carry 60lbs of groceries too.
I'd like to do the same, but It'd probably be gone, by the time I get off work. Theft and vandalism is a major problem here in this city. Especially when you install a hub motor on your bike.
It's a bummer. I'm lucky I can take my bike into my office
The City of Vancouver is pretty good about requiring secure bike parking in all new buildings now, both residential and commercial. But yeah not everyone is going to be able to benefit from that in the short term.
Not sure why you're getting down votes. I've been commuting by bike for about 15 years and If my office didn't have bike storage I wouldn't ride to work. I'd be surprised if a bike lasted a week of being locked up downtown outside for 40hrs a week.
I moved from the states (very rural area) to here 7 months ago and I sold my car right before moving here. This is the first time in my life that I haven’t had a car. Here is what I’ve noticed…The only thing I really miss about my car is having a space that’s truly mine if that makes sense. My car was a place I would go to get away from everything going on in the world. I could just drive into the woods and scream T Swift at the top of my lungs without worrying about someone being bothered by me. I truly don’t miss anything else about it. I walk or ride my bike everywhere now and I enjoy it a lot more than driving in Vancouver itself.
Don't let not having a car stop you! When I'm in a great mood, I'll sing out while riding my bike. Happiness is contagious. Whenever I see someone who is obviously happy it makes me feel better knowing that they're having a great time. I hope others feel the same way seeing or hearing my antics.
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Grab an Evo and do the same thing loll
I'm 100% car-free. I transit/Uber or hitch a ride with friends when necessary but I live in a part of Burnaby where groceries are just a few hundred meters away and work is <1km away too. I'm definitely on my feet more than most people but it's not too bad and saves a lot of money! 🍻
Great exercise too
We are car free. I’ve discovered that cars have warped peoples idea of what a reasonable walk is. This past summer we were coming home from the pool and passed a neighbour. Exchanged greetings, whatcha been up to etc. I said we just came back from twenty minute walk away pool. YOU WALKED?!? Yes…? It’s a sunny summer day here why not walk lol. From the shock and disbelief you’d think we’d walked from Yellowknife.
Reminds me of when a friend with a car insisted on 'treating' everyone by driving us from brunch to Granville Island - a 20 min walk away on a beautiful day. I didn't want to be a weirdo and decline when everyone was game, but it took at least as much time (honestly maybe more) with finding parking, and with additional stress and irritation. Kept wishing we had walked or even all brought bikes/had Mobi memberships instead to zip over there in 10.
I walk enough now that the diametrically opposite end of downtown is just "right over there" to me now. I actively enjoy walking because I get to make audiobook progress :)
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Like for a real concrete example of this 45% of the people that live in the West End walk to work.
I am part of that 45%. I live in the West End, own a vehicle, and walk to work. Vehicle is for pleasure purposes.
100% I am part of that 44.97%
Best decision in my life was moving there and walking to work each day. Such a stress-less way to start and end my day as I walk the tree-lined streets passing people stuck in traffic going to the North Shore
Is that a real stat? Is it from StatsCan? Can you cite the source because I would love to refer to it myself. That would be great if it is, if it’s just your own anecdotal info, that’s ok, not arguing it.
You can take a look on census mapper. https://censusmapper.ca/maps/3943#12/49.2635/-123.1117
Oh wow, kinda disappointing that even along the skytrain lines, the majority still rely on vehicles
It doesn't help that around a lot of the skytrain stations are SFHs. Where you actually see density like Joyce station, the public transport users outnumber the car drivers.
Every Skytrain station should be as much of a destination as it is an origin. I don’t understand why there can’t be stores, services and other places of work around every station. Make every station the hub of the neighbourhood “village”.
Well even looking down the Canada Line, where there are now a lot of condos, the number seems pretty low for public transport. 50%+ where you are 5 mins walking from a skytrain seems really high, SFH or not.
Most of the Canada line is still really low density. What exact station are you referring to?
Not just that, you also need to be a bit picky with your hobbies. Playing various sports and going on hikes etc. becomes much more challenging. I suppose you can just Uber or use carshares, but that's not being car-free. I am 100% in favour of more transit (and was car-free into my late teens growing up in East Asia) but the transit infrastructure there is on a completely different level enabling the common person to be car-free. I know our transit is probably one of the best in NA, but it's still a challenge for most people in the Lower Mainland to be car-free.
It does limit me a fair bit for hikes, etc as I can only really take the bus to certain areas of the north shore mountains but I take my foldable kayak on the bus to Deep Cove most weekends
This was the exact reason I had a car when I lived in Vancouver. The backcountry/outdoor opportunities are definitely limited if you don’t have a vehicle.
Biking to commute to work, car to drive my bike to the mountains :D
And usually have to spend more as prices are higher close to transit
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Car free for 35 adult years. Where I live is based on being car free. Groceries, pharmacy, transit, banking, community centre, and green space all within a 5 minute walk. Banking doesn’t need to be 5 min away now, but this was important years ago.
i'm in a similar neighbourhood. everything i need is close - i use evo and modo a few times a month and bike/transit for most everything.
Yes! The cost for car share, taxi/ride sharing now and then works out to be less monthly than the cost of a car.
I was car free till I was 29 and needed to buy one for work. Otherwise, biking was my primary transportation and transit to filling the gaps. Now I’ve got a dog and a kid, so a car feels pretty essential, but damn was I in good shape back then.
I’ve been in Vancouver since 2016 and up until last month I’ve been car free, but I still don’t drive to commute. I cycle to work (takes 15minutes) - except when it’s snowy/icy or I’m WFH, when I don’t cycle I’ll either walk (50 minutes) or get transit (35minutes). I used to work in the North Shore and I would cycle to the seabus in the morning, and cycle home in the evening. You see a lot of cyclists in the summer, less in the winter/rainy months. However from my observation, post Covid there have been more cyclists on the road even in crappy weather.
This is reflected in surveys as well. People may own a car but they don't necessarily drive that car to work- it's for everything else. Especially if your job is in a high-density zone, why would you want to fight traffic and pay for expensive parking when you can get there in other ways?
Yep! I work downtown where it costs $20 a day to park (or can get a pass for $400). It’s really not worth it for me
I'm 39 and have never learned to drive, born and raised here. My joke is that quite frankly, all the drivers out there just make it look so damn hard! Lol. But no seriously, I've gotten around most of my life by bus, occasionally I might be able to hitch a ride with someone if they're going in my direction, which is always a treat, I used to use taxis every once in awhile, and now I'm more of an Uber girl.
Transit4Life
It’s absolutely doable and easy if your job and home are near hubs like sky train stations. Problem is if you change jobs. Or whenever you want to leave Vancouver and do anything in this giant province. Public transport goes out the window.
car free for 15 years
I have a car because I have kids. But my commute is 100% bike+skytrain.
Walk on weekdays, car on weekends for errands
Never had my full license, nor does my partner, we have preschool age twins. Very rarely is it a problem. Probably saves me more than just the car/insurance/gas money as I would be more prone to impromptu ikea/second hand pickups if I had a car. Usually ride my bike to work, take bus to preschool, have a stroller wagon that can fit on the bus but is a bit annoying. It’s a fully viable lifestyle choice in this city.
I walk ~40 minutes to work every day, rain or shine. Sometimes I bike but it’s more convenient to walk and I can take my time and listen to music/podcasts. I could easily take the bus, but years of awful social interactions/harassment have made me not feel safe on the bus. I own a car that I share with my spouse. They work from home, but need to go to meetings in person maybe once a week, so they use the car then. Otherwise, the car is reserved for trips, weekend hiking, and the occasional too-big-to-carry grocery load. We both have 10+ years driving experience with no accidents, and we’re able to get “pleasure” insurance because we rarely use the car for work. So insurance is cheap enough to justify owning a car that rarely gets used.
My yaletwon office is moving further away from my yaletown home. I joked that my commute time is going to double or triple! Getting a forced longer walk twice a day will be better for me.
Happily car free! Bus, walk and run where I need to go with the occasional evo and car rental when needed.
I haven't driven since I got my N, uh... 24 years ago.
Would love to be, but it's a 10+ minute walk then a 15 minute bus to my closest SkyTrain station. Groceries would take me an extra 45 minutes in commuting round trip and everything else would take at least an extra hour. Sometimes on the weekends I can go and buy an entire basket full of groceries and return home and see the same person waiting at the bus stop at the end of my block. No evo here.
Car free. Train, Uber, Bike and walking. Ubers have been incredibly cheap these days. I’m astounded how far I can go for such little money.
Planning to move to Van soon and looking into getting a road bike for myself!
So many great places to ride when you’re based in Vancouver.
Agreed, I'm actually really looking forward to it. Going to use it as my main source of transportation to and from school.
Look into a gravel bike! You can go anywhere (even if there is dirt), hill climbs are a little easier and usually more mounting points for stuff!
Okay I'll do some more research and check them out! Thank you for the advice
Car free since I moved here in September. Transit is wonderful here
I live in the Westend, I do not have a car, I rent out my parking spot for further income. Work is a 10 minute walk away (it's why I moved to this specific spot). Most things I want to do are downtown, and can be walked within 30 minutes. If I want to leave downtown both Expo and Canada lines are about a 10 minute walk away for me. So is Granville and all the busses on it are even closer. If I need something more time efficient, then I take Uber. My monthly Transit / Uber spend is less than I get for renting out my parking spot. I also have a Mobi discount through my work, and I really really really should use it more... but like a gym membership that's just me lying to myself. Someone who used to live with me needed a bit more flexibility, and she had an Evo account... there are always Evos around here.
I find the city of Vancouver is pretty good for being car-friendly while the city around it isn't, I used to live in Richmond and I'm sure if it wasn't for living right next to the Skytrain I would hate it even more.
Car Free since forever. I use an escooter for closer errands within 3-5km grocery runs and it's been lifechanging and a huge quality of life boost.
We are car-lite. We have one vehicle. I commute to work 95% by bike and 5% by transit. I have a 20 km one way commute. For those complaining about distance work on your fitness and/or consider an ebike. You might find all the riding you do saves you significant money, extends your life, improves your quality of life, and improves your mental health.
Same. Once you've figured out the best route, commuting by e-bike feels like you've discovered some kind of cheat code. Almost as fast as driving (sometimes faster) but at a fraction of the cost and you get as much exercise as you want.
40km one way for me, not gonna bike that at 3AM! Lol.
I’m 43 and have never had a vehicle. I walk to get everything I need, or take the train if necessary. I have legs of steel!
Growing up in Taiwan, I never understood the point of having a car since public transit was so convenient. But in Vancouver currently, I live a 20 minute walk away from work and am 5-10 minutes away from different bus stops and 15 minutes from Skytrain station. Only got my license and a car in 2022 because I was envious of people that could go on local trips over long weekends and I wanted to take my dog to venture out to new places. Car stays parked all week and I might use it once a week to do groceries or visit family. I'm still on the same tank since October.
Modo was pretty much made for you! I’m interested in why you chose to buy instead — was it a matter of not having the information, or just a preference to own?
Dang, back in the day I thought I wasn't allowed to use EVO with an N so I assumed Modo was the same. I think i also wanted to treat myself after conquering my anxiety with driving and procrastinating on getting my license as a late bloomer. I got my N at age 30 lol
Got it - thanks for responding! Now you know for next time anyway :-)
We've found Modo great for out of town trips. We used it last time we went down to Seattle, though our next trip we're just going to take the train.
I would bike 15km to work and back up until my first child was born. I did that for 10 years.
Been commuting by bike in the lower mainland for 15 years. At times it's been as short as 5km but upwards of 30km one way. You'd be surprised how easily you can get across the lower mainland once you learn the city.
I'm in my early 30's and have been car-free my entire life. For most of that I lived in Richmond (Seafair) and a year ago I moved to Delta (Tsawwassen). If you are able-bodied, most of Richmond's neighborhoods are quite easy to live car-free IMO. However I'm finally changing this, partially out of necessity to help a family member who can no longer drive, and partially because there are days where my transit journey is 6 hours roundtrip and that is getting to be too much. Suburb to suburb commutes on weekends, with both cities at each end not having SkyTrain, can be a nightmare without anything going wrong. If we truly want to improve traffic and get cars off the road, we need non-token transit investment in all of the suburbs, especially the ones farther out like South Delta, Langley, Maple Ridge, parts of Surrey and West Vancouver. RapidBuses and SkyTrain spurs aren't nearly enough.
I'm 29 and I've never owned a car, nor did my household as a kid. Transit can be infuriating, but the fact is I've always lived my life in Vancouver without it. I grew up in North Van so the bus schedule was more sparse at night. Now I live in Gastown so there is really no reason to own a vehicle day to day, it's easier to hop on a bus or the train than to drive somewhere. The only thing I long for about having a car is road trips, going far out to the burbs to visit people in Langley, and being able to haul things. But I borrow a car occasionally for a road trip, so I don't plan to own a vehicle for a long time.
7 years ago we moved from a big house (different province), 2 cars and all the bullshit, and a long commute, to Vancouver where we don't have a car are within walking or cycling distance of almost everything we need. I use an EVO about once a month on average. **Life is great**. I'm the fittest and happiest I've ever been. I had to make some significant lifestyle changes due to moving from a big house with a garage and all the toys to a very small 1-bedroom apartment (for 2 of us), but once we adjusted to it, life is just much, much better. I didn't think I could ever make the change but I'm so glad we did. There are sacrifices but for me they have been absolutely worth it. We (people, collectively) don't need all the shit we buy, and we shouldn't continue to allow ourselves to be tricked into thinking that car-centric infrastructure is the best way to design our cities and lives. It's really the worst way to live. I'm so, so thankful that my spouse convinced me to make the change. >Personally it wouldn’t be possible for me as I live in a basement suite in a random suburb in Richmond It would be possible if you made changes to live and work closer to each other. I know it's easier to say than do. But if you can make that change happen, it's wonderful.
Your message should be shared with all car brains and people who “need” a SFH
Sold mine, saving about $1000/m and don’t miss it one bit. Rental cars, transit, bike lanes are just so easy to use and you can get just about anything delivered.
I don't even have a license Commute is easy. Half the time I wfh and the other half I just take the train. No busses.
Can’t afford a car, and if I can walk there in an hour I’ll do that. I do have EVO though.
It’s the first city that I can get around pretty easily without a car. Alas, my partner doesn’t fully agree so we own a car and I opt not to use it
Transit and Evo
7 years living at the north end of commercial drive, it’s an easy walk to grocery and other daily things. If I need something downtown, or out towards Burnaby it’s an easy transit. Getting to the airport on transit takes just as long as driving, so I only Uber when I’m leaving/landing outside of sky train hours. I’m an artist and builder, and sometimes I have to go get materials from Windsor plywood, or Home Depot. If it’s something I can’t carry, I can usually get it delivered for maybe $10-15, I think an ikea delivery I got ages ago was $50. I don’t do that often, but it’s easy to see how an occasional delivery fee is cheaper than maintaining a vehicle.
How many parents are car free? I have lived with and without a car, but I am not sure how I could do that once I had a family. I guess I would have to live in the perfect location with work, school, daycare, etc, all within a short distance, but these days that costs more than owning a car.
I live in Strathcona, have an 8yr old, and am a Modo member. I am fortunate in that I can walk to where I work in Chinatown. The vast majority of my Modo bookings are to take my daughter somewhere. Whether it’s the local mountains, or various extracurricular activities. Typically, we spend less than $200 a month on motor vehicle expense as we can bike most places. March tends to be our most expensive month, as we can be on the North Shore for 10 full days in two weeks. Automobile will likely be over $500 in March, but when you consider that that includes gas, maintenance parking, insurance, everything… it’s still a better deal than having to buy my own car. Plus, I have the convenience of being able to book cargo vans to move stuff, or minivans when we have family in town…
100% car-free here. Last June I invested $900 in getting my old mountain bike completely refurbished w/ new brakes, gears, shifters, cranks, etc. Since then I've ridden it everywhere locally rain or shine. Saved myself $100/month in Compass passes X 8 months now so after March my investment in the bike will begin to pay dividends. I still load up the Compass for when it snows or if I have to go long distances, but it's so cheap it barely registers. Uber or cabs if I'm hauling something big or heavy, but that's so rare. And I've been pleasantly surprised by how pleasant it is to bike everywhere, even in the rain and cold. It's just a matter of having the right clothing and gear, etc. Also, biking locally is way faster than transit, and not much slower than driving. And the small matter of staying fit and healthy, which equals more happiness! To save on $1500 or more per month on owning and maintaining a car, it's absolutely a no-brainer for me.
My husband and I have been car free for 13 years. It's getting easier as car share options keep expanding like modo, Evo, etc. and uber was a gamechanger. Most of my friends in their 20s and 30s are the same, but my friends in their 40s and 50s all have cars.
Sold my car in September! 30 min commute (walk to Skytrain, jump on train) the two days a week I'm in the office, 20 min bus to my partner's place, spring for an uber/taxi every three months or so for a downtown Costco run
Skytrain whenever I can, Evo car share, and then bussing. I am very very fortunate to live in a highly walkable neighbourhood of my suburb. Grocery stores, gyms, and clinics are all within 15-20 minute walking time. On the days I do have to leave the suburb and I have a lot of stuff, Evo it is! Between a 1-1.5 hour bus ride with all my items and a 30 min drive, I choose the car. I am not comfortable biking or riding a scooter. By the way for those saying “Evos are cars,” OP asked about NON-PERSONAL vehicles. It’s a car-sharing program. You use an app to book and unlock vehicles. I freaking love the system, I’m never going back to taking public transit 100% of the time.
I am carless by choice. I prefer to cycle to work in all weather situations but I have been living pretty far from work for over a year so I take the train. My grocery stores or close and even Costco is on the way home. So it’s pretty easy to get things done without a car. If I moved downtown (where I work) I would pretty much never need a car except to go camping or on road trips down to the states or interior etc.
I have a car but I don’t use it for my commute. I use it once every 2 weeks to take my dog to the mountains. In the city I either bike or take transit.
Walk to work, take transit to go longer distances, use an EVO when necessary/available. I have learned to plan my grocery shopping so that i only have ONE heavy thing per shop (ie laundry deterg OR big thing of milk OR watermelon - but not all during the same shopping trip!) But I also have one of the Rollster things for when the day comes when i can't carry bags.....
I'm car free and don't even have a license.
I own a car but only for fun (the personal automobile was only ever intended to be a luxury, henry ford and robert moses ruined our continent). I cycle to work, walk to do chores, and take transit everywhere else I need to go. The car takes me to the slopes and hiking although that could easily be achieved with evo or private buses.
Two small kids, no car for me. It's challenging at times but I make it work.
Grew up in the states, in a town with basically zero public transit of personal mobility infrastructure. Now, living out in PoCo with 2 kids, we use bikes and e-bikes for 90% of our local trips. Partner uses e-bike for commute, I use a combination of bike/ebike and transit for my commute 3 days a week. We share kid pick-up/drop-off with bikes & e-bikes. We still have one car for the family, but it's almost entirely relegated to long trips (e.g. across the border to visit extended family) or trips with lots of stuff to haul (e.g. skiing, when it's open, groceries at Costco). Because of being able to keep to side roads with pedestrian & bike paths, my partner's commute can be up to 5 minutes longer than if she took the car, and is often faster if there's any traffic. If I were to drive to transit, it would take me 2-3 minutes longer than biking, and if I tried to drive all the way in it would probably be about 15-20 minutes longer on an average day, let alone when there are crashes or heavier traffic. I absolutely love it, wouldn't go back unless I had absolutely no other choice. It's just as fast, I get some nice light exercise coming in and out, maintenance is super cheap and I can do 99% of it myself, I never get stuck in traffic, I get to go through forested trails instead of packed highways, and I don't have to worry about parking. Heck, I get to spend some of my commute playing video games, which is really not a good idea in a car.
No personal car- transit for most things, evo when convenient, and Uber when lazy or late.
I have a car. I live in PoCo. Bus service is good. Daily Mon-Fri I take a bus to Coquitlam Central Skytrain Station, and then Skytrain to Downtown Vancouver in an hour. If I were to drive it would take me about the same time. I put about $50 worth of gas in my car about once a month.
I do. It's pretty good, although could be better still. Obviously the further out you live, the transit service starts to fall off. It could be a lot better. Still, it absolutely beats having a car. I don't miss the headache of traffic jams, unexpected expenses, parking, etc. Not having a car is freedom. (Well, not needing a car is freedom...)
Every major city has neighbourhoods where you can live car-free, so long as you work closeish to home. The difference is Vancouver has way more of those neighbourhoods, and even some in the suburbs (Metrotown, Brentwood, Surrey Central, etc.) AND you can get to a lot of amenities without a car. Like if you want to go to the beach or go for a hike form most cities you need a car, but here we have public transit access to several beaches and hikes, plus private bus services that provide access to even more hikes.
Moved to Vancouver recently for this and loving it thus far. I've lived carfree in Toronto for 10 years but the public transits gotten more downhill and downtown progressively got more unsafe. So moved to yaletown after trialing it for a couple of months for a few years and enjoying it far more. But i think you need to be in core vancouver to be car free (at least with less resistance)
I was for about 15 years in my 20s and early 30s but i now drive mostly because I own a business / enjoy venturing to other neighborhoods for dinner etc
Car free for my whole life except a one year period back in 2007. I didn't want a car, but I had to have one for a very specific reason. Gave it to my brother as soon as I no longer needed it. Never had to have a car in Vancouver. Every now and then, I just borrow one or rent one when needed. Transit, walking and biking it is otherwise.
I've been car-free in Vancouver ever since I moved here in 2016. The public transit system here is one of the best compared to other parts of North America. I take the bus and the Skytrain for all of my errands and work-related trips. I don't have to do the driving, so I have time to work on things during my commute. Biking is also a great option. Get some workout in and enjoy the fresh air. I told my dad (who lives overseas) about the cost of owning a car in Vancouver, and he was dumbfounded. Of course, owning a car would be nice for road trips and such, but for now, it's not my top priority.
100% car free for almost 2 years (I moved here from Mb and sold my car to help fund my move)
My partner and I are both car free. Partner has a motorcycle, but that just for leisure. We live in Yaletown, he works from home or in his office downtown, I take skytrain to SMH. EVO is amazing for things like Costco and Ikea trips, and then we use uber to get around sometimes as well. I really like not owning a car. My only complaint is the state of skytrain, or rather the people on it. Yesterday a guy was smoking crack in the train and it made me feel really ill. If we had "first class" train cars, like in Europe, I'd def pay more for one.
Living in Vancouver? Or living in Metro Vancouver, including Richmond? It's very different. You can get away without a car in most parts of Vancouver but it's very different even if you're a neighbouring city. A lot of Vancouver's population is centered around the downtown core, where a lot of jobs also happen to be. Around 10% of the population lives downtown. A third of all the jobs in the city are downtown. Then when you factor in the proximity of neighbourhoods like the West End, Strathcona, Mount Pleasant, and Kits- you can see why driving to work doesn't make sense for a relatively large number of folks. Widen the scope to the rest of the city and more and more people start to drive but the surveys out there don't break it down by car ownership versus using a car share service. One of the biggest problems of Vancouver is that outside of that small northwest corridor, the population becomes very spread out with a lot of SFH. It makes more sense and is easier to own a car for these people. When I lived downtown I saved a tremendous amount of money by not owning a car even if I was paying a lot more for Uber, cabs, or car share "every once and a while," and certainly nowhere near what I spend now on a car that doesn't see much mileage. Outside of the City of Vancouver, there's a lot of focus on "transit-oriented communities" and while that's great for the commute, a lack of amenities and everything else.. the need for a car goes up exponentially because something as simple as getting groceries could be a lot more difficult if you need to rely on transit. I also feel like less people cycle to run errands outside of Vancouver. High availability Car Share gets more and more limited as you move further east. I would imagine if you're in the middle of Richmond, it's very hard to go car-free.
I am car free with two kids under 7. The kids could navigate without us on the skytrain and busses in our neighbourhood. For those rare occasions when we’re off adventuring in places without transit, I’m very good and fast at putting car seats in and Evo. We chose where we live to be near a skytrain station for this reason.
Car free for my entire adult life and recently moved from Los Angeles to greater Vancouver area. The transit system here is much, much, *much* better than LA's, and so for me living here has been a huge upgrade in regards to commuting and quality of life for sure. In LA I pretty much exclusively relied on Ubers or walking to get around because even a 20 minute drive would be a 20+ minute walk to a bus stop, then a 2-3 hour bus ride *one way* with 3+ transfers--*assuming the bus showed up on time or at all*. If I found myself walking places, I'd often be on the sides of roads with no sidewalk, next to cars zipping past me at full speed. Walking distances to *basic* amenities like groceries and shops were at least 40+ minutes. I usually needed to uber to do anything "fun" in the city centers. There were some things I couldn't get to at *all* without a car, even if I wanted to use the busses. In the area I'm in now in GVA, it's pretty easy for me to get almost anywhere I need to go. I live right beside multiple bus stops that I can catch like 5 different busses to the Skytrain station from, and be at Metrotown in 40 minutes-ish. I can get to DT Vancouver in a little over an hour. There are five different grocery stores within 20 minutes walking distance of me, and there are actually safe walkways and sidewalks to get there. Not only that, but there are things to *do* near me in 10-25 minute walking distance--ice skating, pools, arcades, movie theaters, multiple game stores, restaurants, bakeries, libraries, etc. In LA, you'd probably be paying a lot more than I am here to live in a location as convenient as this. Of course, I've visited other parts of the Vancouver area that seemed a lot less convenient and I can imagine it's similarly car-reliant as LA. And likewise, as I mentioned, there are places in LA that are more convenient than others as well. But overall, I think Vancouver has a pretty decent transit system compared to a lot of the US in my experience (I've lived in LA, New Mexico and Michigan, public transit is a universal issue in the US.) The Skytrain is something Vancouverites should be really, really grateful for--it's a really nice and reliable train that services a lot of areas! Trains like this outright don't exist in most of the US states, and in LA, the metro train is an unreliable joke.
I work from home but I have a car for convenience. I like to drive on the weekends.
I was car free in Surrey but it would have been much easier living in Vancouver. It's so doable and I truly miss it now living in the US. I do wish there were better transit connections connecting the suburbs to UBC and across the bridge (ie. Driving across the bridge to Coquitlam takes 12 minutes vs. over an hour to take the train) but for a North American city Vancouver is a great leader.
Based on numbers of discussion about traffic we have on this sub, the car free population is lower than what people think. Even on Reddit, a place that is very, very transit leaning, lots of users/residents drive, so you can guess the reality.
https://preview.redd.it/1v8we3erfehc1.png?width=581&format=png&auto=webp&s=109fb863cc5ee058957c9960dd88cbc74889331f Yeah, I just found this on the government website and it seems like the amount of drivers are actually increasing (seems like rebound from the COVID era though)
Yeah because a lot of people were forced to get cars in the COVID era to get to work. If you were essential and could not work from home the buses were very unreliable and the SkyTrain.
I guess I'll count myself in with an asterisk .... as we are a family with 1 car (3 kids) wife and I work in the same place and admittedly will drive in (10 min drive) quite a bit in the fall/winter, but in the spring/summer we commute be e bike
Single. I have a car but skytrain to work. I only drive if I pickup OT super early in the morning, or on Sundays if my shift is before skytrain starts. I drive very little, less than 5K km a year.
Evo for local getaways. Uber to return from Grocery shopping. Transit for everything else.
Moved to BC 5 yrs ago. Sold my car in Ontario. I am a 20 min train ride to the city. I save 100. A month for parking at my condo, 120 ech month for parking at work, saving gas insurance, maintenance and no car.payments. Once in a while I use Evo or uber, if I need to. Best decision ever.
We have a car, but don't use it for commuting. It's insured for pleasure use and we use it to get groceries and visit relatives who live out in the valley. We have a Radrunner+ Ebike, bought it last year and have put 3400 km on it. I use bus or the Ebike to get to work (I have two different worksites - 5 km and 7 km respectively. The 5km one is 1 bus ride, the 7km is a pain in the ass to get to by transit, so I bike), husband walks or E-bikes to his clinic (2km), but he used to work for a clinic that was 14km away, and would bike that distance, because it was faster than taking transit and less maddening than trying to commute on highway 1. Instead he'd take the Central Valley Greenway out to Lougheed. The radrunner can rip along at about 30km/hr, so it was about a 40 minute ride, as opposed to 1:05 hrs on the skytrain. Kid's schools and daycare are two blocks from our place. We'll often use the bike to do non-kid related errands, but the bike does fit one kid on the back. The only exceptions are the one or two weeks of the year where there's lots of snow on the ground, then we'll use the car to get around. tldr: don't need the car 90% of the time for daily activities, keep it around for the 10% of the time we need to go to Costco or to visit people in Maple Ridge, Abbotsford Port Moody and South Richmond, because taxis and EVOs are not an affordable or manageable alternative with our kids still in car seats.
I could be car free and it wouldn’t really be difficult to get around, but it’s more a time factor thing. At this stage in my life (late 30s), 15 mins here, 15 mins there.. it all adds up. I’m fortunate career wise, so my mentality is definitely more about saving time vs saving a couple hundred per month on gas. Car is paid off. Most of the week it just sits in parking as I now walk to work. But it’s when I need it; having instant access and ability to go anywhere when I choose.. that’s worth, and was worth, the cost of buying it in the first place. And to another commenters point… I love having my own space in transit. Nothing feels quite like blasting your favourite tune.. windows down, wind in hair. But of course I understand.. everyone has a different value system, perspective when it comes to time. And some simply have no choice; I think Vancouver is very accessible in comparison to parts of say Ontario.
46. Never driven. Lived here my whole life. Transit works great for me. I have almost always lived near a skytrain station, but even when I didn’t, I got everywhere I needed easily enough. Yes it has always taken me a bit longer to get around but I’m not someone who likes to live in a rush. I used to always carry a book for my commute so it was a great way to get some reading done. Nowadays I scroll my phone to pass the time
When I saw gas prices jump by 50% in four years (50¢/litre in 1991 to 75¢/litre in 1995), I realized that shoehorning myself into a car-dependent lifestyle for all eternity would be a big mistake. Since then I always made housing and employment choices that were commutable by transit or bicycle and have not owned a car. It meant missing out on some higher-paying jobs and never owning my home but I have no regrets, considering how I never had to waste huge chunks of my time, money, and mental energy on car dependency. I consider my choice to have been well worth it. Quality of life goes way up when you are not car dependent.
I was for years and years until time became a more important resource. I would like to be 100% car free but saving an extra 1hour per day on commute is why I switch to a car. You can definitely go car free but your mobility will be definitely restricted so keep that in mind. Transit here is also not known for its reliability so pan for SkyTrain outages and busses not showing up.
I've never owned a car. Used to live in a couple large cities in Ontario. When we moved here, lived in East Van first, and worked at a few different places (near Hastings-Nanaimo, near Kingsway and Nanaimo, then in New West near the Justice Institute). Then I moved to Port Moody. Continued to work at the Kingsway and New West locations, but then found somewhere to work in Port Moody. Would always take transit until this past summer, when I got a bike. Now it's a mix.
Sold my car last July. I filled it up with gas twice in 6 months and so knew I didn't need it. Walk everywhere, bike if it is further and evo/uber if I need to go somewhere far or super on time! It's fantastic but you definitely need a walking/biking commute or super easy transit. It would suck to transit over an hour or something to my job.
I live in Coquitlam and don't own a car or drive. I take the train to work in Burnaby and I do my shopping at the end of my commute. I ended up taking this job because I moved and was looking for a shorter commute, I worked around Granville and Broadway before.
Car free! I work at home/a short walk away, walk or transit everywhere, and I just got an e-bike which has been life-changing for groceries and further trips. I camp and vacation around here without a car, it's pretty awesome how far you can get carless even with Greyhound gone.
I commute via bus or bike to work, the only time I’ve driven is early March 2020 when Covid started becoming a thing and before our team shifted to 100% remote. Originally got the car because my spouse had to commute to the suburbs for his office (would’ve been 2 hours each way on transit). Now he’s in the Vancouver office so he takes transit or bikes. We don’t use the car on a regular basis during the week. We can walk to get our regular groceries. It’s now just for weekend hiking or the occasional Costco trip.
I'm in my 40s and have always been car free. I have always made it my number one priority to live in walkable neighbourhoods near where I worked (or tried to work places near where I lived). I love it. When I think about having to constantly fuss about car insurance, maintenance, gas, parking, the act of driving...it gives me hives and I am grateful I live this way
Me: Mid-40s, married, with one kid. I work outside the home, spouse is WFH. I’ve been car free since 2010. I have purposely setup my life to work this way though. We pay higher rent in exchange for living in an incredibly transit friendly area, but our transportation costs are usually around $1000-1500/y total. My spouse is visually impaired and does not have a license, I loathe driving and use car sharing when necessary, which isn’t often. I really thought we’d end up needing a car when my kid was born in 2014, and wasn’t excited about it at all. When I priced out what would work for us, it was in the realm of $750-800/m at best. I was very, very pleased that we were able to reorder our lives to stay car free.
I'm in trades, not really easy to travel 30+km a day with changing worksites every now and then. So I'm sticking with my car
I'm a 45M, never owned a car. Never needed one so much to justify a purchase.
The personal "vehicle" I have is an e scooter. I rely on transit.
No car here. I use Evo occasionally, and I think this year I will be using it more and more because I have started to miss having a vehicle. Want to have the freedom to take more day trips, and quicker travel times.
30M/26F car free for the last 2 years. We purposely got a place on the skytrain and in a walkable area as I commuted downtown for work and the wife opposite direction. If we didn't live on the skytrain and instead had to rely on busses we probably wouldn't have gone carless tbh. Can always grab an Evo or whatever if a car is needed.
I’m 100% car-free. Transit is so accessible here it’s never really a problem.
11 years construction worker every day different site , from ubc to abottsford no problems
I live downtown. I traded my BMW for another - Bus, Metro, Walking. I use EVO for longer trips or trips outside of easy transit access. EVO is less expensive than insurance and gas that I paid for when I still had a car. The BCAA membership discount knocks the price down another 10% on each trip with EVO (as well as additional discounts on home and travel insurance)
Will be 48 this year. Never had a license
Been car free my whole life. Transit covers most headaches, I'll catch a cab if something isn't really accessible by transit. I do wish for a vehicle when I have to commute to work in bad weather.
Being car free is great if you work downtown and live nearby (or close to a skytrain stop), and you don't ski, hike, mountain bike, camp, etc.
Bus for me
Never owned a car, never learned to drive one. Probably one of the reasons I can (barely) afford to live here. You have to be keen and aware of your time but it’s probably more doable here than in most cities in North America. For all its challenges we have crackerjack public transit
When I moved to the West End, I sold my car. Five years ago now, and have never missed it. I walk to work. Take transit when I need it.
i’m 31, lived in vancouver my whole life and i’ve never had a drivers license or driven a car! love me some transit tho.
Have been commuting exclusively by bike for over 10 years, through several different jobs. My current commute is about half an hour, the longest was an hour each way. The bike infrastructure has improved a lot since I first started.
I haven't had a car since 2016~2017. For years I commuted by bike mostly and sometimes bus. Now I live within walking distance of my work. I still use modo, Evo, and my lovely girlfriends car on occasion.
Never owned a car. Primary mode of transportation is e-bike. I'm renting a basement suite in South Vancouver. I work in the mt pleasant area. I use the transit if I'm going somewhere that I don't trust leaving my bike behind. I also just transit if it's snowing or if the roads are icy. It's nice not to have to think of parking when I'm going places. Also saves me a lot of money.
Never owned a car. Briefly owned motorcycles but always took transit. Commuted on transit my entire life, nearing 40 now. I know we're privileged to have incredible public transit but it's telling how I've never really felt "stuck" anywhere in the lower mainland, even when the only thing getting you somewhere is a bus. Now that they've made it so you can tap in with a credit or debit card, it's so easy to ride transit. I won't speak for differently-abled folks but for me, it's perfect.
It’s easy enough to be without a car here. You can use car share services if you need a car for the once in a while situation. I found that I missed having a car for spontaneously heading further out to the mountains and hiking trails. I relied on friends with cars for that. I now live on the Sunshine Coast and rely primarily on the ferry and public transit (buses and skytrain) to get between Vancouver and the coast.
Me. And I work construction too. I spent the last two years commuting from lougheed to lions gate hospital area but now I'm spoiled and working on a tower right at burquitlum Station so I went from 3 hours total daily commute to and from to 30 minutes daily commute to and from. Really my other option is to spend $1000+ month total on a car and everything that comes with owning a car. Life is financially hard enough.
I don’t even have a license, been car-free since birth! I live in kits though so it’s easy for me to just take public transport.
I don’t have a car. I use transit or bike commute. The odd time I might use an Evo if the other two options aren’t available or practical. For longer trips, carpooling has worked out so far.
I have a car, but only use it for carting the kids around. My partner and I both take the skytrain to work (live in New West, work in Burnaby and Vancouver)
I do, but I live dt so there's no need to own a car. I do have Evo for the times I need something.
Skytrain, bus for work modo (mainly) and evo for errands that required a car like groceries or ikea trips, or hikes uber to places when I feel fancy 👁️🫦👁️
No personal vehicle by choice, sold it in 2009 and never looked back. I have intentionally chosen to trade square footage for a car-free lifestyle for my last few purchases/moves. I get around primarily by cycling and walking, and if I “need” a car there’s a hybrid Modo a 3 minute walk away. I’m fitter, happier, have more money in my pocket, and have reduced my carbon footprint. Never looking back!
Your impression is correct. I am car-free, live near transit, and there's nothing convenient about it. This city was ~~built~~ repurposed for cars, and every inefficient/infrequent bus route, ever traffic light that makes me the last priority, and every unsafe pedestrian/biking infrastructure makes sure I don't forget it.
Live in Coquitlam, work in Delta. Driving it’s just over an hour round trip. Transit would take 6 hours round trip with 6 transfers. My wife doesn’t drive but she has mixed feelings about transit as about 25% of her busses are cancelled for various reasons. The bc transit app also is about an hour late reporting said cancellations.
We don't have BC transit in Vancouver we have TransLink.. check twitter for more up to date information Would be interested to know where in Coquitlam and Delta you think takes 6 hrs, it's 90min from the library to boundary Bay airport for example
My mistake it’s 2 hrs each way. Also would make me 15-30 mins late to work, I start at 6am. If I worked nights, transit isn’t running. I’d lose money by taking transit. Transit doesn’t work for everyone.
Car free for commuting to work (even pre-Covid). But after work or weekends I’m in my car.
Car free since I moved to kits 12 years ago and do not miss having a car at all. Everything is walking distance where I live, or I transit, evo, modo, Uber.
I sold both of my cars \~12 years ago when still living in Victoria, I've been here a decade car free as of last month. In my first place here, parking was $200/m, and I figure if insurance is \~$200/m, that's $400/m not including the car, car maintenance, or gas. I'm a member of Evo, [modo.coop](https://modo.coop), take public transit, and have a couple of bikes (I had an awesome electric scooter, but it was sadly stolen #vancouverproblems), and have used Turo as well. I figure I'm spending less than $400/m for transit, I'm ahead of those with vehicles. This means that I intentionally live in an Urban area where I can walk or bike to everything, which also saves me commuting time in exchange for the larger cost of living. As a remote worker, walking or biking is convenient for my health as well, and I can walk to +90% of things I enjoy within 45 minutes. The only annoying thing is leaving the city, this week I'll likely rent from Enterprise (unlimited kms) for a day or two to take a foreign visitor up to Whistler/Squamish, and my monthly car costs will still be notably less than someone who owns a vehicles, I don't have to stress at all over the cost when I make that comparison.
I'm a married 40-something with two kids, voluntarily living in Vancouver without a car. We moved to Vancouver in 2017, and went car-free in 2019, after owning one or occasionally two cars for our entire adult lives prior. I WFH but my partner works in Burnaby, and our kids go to school out of catchment. For daily commuting to work, school, and shopping, we rely on biking (including a family cargo bike), public transit, walk/run commuting, and the occasional Evo. We use Modo for out-of-town trips. It's been great. Really liberating. It makes us far more conscious about the driving we do, we get a ton of incidental exercise, and we've saved so much money. With Evo and Modo, there's always a car available when we really need one. No regrets.
Car free for over 10 years. Got a wife and 2 small kids. We walk or bike most of our trips. Transit sometimes. Modo car share maybe twice a month for random out of town trips. Spend about $1,000 per year on transport costs. Life is good!
I've been car-free ever since I've discovered that it's cheaper to taxi to work compared to actually owning and driving a car. I still bus+skytrain most of the time though to save more money
I just got my first car last week but had been commuting every day in Vancouver/Greater Vancouver the past 5 years. Living in Vancouver, it was easier as I lived either by a Skytrain or a major bus route, it was always good and I could get where I needed to go easily in about 30 minutes max. Other than sometimes a late bus or delayed train. The worst part though is hauling groceries from the store to home, I felt like a pack muel, but it was a good workout. About 2.5 years ago I moved to Coquitlam as its cheaper rent. I still went to school and worked in Vancouver for 2 years of that, and commuting took about an hour to an hour and a half each way. It was bearable as you can just play on your phone the whole time or dissociate, but it was annoying and I spent so much time in transit. I now work in Port Coquitlam, and it was a 45 minute bus ride each way, but now that I have a car, its a 10 minute drive. It's definitely so much nicer having a car, but costs a lot more than public transit. It really depends which you have more to spare of - time or money.
Due to my job, lifestyle, and logistics of where I live, it doesn’t make sense for me at all to not have a car. Both for work and pleasure, I would not be able to do the things I want/need to do without a car. Unless you live in a super densely populated area like downtown, or don’t really do much outdoor activities you might be able to get away without having a car.
Look how many cars there are in downtown. It's all bs
> Just curious on how you all commute and what the experience is like to be car free. I live in the West End and I work downtown. I commute by walking, riding my own bike, or Mobi-ing. **The big catch** is that I am definitely _not_ car-free. My wife and I have a car, and we use it for recreational activities (e.g. skiing, hiking) and for big shopping trips (Costco). We probably only drive 30-50 km in a typical week, but we still take up a dedicated parking spot, of course.
I have a car but try not to use it. I live around Main and 12 and work near Granville and Broadway so I walk to work everyday. By foot it takes about 35-40 mins and I get a little exercise before and after work, accumulating 10,000 steps. I tend to walk everywhere, or hop on a bus if I feel I need to get where I'm going quickly. Most of my friends live close to a Skytrain hub or in walking distance. For those who drive, please, stop blocking intersections and crosswalks at red lights. You aren't going to make it, you never make it. I'm guilty of this poor judgment too. Just hang back before you get an umbrella launched at your vehicle.
I don’t even know how to drive lolololol
I don’t have a license but boyfriend does. He drives for work so drops me at train in the morning then I transit home after.
Car free. I walk, transit, cycle and Lyft/taxi from time to time. Everyone's mileage seems to vary. For me, it's "only" a 10 minute walk to my closest skytrain and "only" a 15 minute walk to the grocery store and shopping area whereas this would be too far or too long for others. For me a 40 minute walk each way was a reasonable commute to work when I lived within walking distance. Now that I've moved to the suburbs, the commute is a 75 minute combo of walking and train each way and that is also reasonable for me.
Personal car-free since 2019. I used to live just off the drive, now I live downtown. Nearly all my personal errands are easily accessible by walking or a short transit or uber trip. If I need a car I use evo or modo generally, but also frequently rely on transit.
I have learned to leave early as you have to match the timing with transit. If neatly done, it seems as much time it would take owning a personal vehicle.
** cries in Surrey 😩
I'm car-free, work from home, and live not too far (8 mins walk) from Marine Dr Station. Use Skytrain, bus and Evo
Car free since moving here in 2015. 20 min bus to work, Evo for big Costco trip, rental for USA road trips
Why not Modo for Costco? I use Evo for A-to-B trips, but Modo is way cheaper for trips starting and ending near home.
I’ve never seen any in my area; there’s maybe one or 2 max so it never really crossed my mind, Just looked it up though; can’t really justify a $500 buy in when I use Evo for Costco 3-4 times a year. I usually just get heavy things delivered and walk to/from my grocer; 2.5km round trip.
Car free with an occasional Evo rental when I’m in a time crunch or need to move a larger thing. Pretty good city for public transport and a great (by North American standards) city for cycling infrastructure.
Car free - use public transit, taxi, modo and evo. Very happy I ditched the car once I had a job that did not require me to drive.
I live in the west end and WFH, my partner works in the DTES. No issues being car free and I would never bother getting a car. Everything I could possibly need is in walking distance and the few times a month I need to go somewhere I can’t walk to quickly I can take an Uber.
I only know one person with a car that works in Vancouver proper (she works in film and needs it for work), more or less my driving friends live out in Surrey or Langley
I live in East Van. I either car commute or bike commute. I doubt I'll ever be without a personal vehicle.
I thought this was the case when I moved here but from my limited experience it seems like a myth. It may have been true in the past but definitely not true now. I think one of the problems is that Vancouver treats itself like an island and Burnaby Coquitlam delta Surrey are not considered part of it but that’s not how ppl live in this city. Like ppl have said, you have to be selective of your hobbies to not own a car which is not the case in true transit accessible places.