I should mention, Toronto even just opened an "urban" Ikea in the downtown where you can try stuff out and have it delivered!

@vclealj

2 жыл бұрын

I have to go there and take a look.

@ClairvoyantTruth

2 жыл бұрын

Oh, I didn't know it was a different setup! Oh dang, I'll need to check it out as I never go to IKEA as it is in Vaughn.

@divineOrders683

2 жыл бұрын

What is with you. What are you doctor who that must not be named . Little boy 👦

@spinni81

2 жыл бұрын

Don't all IKEA's deliver? That's the only way I shop there. I take the bus there, pick out my stuff and then go to the service desk to arrange delivery for a fee.

@divineOrders683

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah he lives on an air craft carrier

It's nice that Toronto is turning into a less car centric city, they have converted a lot of streets to one-way and add bike lanes, which is really great

@lincolnabraham4695

2 жыл бұрын

What do one way streets do?

@literalyammer

2 жыл бұрын

@@lincolnabraham4695 they remove one lane making space for bigger sidewalks, bus lanes etc, e.g mill st and the esplanade

@michaelrmurphy2734

2 жыл бұрын

Also, Toronto has the TTC which makes it easy to get around without a car.

@RMTransit

2 жыл бұрын

I'm really loving it!

@sblack53

2 жыл бұрын

Only Old Toronto and to some extent East York are becoming less car-dependant. North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, and parts of City of York, are still very unwalkable.

As another member of the car-free gang, I'd also point out that you can pay for a *lot* of cabs and rail tickets before you even get close to a car payment. Heck, if you factor in fuel, insurance and taxes, you can upgrade to first class and still be better off taking transit rather than driving.

@igotes

2 жыл бұрын

Yep. I joined a local "car club", so if I do need a car for a bigger shopping trip or whatever, I can rent one for a couple of hours, and even splash out for a few days rental for events like Christmas. As you say, with the significant savings from not owning a vehicle, it's not so bad paying a bit more for the occasional journey. Most of my local travel is done on a bicycle.

@kiddo817

2 жыл бұрын

Fuel alone is about $400-$700 a month these days even if you just commute a couple times a week. Plus $250 for insurance and you are looking at least $1000 to maintain a vehicle.

@igotes

2 жыл бұрын

It was costing me nearly £1000 a year just to keep the thing on the road, that's just for insurance and taxes. So it's already looking good before considering fuel, repairs & maintenance.

@michaelrmurphy2734

2 жыл бұрын

@@igotes Me too. But I live in rural Nova Scotia and the nearest town is 10KM away!

@NorthernDG

2 жыл бұрын

In addition to the usual car expenses: payments, fuel, insurance, and maintenance, a car makes you spend more money because of the convenience of going to different restaurants, cinemas, destinations etc. When you don't have a car, you tend to eat a home cooked meal more often, enjoy watching a show at home etc. I've been car free for 17 years now and it blows my mind how much money I've saved which in turn I get to spend on lavish luxury items and nicer home furnishings.

It’s actually nice to meet someone from North America who doesn’t have a car. Me from New York, I have lived a majority of my life without my car, but as I moved out, I needed it

@michaelrmurphy2734

2 жыл бұрын

Of course in NYC you have good MTA transit. Sketchy with homeless and gun toters... After this last week I pity Americans. Things would be so much better WITHOUT the guns!

@Spino2Earth

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelrmurphy2734 I agree.

@RMTransit

2 жыл бұрын

It really is a privilege for folks who live in the city, but I'm slowly seeing this change as well!

@jetfan925

2 жыл бұрын

I'm from southwest Nassau County (West Hempstead) with bus routes and a train station nearby.

@joermnyc

2 жыл бұрын

@@jetfan925 my issue with the LIRR is: outside of rush hour the service pattern can be awful. 30-60 minutes between trains, when you’re used to the subway being at most a 15-minute wait outside of late at night, when you look at the timetable and see that missing a train means the next one is in an HOUR, is brutal, especially if you aren’t familiar with the bus map (we were in Great Neck, missed the train by about a minute due to a slow traffic light and tons of traffic so we couldn’t just jaywalk and run. Thankfully that time it was only 30 minutes to wait, and not an hour because it was getting close to rush hour, so they probably were moving the trains back into Penn Station for the crowds.

I’ve actually stored my car during the winter to avoid dealing with snow removal and I didn’t missed it once! So now I’m selling it and planning on living car free!

@rudinah8547

2 жыл бұрын

Have you considered replacing it with an ebike?

@superj8502

2 жыл бұрын

@@rudinah8547 why not a regular one?

@Mgameing123

2 жыл бұрын

@@superj8502 because some journeys are too long to use a regular bike! But its just a kilometer away you might aswell get a regular bike!

@superj8502

2 жыл бұрын

@@Mgameing123 i do my 2km commute on a regular bike in at most 10 minutes, which is faster than by car (if you factor in rush hour traffic, it's often less than half the time). I would say that unless it's a steep uphill climb of more than a few hundred of meters or you gotta be on that bike all day every day (delivery guy) you don't need an e-bike. They are meant to be niche products for edge cases. But then again, i'm quite fit. If you're just starting out you might feel the difference a lot more, aldough i wanna point out that buying a regular bike and getting fit (either at the gym or at a park) is like 10 times cheaper than buying an ebike.

@Mgameing123

2 жыл бұрын

@@superj8502 I bike alot aswell but im thinking more about 6 - 12 km

You missed one really important aspect of living car-free: the freedom it offers children. I grew up in the suburbs of NYC. I could walk into town, but only because the house my parents own is close enough to the town center. If I wanted to see my friends or go anywhere other than town or NYC (accessible by LIRR from town), one of us would need to get a round-trip ride from our parents. It made it much harder to set up anything. I live near Boston now, and even fairly young kids around here take the bus or the T to see their friends any time they want, taking advantage of reduced fares for youth. They also almost all live close enough to town center to just walk it, and sidewalks make it safe to do so. They have much more social life than I did because of this, and their parents aren't acting as taxi drivers for them. Also, with gas near $5/gallon here, I definitively do not regret selling my car.

@Rubycon99

2 жыл бұрын

True, I grew up in San Francisco and by 10 I was pretty going everywhere on my own.

@haisheauspforte1632

2 жыл бұрын

That is really cool, but 5$ per gallon? That's incredibly cheap for European standards, at the moment it's like 7-8$ per gallon. Driving everywhere with these prices will make you poor, you choose transit anyways. Or just bike/walk

@Kevin15047

2 жыл бұрын

@@haisheauspforte1632 Yeah, the USA subsidizes gasoline to make it cheaper at the pump. And then watch the same people buying the subsidized gasoline ask why we should pay for public transit "with their tax dollars." 🙄 Of course, we Americans are generally averse to spending money on anything that would be considered a public good. Education? healthcare? Transit? Nope. We don't want anything that could lead to us being mistaken for a first world country.

@shieldgenerator7

Жыл бұрын

people might hate me for this, but i kind of want gas prices to go up more if it means more people will choose public transit and bikes

@jellybeansi

Жыл бұрын

The opportunities too. Propel channel made a great video about someone who pointed out that their children have easy, car-free access to the local library, which is great for education and such.

Even if you *need* a car, giving everyone else alternatives helps ease the load on the roads you take. So it's a win win.

@DiogenesOfCa

Жыл бұрын

If 10% of drivers were to switch to bikes/public transportation there would be no traffic jams. Car-centric people don't get this.

@themaskedtalker2171

Жыл бұрын

@@DiogenesOfCa I am a car enthusiast. But I detest driving on north American roads. The problem is not that some people drive... It is just that there are more cars than people. And fact is, some people do not actually like driving. Fact is, if you even took just the people who don't actually like driving, and allowed them to commute in any way they pleased, traffic would not be a problem, and only those who actually like driving, and those who know they can would actually drive. Think about it; in an economy as wrecked as this one is, most people are going to want to save money. The only reason why everyone drives is because the infrastructure only allows for driving. So, Americans choosing the path of least resistance over the best monetary value, they just keep driving because it is easier. And not to mention the propaganda that being car free is "anti freedom". Is it truly anti freedom to have the freedom to choose how I get around? Free to save money how I see fit? Free to live in a place that isn't hostile, and stinks like gasoline?

I've lived car-free in the US for 10 years now, and in a variety of cities in the midwest and south that people would say are car-dependent. It is entirely possible if you plan your life around it - similar to how people in the 'burbs plan their lives around needing a car. People vastly underestimate the cost of car ownership and underestimate the cost difference between living closer to a downtown compared to suburbs.

Well done. I last owned a car in 1986. Since then I've relied exclusively on public transport plus the occasional taxi or rental vehicle. Cars are bottomless pits that gulp money voraciously. I've paid off several mortgages on the basis of not having a car.

@shieldgenerator7

Жыл бұрын

"Cars are bottomless pits that gulp money voraciously." couldnt have said it better myself

@DiogenesOfCa

Жыл бұрын

I bought my first house when I was 23, I wasn't rich. I was able to afford it because I didn't own a car. Seven mile bike commute to work and a bike rack for groceries.

I live without a car and am in one of the much, smaller cities in Ontario - Kingston. Transit here has gotten SO MICH better in the last few years with the express routes that have nicer, dedicated stops, stick to major streets and have service every 10 minutes or quicker in peak times. (I think they won awards or set records a couple of years ago? Pre-pandemic. Might make a neat video) For the most part, I manage just great. There's a grocery store nearby for frequent, small trips, transit gets me to the bus and train stations for intercity travel, and I get my steps in. There's really only two stroad-like areas that aren't the most pedestrian friendly, but otherwise everything is pretty easily accessible - and I don't even live in our downtown! Fun/sad fact: We DO have an airport, but it ISN'T accessible by transit, so I've never actually seen it or flown out of or into it despite the number of years I've lived here.

@kiddo817

2 жыл бұрын

We definitely need more cities like this: smaller to mid-sized towns with high quality local transit (connected with reliable regional intercity rail). That should be the goal of every smaller city in Canada.

@vidiia

2 жыл бұрын

I went on exchange to the Uni there, and in hindsight I was incredibly lucky that it was so pedestrian-friendly and well-connected by bus relative to other places like it. I just checked the map thinking 'Surely there must be a bus to the airport. Look, there's one that stops nearby!'. It stops 2 kilometers away, and the roads to it are just hard shoulder. I forgot to adjust for the scale of North America. Why doesn't Kingston have a bus service to its own damn airport???

@RMTransit

2 жыл бұрын

I still need to check out Kingston's transit - university towns definitely do a better job to cater to folks who want to live without a car!

@_framedlife

2 жыл бұрын

GRT (KW) was on a roll until COVID.

@riograndelocos9639

2 жыл бұрын

ive visited kingston once - was really impressive how well the transit was

I lived my first 18 years without a car in a small town, and things were good and walkable, up until a walmart moved in and killed off alot of the retail in my town when I was 10 years old. There was a general store downtown that died, so now everyone has to drive 5 miles away to get to the walmart.

@n.b.3521

2 жыл бұрын

That's so sad. 😢

@linuxman7777

2 жыл бұрын

@@n.b.3521 It is, and we fought the walmart, but in the end... if we didn't have it, some other town would have gotten it, and taken the business away

@n.b.3521

2 жыл бұрын

@@linuxman7777 I understand. I lived in Guelph, Ontario during the decade they fought Walmart. I think at the time Guelph had some kind of record for keeping them out so long, but unfortunately, they lost eventually too. 😢

@cloudyskies5497

Жыл бұрын

This happened to my dad's hometown in the rural south. It killed nearly all the local businesses, made it a ghost town.

Moving from Windsor to Toronto soon and I'm looking forward to selling my car and getting around by transit. Really hope smaller Ontario cities start taking transit and walkability more seriously

@Zarrx

2 жыл бұрын

I jumped from Windsor to London for school (no car), to Hamilton for work and needed a car (driving for the job) and then to Toronto and back to car free. It's pretty awesome. East or West end are pretty solid choices, west end has been really enjoyable for me, been here about 2 years.

@PlanetLinuxChannel

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed. Fortunately it seems more and more cities, towns and governments in general across Canada are taking transit seriously and really investing in it.

I'm 41 and have never owned or driven a car. But then I do live in a city with 'okay' public transport and some fairly decent bike infrastructure. I live in the UK. If I need to visit family in other towns or cities, I just take the train. There are occasional times when use of a car would have been helpful but it's nice not to have that millstone around your neck. Although granted I could just occasionally rent one if I had a licence.

@jillengel4124

2 жыл бұрын

I’ve kept my driver’s license in case I’d need a rental car.

@user-kc1tf7zm3b

2 жыл бұрын

Earn and secure your driver’s licence. More people would take you _more_ seriously if you had your licence. People in Australia who cannot drive are frowned upon. 🇦🇺

@user-kc1tf7zm3b

2 жыл бұрын

@@jillengel4124 Travelling overseas without access to a rental car can be frustrating. Most places around the world are not accessible with public transport.

@AlCatSplat

2 жыл бұрын

@@user-kc1tf7zm3b "Most places" minus Europe and east Asia, so that doesn't leave many places left.

@davidty2006

2 жыл бұрын

My nan has lived without a car for over 60 years and still doesn't. Despite litterally everyone else in the family drives. For a deprived town in the north east theres better bus service than entire US Cities... And there is the ability to walk everywhere though cycling infrastructure is very little to non existant.

I live in Toronto. I have my driver's license but rarely drive since the age of 18 ( I am 55) because I suffer from dyspraxia and driving is a challenge. I use transit and Uber and I love walking. And I bought my condo across from Lawrence West subway station.

I’m in an awkward place. I live in Toronto and do so pretty happily without a car. However, I often have to make long trips across the city and for that, transit is kinda lacking. Most of these trips are definitely possible, however they take up a significant part of my day. For example a trip to and from the airport takes up to 2hrs one way! That’s 4 hours of transit per day! Not to mention it’s expensive as ever! Toronto would definitely benefit from fare integration on a region wide scale.

@michaelrmurphy2734

2 жыл бұрын

Is that Presto thing not a one stop for all transit card?

@RMTransit

2 жыл бұрын

Fare integration would help out a TON - It's certainly not perfect and a large part of why I moved out of the suburbs but it'll be better!

@DanTheCaptain

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelrmurphy2734 Prssto works for pretty much all transit services within the GTHA, however each agency has their own set of fares. Meaning when you cross the borders of municipalities, you often have to tap again to pay said transit agencies fares. Some have discounts from agency to agency transfers but some do not.

@timp7447

2 жыл бұрын

@@cmmartti as of two months ago, there is some fair integration. For example, if you switch from GO to one of the others then the non-GO first leg of the trip is free. Most transit systems except for TTC are part of this

@timp7447

2 жыл бұрын

@@cmmartti ah I had no idea Barrie had already been fare integrated. I was curious about how the $10 GO weekend pass specifically works with the various agencies, here's what I'm guessing. All the transit agencies where you can show a day pass you may be able to show the weekend pass. Brampton, Burlington, Durham, Guelph, Milton, Oakville, YRT are listed on the GO website. I've never tried with the $10/15 weekend passes myself, I'll have to see if they accept it. If so, it means you can travel vast swathes of lower Ontario just for $10 or $7.50 a day on weekends. Worth a try

I've lived without a car for almost 20 years. I survived in FL, OR, And CA without a car. its a different way of living, and you do have to do planning as mentioned in the video. But its really not hard at all to do it in the US especially in the urban areas.

Its also worth mentioning that an electric cargo bike is a big help in going car free. I can get to work 8 miles away without breaking a sweat, and pick up the kids and a load of groceries on the way home.

@dfwrider3830

2 жыл бұрын

@lwf51 it's a bike with cargo carrying capacity, some have a large space up front for large things, others have the rest end extended so you can hang extra bags on the sides or put some kids on top. The possibilities are endless.

@jellybeansi

Жыл бұрын

I so wish I could fit a cargo bike into my building's elevator. Alas, they're a bit too long lol. A cruiser ebike it will have to be, at least for now.

I also live in TO without a car. I'll never buy one, the cost seems insane for the privilege of likely driving it to work and paying for parking. I bought my cart for my groceries years ago and it is fantastic.

@jillengel4124

2 жыл бұрын

Love my cart. Parking would cost $250/month were I live. Cheaper to use transit.

@JeremyMacDonald1973

2 жыл бұрын

I bought a backpack, well 2, one is a little one like most students have and one is a serious camping backpack - which I use for large shopping trips - thing can carry a lot if carefully packed.

@tonywalters7298

2 жыл бұрын

We have been sold the idea that driving every day to a souless job is freedom, and that people are lazy if they don't subscribe to that idea

You don't have to live in a city with rapid transit to live car free, i live in Quebec city which isn't that big or transit-oriented, yet I've never had a car in my life and I get along totally well with the bus! (tho that's probably because i live right next to two brt lines)

@crm8769

2 жыл бұрын

I think Québec City is pretty unique, idk if it would work as well in other NA cities with a similar population

@Mgameing123

2 жыл бұрын

And now you are getting a tram!

@penelopeboivin3191

2 жыл бұрын

@@Mgameing123 eventually... the project was supposed to start in 2017 and be finished in 2026, we just started in 2022 so it's gonna take a while 😭

@danieldaniels7571

2 жыл бұрын

I lived quite well in Jackson, Wyoming without a car

When I was young in China (before the subway boom), riding the bus was actually pretty quick and simple. But moving to California, if you don't have a car, you're very limited in location and stuff.

@DiogenesOfCa

Жыл бұрын

I used to walk the three miles from the trolley to my house as the bus came every 45 minutes! That's insulting.

for the section about groceries, i'd also like to add something i picked up on in a Not Just Bikes video, which is that when people live in car centric places, they are forced to make weekly trips to the supermarket because of how much effort the trip to it is everytime; whereas in a denser, or otherwise walkable/bikeable/transit-oriented place, where supermarkets are well dispersed and accessible, smaller trips and smaller purchases can be made multiple times a week. living in NYC, my family goes to the supermarket 2-4 times a week, and we usually walk to it. we have like 5 supermarkets within walking distance and tons more by transit lol

Public transport has alot of benefits despite my parents both owning cars they never use them to go to the city and there is one main reason, parking. Parking tickets cost a considerable amount of money espacially in the city urban centers. Here in melbourne the vast tram network can take you to every corner of the city and since the cbd is entirley in the free tram zone you dont need to pay money to use it

@RMTransit

2 жыл бұрын

Yep, driving is expensive and it needs to be because infrastructure for cars is expensive and takes up loads of room!

Toronto has a very amasing and unique ravine system that you dont find in cities of the same size

@lemonade4181

2 жыл бұрын

Very true. Especially when compared to Los Angeles.

@JeremyMacDonald1973

2 жыл бұрын

Fantastic biking - I especially love going up the Don Valley and then across Taylor Creek. You pass through so many interesting areas.

@n.b.3521

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, it's fantastic! I'm lucky that I can actually get from my condo to my office 90% on trails.

@RMTransit

2 жыл бұрын

It's great, but to be fair it doesn't exist in other cities because it's a fairly unique Toronto thing!

@yanqingliu1761

2 жыл бұрын

@@n.b.3521 Aha let me guess do you live in Flemington Park?

No driver's license gang represent!

@RMTransit

2 жыл бұрын

I have one but purely for ID purposes now - The fact that driving is such an integral part of our identity that a driver's license is seen as the de facto piece of ID really is part of the problem!

@Pensyfan19

2 жыл бұрын

@@RMTransit True. I'm trying to get a road test for my license for the same reason, but I don't plan to use it for driving too often.

@EricaGamet

2 жыл бұрын

@@RMTransit Do you not have just an ID that would work? In most (all?) states here in the U.S. you can get just a state ID card. I also have a drivers license, because I still drive others' cars (when I visit family, rent a car, car share, etc.).

@Xachremos

2 жыл бұрын

@@EricaGamet Ontario does have a basic ID as well. Québec however does not.

@alcubierrevj

Жыл бұрын

Non-drivers license for 6 years.

I lived car free in Hong Kong for 8 years. Everything is so easy there, the MTR and bus system is great!

@ansonchan7323

2 жыл бұрын

Former Hong Kong resident here. You can get to anywhere in hong kong without a car and properly faster then driving a car 😏.

@jquas1965

Жыл бұрын

I’m American and I spent 7 days in Hong Kong and I never rented a car cause I never drove on the left. There was so much public transportation and ferries it was not necessary for me to have a car or hail a cab.

I was told by someone you couldn’t live without a car in Japan outside of Tokyo… some people just seem to have weird ideas about living without a car.

@kennantjessavi7648

2 жыл бұрын

True, outside major cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Sendai, etc there's not many public transport ...

@fernbedek6302

2 жыл бұрын

@@kennantjessavi7648 Osaka, Sendai, Kyoto, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Hiroshima… there’s so many cities outside Tokyo with urban rail systems, not to mention excellent regional rail and high density mixed use neighbourhoods making walking and biking more practical. And buses seem decent enough in most Japanese cities?

@kennantjessavi7648

2 жыл бұрын

@@fernbedek6302 Yeah that's true

@railotaku

2 жыл бұрын

@@fernbedek6302 Rural Japan is much more of a problem, some lines might only get a single KiHa a couple of times per day.

@fernbedek6302

2 жыл бұрын

@@railotaku Mhm. Living in the countryside is one thing, but ignoring Osaka and Nagoya and so one for being ‘outside of Tokyo’ is another.

Agreed: in the bigger cities a car isn't really necessary. I've lived in Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto without a car, renting one every now and then as needed. Even with a car, if my destination was downtown I'd still use transit. Faster, cheaper, less hassle. If I rented a car one weekend a month it would be cheaper than owning and maintaining (and insuring) one of my own. It's different in the smaller centres, of course. Here in Kamloops (second largest city in the B.C. interior, after Kelowna) a transit-only life would be extremely limited.

I problem I see in American cities moreso (though it can apply to Canada too) is that the downtowns are very small. As you go west or south the historic and walkable downtowns only stretch for a small area, or they're just for commerce and office space. With rising costs of rent all around it makes it harder to live in such areas since only a few fortunate ones can get in at all. Toronto even in its suburbs has big transit-oriented developments along rail corridors and this hasn't happened yet really at any noticeable scale in the US. There are cheaper cities to move to, but then that starts getting into gentrification and its effects. Though even in those places I like to think less in terms of going car-free and looking at individual trips. Maybe _some_ trips can be done via bus. Maybe you can park-and-ride your way to downtown instead of going all the way and stressing over parking. The car might still be in your life but it can be lessened a bit. Transit coverage in sprawl areas isn't fantastic but sometimes just the stress of not having to be the one driving is worth it if you can afford the time.

As a former New Yorker, I get all these points about how to live car-free. However, it's not for everybody. The farther south you go in the U.S. the more car-dependent it is. I now live in Central Florida, and while I love it here, the thought of being car-free doesn't exist; mostly, because it would be impossible.

Also worth mentioning is if someone is close enough to the grocery store that they can bike to it, it's possible they don't need to get a huge mound of groceries in the first place (this could also help reduce food waste) since they can make more small trips, as opposed to a single big trip.

@nathanlandau9408

11 ай бұрын

Buying food in smaller quantities more often means you can get fresher food.

I live and work in Scarborough and is proud that I am the only person in my company who bike to work everyday. I do not like the car centric Scarborough design. However, I absolutely love to bike myself everywhere. I also love taking the streetcar. Toronto streetcars are amazing. They are smooth and quite as a subway but beautiful looking out the windows. Especially, they go through some toronto suburbs where it is not car dependent!! That is amazing. Finally, car insurance in Toronto is ridiculously (reasonablly) expensive. I feel very happy that I do not need to pay it every month.

The biggest thing I've found being car free for about 10 years in greater Vancouver is that having area knowledge to inform where you choose to live is the biggest key. Even in neighbourhoods that are less walkable, you can usually find a place that's near groceries, a transit hub, and a couple other anemities and easily get along car free just fine. It won't work everywhere, but if you know your area you can often do okay. I'd also be mindful of the apparent trajectory of your neighbourhood. Is it getting denser? Are there new midrises being built? Does your mayor care about improving core areas? Denser neighbourhoods tend to be more resilient to economic shifts, but are certainly not immune to them.

Preach! I don't have a car either. Life is easier this way! Living in the core of a big city (Seattle) does help of course, even if it's not a top transit city. Going car-free is actually pretty popular here...in 2016 the local paper figured out that the average new apartment had 0.6 spaces per unit, because a lot of residents don't have cars.

Now I know I made the right decision to move to Salt Lake City, Utah for a job. I can walk to work, even if it takes 20-25 minutes to do so, and lots of places are within easy reach thanks to the TRAX light rail, and I can walk to other, closer places if I want to. While I do have a car, it's back east in Virginia. All my life, I've lived more or less in car-dependent suburbia, so living near downtown has been kind of a dream for me. And SLC rents are nowhere near as bad as some cities in the US.

Thanks for your perspective. Many people I know have a car, but don't use it for commuting. Certainly commuting downtown for work is expensive and stressful. This is a reaonable compromise for people who use both urban and suburban parts of the city.

@michaelrmurphy2734

2 жыл бұрын

Little wonder work at home has taken off during the pandemic. Now workplaces want workers to come back downtown again to offices. Why? Depending on the job, not everyone needs to.

@Xenomorph-hb4zf

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelrmurphy2734 They want people back in offices because they have office leases and don't want to waste money.

@michaelrmurphy2734

2 жыл бұрын

@@Xenomorph-hb4zf You could say the office leases ARE the waste of money. Have a decentralized workforce. Empty office buildings downtown? Not a bad idea. And rents and leases are a tax writeoff. That all the rest of us pay for!

@weatheranddarkness

2 жыл бұрын

I can't imagine commuting by car downtown in any city I've ever visited.

Perhaps families need to question whether they need 2+ cars...

@RMTransit

2 жыл бұрын

It's crazy to think that quite a few families would purchase a car for each of their children!

I live in Melbourne, I'm 64 and decided some 10 years ago that a car was a waste of time and money. I estimate doing without is saving me AU$5-10,000 per year. Buses run outside my unit, one tram line is 2 minutes walk away, another is 5 minutes away (& Melbourne trams are sensational) and the nearest train station is 7 minutes away. I don't actually use public transport much because everything I need to buy for day to day living is within 3 minutes walk - literally around the corner. Even the nearest mall is only 15 minutes walk, or quicker by tram. I cycle to work, although since COVID I've been working mostly from home. The biggest hassle is visiting friends and family who live out in the suburbs. If worse comes to worst, I can always use the share car that's about 30 seconds from my front door. Best of all, I love the variety and atmosphere of the inner suburbs, and Melbourne cafes are justifiably famous. Cars are a trap.

@michaelrmurphy2734

2 жыл бұрын

And of course, Melbourne is a "big city" of several million people. Transit is easier to access. And I live in the province that has a Sydney. No, not New South Wales. The "other" Sydney!

@errinundra9798

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelrmurphy2734 Unless you live along one of the rail corridors, public transport in the outer suburbs of Melbourne is less than ordinary.

@MrDisasterboy

2 жыл бұрын

I am 55 and live in Perth, WA. Haven't had a car for over 30 years. Rarely an issue.

I live in Los Angeles without a car and while it may sometimes be annoying because many bus routes are hourly and the bus route that serves the street in front of my apartment has a headway of 15-20 minutes (which is pretty good for this place) it can sometimes be hard but on the flip side, I spend only $50-60 a month on transportation (excludes occasional trips on Amtrak or Metrolink).

I used to have a car but due to medical issues, my doctor said I can't drive anymore. I was about to fight him but I decided to try it out with taking transit only. It turns out I actually like it plus it saves me a ton of $$.

@RMTransit

Жыл бұрын

Thats excellent to hear!

@fluorite1965

6 ай бұрын

That's my situation fortunately I can walk or ride my bike everywhere.

@orianeasmore8941

6 ай бұрын

@@fluorite1965 Isn't it depressing without a car. I'm 31 no car. Can't go places unless it on the bus and people ask for gas Eben if I don't have gas money. It's so depressing. I envy people with a car.

I'm 60 and have never owned a car which shocks many people as my city is not particularly transit friendly. I live in the downtown core and ironically when I purchased my home it was considered an undesirable location and was cheaper than the suburbs. Unfortunately the downtown is slowly getting hollowed out with more and more businesses moving to the big box locations but I'm managing.

Thank you for your heartfelt words! I'm actually a Portuguese international student from UBC currently in the final year of my Master's degree, having lived in Vancouver and Kamloops. Although Kamloops is a small city, it is not bad, and the shopping bus can also meet the demand. I currently live in the neighborhood of Dubar and I would say that the upgraded Vancouver public transit system is great! I own a Camry and have a Class 5 license the year before, but I often have to deal with super congestion nightmares! I don't drive very much at the moment, I cycle and hike a lot and use public transportation. BTW: The ICBC examiner for my level 7 road test was really rude and ridiculous, but my level 5 road test examiner was awesome! In the powerful and big ICBC, they really have the ability to ruin your life and life plan (my Chinese roommate was unlucky to fail the road test four times before getting his driver's license). Objectively, it still depends on your personal needs (I'm not criticizing any driver), but "you have a car, you have to drive" is not a reason to morally kidnap and ridicule other people.

I’ve always loved driving. I’ve made a career out of it. However, I have learned that I get much more joy out of a long walk or bike ride. Just like when I was a kid.

The last point you mentioned is so undervalued. One of the things I missed most during the pandemic probably is just running into people, meeting vague acquaintances that I enjoy speaking but am not really close to. Those vague connections all completely fell away during covid. I am now doubly appreciating the time I spent walking and biking around town and waving to people I vaguely know from a bar or a venue or so. By the way, another nice social thing about being car free is the amount of time it offers to spend with friends chatting. Suppose you've been at the movies and you'd like to go home; chances are you have another 10 minutes with them or so while you walk or bike in the same direction. Those minutes are 100% of the time lost if you both go to your own car. Especially for teens and children this really is valuable social time.

I lived in Pittsburgh for nearly three years without a car (clutch the pearls!) and, because i was located one block away from the city’s busiest bus lines and near grocery, shops and my job- i made it work. however, i knew it wasn’t a long term solution and i do drive and own a car, but i still live 20 minutes from my work sites.

Respect for being able to do this in North America. I live car free with my family in Amsterdam for the last 25 years. It is easy here. The only period I owned a car was when I lived in LA for six months. We considered it to dangerous to cycle in LA due to the extreme traffic.

I also do not have a car but I live in a suburb. I live close to a metro stop and close to an area where there are a lot of buses. Plus I can bike and 2 grocery stores in walking distance. Save a crap load of money.

In Canada and the US you almost HAVE to have a car if you have a family. In Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, Japan, you do not. The key to public transportation is whether families can use the system to safely get where they need to go in a timely fashion.. It is different for single people, for couples without children or for empty nesters. Children change the entire equation.

@TEAMproject2010

2 жыл бұрын

This context is important. Age and family status matter just as much as urban/suburban/rural. So does climate. Vancouver and Toronto have some of the mildest winters in Canada.

@bobbbxxx

2 жыл бұрын

I don't think that's any different than your other. Europeans have cars too when they have families

5 months ago I got rid of my car after about 25 years of nearly continuous car ownership. So far, I haven't missed it. My bicycle with luggage rack can carry enough stuff for most of my regular shopping needs, plus I'm saving money and getting a bit more exercise! Public transit isn't great around here, but it'll do, usually. Obviously it's not an option available to everyone - for many years I've had to drive to work, usually to places with poor or non-existent public transport. I live in a fairly small city in the UK. A few years ago I visited Canada (BC), I remember it being pretty treacherous trying to walk from the Airbnb in suburban Vancouver to the nearest supermarket. There were however regular trolley buses and metro services into town, which was great, but outside those service areas it was very car dominated. Pedestrian access seemed like an afterthought.

@michaelrmurphy2734

2 жыл бұрын

In new suburban areas in North America it usually is. Often without sidewalks.

Hello! As a European living in East Asia, I find your channel really thrilling. It's so exciting to come across a North American like you and to listen to your experience and analysis. Your insight is really interesting and I'm slowly becoming an addict of your videos. I hope that more people in North America will start thinking like you and that you will get more TOD and more decent urban and interurban transit in the coming years. All the best to you and your fellow countrymen!

A lot of people have this sort of knee jerk reaction where they bring up all the trips that they can only make by car. I think it is valuable to point out all the trips that they could be making without one. Reducing car dependence does not need to mean everybody gets rid of their cars tomorrow. Allowing multi-car families to become single-car families is already a huge improvement.

GREAT VIDEO!! 🤗🤗 I've lived CAR-FREE for 40 years now and never looked back! You failed to mention all the money you save and can enjoy elsewhere because you don't have the burden of car payments. I live in the suburbs of New Jersey, and you have to be a diehard fan of the CAR-FREE community to not be so car dependent. 🍷🍷😎😎

I live in Pittsburgh, and I totally could live without a car here except I really like to go camping, and I need a car to get out to the camp sites. Otherwise, my car pretty much sits idle most days.

I live without a car too! Living in NYC makes it pretty easy.

Yeah, I noticed that a lot of Europeans don't seem to get how nice Old Toronto is to walk / bike / get transit in. I lived on the Danforth and walked basically everywhere except Costco, it was pretty great.

So last week we had RM sneaking a cameo with Jago Hazard. Now we have him name dropping NJB. Elsewhere on my KZread feed I see he has done a collaboration with Geoff Marshall. It looks like my entire KZread consumption is slowly coalescing into a single entity! Just need to find a way to bring The Tim Traveller in, and the singularity will form.

I live in Brisbane, Australia without a car. Petrol, registration, insurance and maintenance is so much more expensive than taxis, Ubers and scooter rental. I can walk to my local supermarket and department store too.

Downtown Montreal should ban private cars,.there I said it. And I say this as a rural guy who needs a car.

@davidty2006

2 жыл бұрын

Central and downtown areas sure do make sense to do so. Theres already like little to no parking anyway but alot of commerical.

About 80% of the population in my North American city travels by public transport according to a 2015 census

I don’t even have a license lol. That said living in Mississauga, every 5 minute journey by car is a 30 minute trip by bus. Sadly in the GTA some trips are faster by bike or even walking than using the bus. Even downtown Toronto, if you don’t start AND finish your journey on the subway, the bike is still much more convenient. Living car free is great if your a bachelor, but this won’t work for your average soccer mom working a job and running errands for her family. Ps welcome back to Toronto :)

@michaelrmurphy2734

2 жыл бұрын

My brother has a wife and three kids and they rely on the Dodge Caravan van. Of course, the kids want to drive now. My niece does NOT want a bicycle! BTW, do you miss the JR Shinkansen?

@japanesetrainandtravel6168

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelrmurphy2734 I definitely miss the Shinkansen. It’s nuts that that I can travel from Nagoya to Osaka (166km distance) in less time than it takes to go from Cooksville to Union.

@michaelrmurphy2734

2 жыл бұрын

@@japanesetrainandtravel6168 HAHAHA!!! My friend Ami is from Nagoya. And I love Japan! I follow a lot of the Japanese KZreadrs. If I were to go to Japan I would go to the countryside. I'm used to it now.

@RMTransit

2 жыл бұрын

Haha, I'm still in London for a while, this video was made before I left!

I've live my whole life without a car. I have lived in Oakland, San Francisco and Berkeley California, Jakarta, Riyadh and a suburb of Karlsruhe. One just has to learn the local transportation options.

I lost my car in an accident over a month ago, and when I'm fully recovered I'm HEAVILY considering just getting a bike. I live in LA and I've been getting around by bus lately, which has its cons, but I think pairing it with a Brompton might be a good middle ground.

I also live in Toronto without a car. I was always fascinated with the streetcars and subways in Toronto as a kid when I would visit in the summers of the 1980s before I moved here from Quebec City. I have kept mementos from those times such as old bus/subway transfers, tickets and passes.

Been living w/o a car since I was born. Don't even have a license. You just gotta know where to live to survive, if not thrive w/o that expense. And no NYC isn't the only US city where you don't need one.

Living in Philadelphia with out a car. More walking and biking. No more traffic and maintenance costs. I’ll never go back

Hey, Reece! Nice video! Would you make the next one about governmental fuel subsidizing? Because, it's a theme that majority doesn't understand (because they don't get a straight subsidy, of course) and that is sad. A lot more people should realize this issue.

We lived car free in Kitchener, ON. It had its obstacles. Having access to car share. What bugs me, is not people who own cars, who might not need them. But a city which refuses to make it easy not to own a car.

Most Europeans don’t say it’s impossible to live in the US without cars. In big cities it’s reverted. But if you live in (modern) suburbs or rural areas it’s really different.

Never really thought about it, but in my country its normal to go skiing/into nature via public transport, actually insane how those rural places are connected

@weatheranddarkness

2 жыл бұрын

what country?

@LeZylox

2 жыл бұрын

@@weatheranddarkness Switzerland

Great to hear that also North American cities allow for a car-free life. I live in Brussels, and at 39, never had a driving licence. There are moments I miss having access to a car (unless it's a taxi or someone is giving me a ride), but those are far in between. Most trips I can make quite easily by bike, transit, train or a combination of those. Shops are a 10' walk max, so even if I forget something, I can quickly go back. When I went to the grocery store with my parents back in the days, it was an outing, at least 20' by car each way, in heavy traffic (like end of school) often more. I have repeatedly stated that I would try to get my driving licence, but a car is just too much of a hassle to own. Just a parking spot in the underground garage here would be €90/month, and I'm not living centrally.

My 70 year old, single brother, has never owned a car nor had a driver's license! He has used public transportation for 44 years to get to his job, some 7 miles away, at a local N.Y. airport! Yes, it seems costly, but he has never spent a penny for car payments; car insurance; repairs, depreciation; tolls; tickets, etc.! Not owning a car, in urban areas, makes sense for singles, but the cost of public transportation quadruples, for families of four, which is cost inefficient!

Communauto in Toronto is amazing for Winter. I feel great that 1 car has several owners and in the Winter I usually use 40-80$ a month, occasionally $120 but it includes gas and parking, insurance, etc.

That point about not wanting to go into the nature with your own car... Very true. My friend purchased a new car and we wanted to go hiking, but he was too afraid to take it on Mountain roads. My wife ended up driving her older car instead. The only reason she still owns it is for getting to the nature ...

Ikea also has an affordable truck rental so you can bring home your furniture if you need it. Or a convenient delivery service.

Car free for two decades and mostly loving it . The occasional inconvenience is completely outweighed by no longer having to consider car payments insurance fuel costs etc.

I tried living without a car the first year I lived in Chicago. It is doable depending on where you work. For me, it was simply too inconvenient, and I reluctantly bought a car.

I’ve never owned a car in my 74 years, living in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Edmonton. Mostly walk everywhere or use public transit.

If I could live without a car, I 100% would. But my city just doesn't have the infrastructure to support it. The bigger cities in my country do though for sure.

@RMTransit

2 жыл бұрын

For me, that's part of why I moved honestly.

Using transit for buying food was always a huge hassle, most of my shopping wasn't planned so I barely had a trolly to help carry my bags so I ended up carrying multiple heavy bags around and keeping them wrangled on the floor of a train or bus was annoying (mostly to other passengers). Plus buying an expensive item..like a playstation 3 and lugging it across town (even though my city is pretty safe) made me feel a little vulnerable to being attacked and robbed...especially when walking down some empty and or dark pathways/tunnels from train stations. Now (even though public transport has gotten better here) it's worse because I have to shop for three adults and I have to attend meetings at a place that has got public transport access...just not from my direction...and I dislike riding to the city core just to ride back out in a direction almost back towards where I originally came from and vice versa home. But my city only has 1.3 million so there really isn't much high density housing (there is a little but kinda stretched out). I suppose there is one good thing our government has done about 15 years ago is make it harder to just keep building new houses on the fringes that also destroys our fertile farmland market gardens...this has boosted infil development within existing suburbs adding more population density. So maybe in a few years we'll see then.

@stevenbalekic5683

2 жыл бұрын

@@cmmartti Compared to Toronto it is small and has less dense residential areas that make good transit corridores.

@londo776

2 жыл бұрын

shop online

@stevenbalekic5683

2 жыл бұрын

@@londo776 Maybe, but delivery charges can be rather high...can cost up to $18 to deliver groceries...Ikea is $70. Maybe some time in a few years things will become more competitive but using my old car for shopping hauls and most small to medium Ikea flatpacks and just the comfort of not having to carry the shopping bags every week or fortnight on transit or if I buy an expensive item the relative safety of not carrying it around the neighborhood.

@londo776

2 жыл бұрын

@@stevenbalekic5683 I ordered a bed from IKEA last year 18 pounds delivery, had my groceries delivered from Asda today £3.00 delivery charge, I also ordered a Rotary clothesline at Argos 10 am for same day delivery, delivered 3:00 PM only cost me £3.00 delivery seems we are a little bit cheaper than you. So much better than catching a bus, or taxi or batting through the traffic and wasting a couple of hours, probably cost a little bit more than the petrol but the convenience of not going to the shop it's worth every penny

@stevenbalekic5683

2 жыл бұрын

@@londo776 Since my city is relatively small (population wise 1.3million), the traffic never gets insane (unless roadworks or an accident has slowed or blocked roads) Ikea is around 10 mins away by car in normal traffic...about 9 kilometres away...delivery is $70. The local supermarket is actually really close...maybe 500 metres away but with a haul of groceries that costs $150-$200 I definitely ain't carrying it. Also I think it's cheaper to keep a car here compared to the UK...my registration and insurance comes to $170 every 3 months...and petrol while expensive now at around $2 per litre it's usually around $1.29 to $1.49 per litre....if it ever goes back down.

I live in Long Beach, California without a car. My home is less than a 15 minute walk from a park, a library, a bar, a waterfront, parks, shops, cafes, restaurants. Many areas of the city are very walkable and our city bus is well integrated, connecting with the Metro Blue line downtown and connecting with LA Metro brt and Orange County's transit at CSULB.

I own a small sports car. Its quite expensive to maintain, insurance is about $100pm, petrol is about $70pm got slapped with a $1000 repair bill this week for some major servicing items. My biggest gripe is that people will damage your car in parking lots, finding parking, constantly worrying about your when parked somewhere, stressing about the next repair item, just the general cost of everything. It's tiring. I own my car and only pay for insurance + cost of usage but my gawd selling the car and buying a bicycle seems like a fun idea.

Ever since I've moved to Chicago I've never felt the need for a car. Everything I need I walk or take transit to. I was worried about groceries too, but it's really not that bad. I live a 10 minute walk away from four different grocery stores, and you just load up your backpack, and take one or two grocery bags if you want to do a larger haul.

Great video Reece! I too lived without a car, albeit for only about a year. I found the biggest issue was not getting around within my city, but instead between cities. North America really needs to work in better intercity connections. Cheers!

@weatheranddarkness

2 жыл бұрын

definitely. Proper high-speed high-frequency rail would do wonders.

Living in London, there is simply no need for me to have a car because of the points you raise in your video - particularly the bus but also the tube and rail networks get to me everything I need whilst my job is only a short walk away. As such, I've never learn't to drive

I'm Australian, and I don't have a car. I've actually never bothered to have one. I live in the inner city and it really isn't difficult at all. I would much rather be able to go to a park than have a back garden. I can grow chilies on my balcony and it takes me 3 to 4 minutes to walk to my nearest station. I think if I had a car, I'd probably end up being lazy and would gain a lot of weight. Better to use your feet and maintain your health.

Same question we have when we moved in Auckland. Yes, my current house and my previous one is only a 15-minute drive away, but where I live now has a bus stop less than 300m away. The only issue? We live in the lowest-lying area (risk of flash floods) surrounded by steep roads back to the main shops and supermarkets. My local bus almost solves the problem.

Same. I'm in NYC. I've had my driver's license for 8 years now but haven't really had to drive for any reason at all. The times I've driven since then have been for leisure and just to feel what it's like to drive since I rarely have to. I will say I do live in a neighborhood where the grocery store, the gym, favorite restaurants, etc. are all within walking distance, and places like the theater or Madison Square Garden or Citi Field are all very accessible by public transit.

Not owning a car in many north american cities is pretty common. In Montreal, most people I know don't... And those who do don't use it for daily trips. Even those who are not living downtown, as long as you're within range of proper transit options. It just sucks that some politicians don't recognize that we're actually doing just fine like this (I'd even dare say better than people in car centric suburbia) and thus not willing to improve/expand walkable/bikeable infrastructure or transit at the expanse of some driving lane or parking space. Though I think the tables are now finally beginning to turn!

I live in Toronto too. I love being able to walk down any inner-city street, not just the known ones like Danforth, Bloor West, etc, but also places like Shaw or Queen. It's amazing how many little shops there are, all the culture, and the great time spent browsing local retail. You CANNOT do this in a suburb where your only option is the giant strip mall with the same big box retail you see everywhere. But in Toronto you can go down a different walkable street on another part of the city and see a completely different culture in the storefronts. Also the true cost of living in the city is definitely cheaper than the suburbs. Taxes tend to be much lower because you have higher density, amenities are closer, etc. A lot of people say that you can't own a spacious house in Toronto and that is true, the place is live is about 1,500 sq ft where you can get massive houses in the suburbs. But living in the city: (1) you feel a desire not to be home because of all the amazing places there are to see, and (2) with shorter commute times you get to enjoy your house more when you are home. People in the suburbs commute two hours in and two hours back. They have no time to actually "be at home".

Ahhh, a first world country - would love to have what you guys have. Here in South Africa, things suck big time.

I live car-free in Halifax, Nova Scotia... A less transit-oriented city than Toronto, but easily doable on foot, bike, bus, and/or ferry. A lot of my coworkers also commute via transit or self-power. I manage to do everything on foot, having used fewer than 20 local bus tickets over the past year. For me, it's a ten or fifteen minute walk to two full grocery stores, and shorter to pharmacies or convenience stores if I desperately need something outside of normal shopping hours. There's a library nearby, and every few days I walk to a climbing gym (which, like the one at 5:59 is built in an old theatre). There are a ton of parks and museums, sports venues, and pubs. When I want to visit family out of town, I just take the intercity bus (which typically costs the same as the equivalent distance in car fuel, but is more relaxing). I spend my days at an architecture firm designing new apartments, because thousands and thousands of people are hopping onto the urban, post-motorized life.

I have a car and mostly use it to get out of the city. In the city, I mostly use transit or bicycle, and I appreciate having the options. It is much nicer than contending with traffic-clogged suburban stroads, and this time of year I can literally stop and smell the flowers on the way to/from the bus stops. Have lived car-free before and could see doing it again. Main reason I have my own vehicle is for camping (it is configured to camp in). If there were more options for small, reasonably-priced camper rentals (instead of huge, expensive, awkward, gas-guzzling RV’s), I’d probably live car-free right now.

I live in Brookline, MA (Boston inner suburb), and I got rid of my car about a month after moving in. I only wish for a car 1 or 2 times a year, not counting travel to other places that absolutely require them. Wishing for a car 1 or 2 times a year means it isn't worth having one, and isn't even worth paying for the monthly membership for Zipcar or something like that, so I just do without and figure I get 363 or 364 wins to 1 or 2 losses (wish I could say that for the other aspects of my life . . .). But I interact at work with people who cannot do without a car -- they get squeezed out to somewhere where the transit isn't as good and you can't walk back from work in a reasonable amount of time if the transit quits (something I confront fairly frequently, but the distance is short enough that it doesn't make me wish for a car). Even in Brookline, once you get out of the northeastern part, the transit routes (including buses) get very few and far in between -- it's sprawling suburbia. (Same observation about Queens in New York, once you get past the western part -- apart from differences in the predominant architectural style, it looks just like the rest of the US.) And the overwhelming majority of other cities in the US just are not walkable and don't have enough transit to make up for it. Atlanta, GA? -- arguably Midtown is walkable, but that's about it. Raleigh/Durham/Cary, NC area? -- I visited there several times and saw bus stops, but no city buses (even downtown) until I finally saw one after having lost count of visits. Bloomington, IN and San Luis Obispo, CA? -- the city buses don't even run as often as the University buses, and they quit ridiculously early, and the places are constructed like suburbs even they are their own core areas. Los Angeles and San Diego, CA? -- they must have some walkable areas in the downtowns, but on the whole those are huge suburb-like areas that were made to get people to buy automobiles and gasoline (and you know what National City Lines did, as a cover for General Motors, Standard Oil, Firestone, etc. . . .).

There are lots of people in Canadian cities who don't own cars. When I worked downtown, most of the people I knew used transit. My nephew & his partner live in a downtown Toronto condo & never had a car. They use bikes or transit. There are 3 levels of garages under their building & they are mostly empty. But the bicycle cages are full. The nearest TTC stop is a short walk down the street so transit is very easy to access. However, when visiting people outside the city, they usually just rent a car from one of the car sharing companies that operate in the city. Our family is spread all over Southern Ontario so visits necessitate using cars.

Whenever the scene changes I keep thinking for a second that your sweater says "STFU" anyway I'm in San Francisco and carless, I absolutely love it. Driving here is incredibly stressful, even compared to other big, dense cities. There was a plan to add congestion pricing downtown here, but it seems to have stalled in the pandemic. I hope it resumes, as there are so many accidents and roadrage there due to the traffic, and the buses here could be running much faster if better-enabled to! Currently we're building several BRT systems and closing a bunch of quiet neighborhood streets to thru-traffic completely, but so much more could be done! When I see what the original plan for BART compared with what we got I am disappointed, but some things are getting better! I think what SF needs most is a lot more dense housing, both to combat high prices and homelessness and to create more pressure for efficient and sustainable transit. I like that you touched on the importance of density here. I also want to suggest a video idea. I do think that awareness of transit is vital, but it would be great if you were to do a video on historic moments where grassroots organization has promoted density and efficient transit. You could then propose some ideas for frameworks for individual organizing, and advise us on what we can do to spread education and awareness of these important topics. Including some examples of successes and failures of public organizing and advocacy would be excellent. I also feel that a number of people in my city mistake high-rises and bikeshare facilities for symbols of gentrification, when in reality they provide housing and mobility to some of the most underserved people here, so maybe this could be part of a future discussion in another video, or perhaps a video itself. Anyway, I am glad to see the quality of your videos improving, particularly your use of B-roll footage.

I sold my car in June 2022. I don't use it very much, as I work from home and have my groceries delivered. Yes, it costs some extra to get delivered, but it is nothing compared to insurance, gasoline, tires, oil changes, mechanical upkeep, and annual license registration. It has calmed me down about my rent increasing and grocery increases and utility increases. I walk more. Within a mile of my home, I can meet people for coffee, lunch, and dinner. I have a drugstore and grocery store within 1 mile. No public transport near my home. I use Amazon for other things. No Prime needed. If I need a doctor appointment or an event downtown, I will take an Uber. I have an entry in my budget for transportation. It is easy during the summer, we'll see how I feel in the winter. Thanks! I live in Idaho, USA

I live in Montreal and if I didn't need my car to get to my work in a timely fashion I would be fine without one. I live near a Métro station which will take me right downtown in 10 minutes, I can walk to my local mall/grocery store/Walmart within 15 minutes. And pretty soon with the REM I'd be able to get to Fairview easily by transit without 5 transfers and taking 2 hours one way. I lived in the West Island growing up and I was basically stuck at home unless my dad drove me somewhere. Trying to get to Fairview to hang out with my friends was rough, dancing with death trying to cross St. Jean, Hymus, Brunswick, Autoroute 40 and its various on/off ramps without getting ran over all while baking in the heat because theres no shade. No thanks.

I'm surprised you didn't mention having a bike, or bike share. I use my bike downtown, all year round. More and more bike lanes, and the beautiful 30 km Martin Goodman Trail on the waterfront. Bikes are allowed on the subways at all times now instead of limited hours like before the pandemic.

We have a car, but we recently had to get it repaired because of some corrosion caused by lack of use. We just don't drive because of where we live in Portland, OR. I'd just get rid of it, but there is some hesitancy in the family (just in case). There are two car share vehicles usually parked on our block, although we tend to use Lyft, and the bus is half a block away...and we could use the space in the garage for other uses (don't park a car on the street in Portland if you have an alternative). You know, that garage would make an excellent bike shop...

I live like a two minute walk to the bus both directions right across from each other. South and North. It's great. I do hate that the last bus is to early I feel at least one or two more would be better. There is another bus down the street I can use that's longer running but the walk is about 10 to 15 minutes and I know it's not that much but I live in Florida and I am not good with heat or humidity. So just being right by my apartment is great. Now I can take that same bus to multiple shopping options. 5 in fact which funnily enough are all different price points. Ranging from Save a Lot to Whole foods. I can also get to my local mall, which is a bus hub, that has a movie theater too. I'm about 10 minutes to the beach if I take a Lyft on a good day or the bus and trolly instead. I can easily go to the local Walmart either with a Lyft that's 10 minutes from me that way, or take the bus. The bus would be the lowest options but limits what I can buy. Another reason I order Walmart delivery for my groceries instead. Saves me time and money. My bus has WIFI and has transitioned to no longer offering paper passes, now it's touch pay either through your direct Debit or credit card, I advise against it, or through either the app or the physical pay card of the same app called Flamingo. You can buy passes and it has fare caping. If I take 4 busses in a day, which a do Monday to Friday, then by my fourth ride it's free. After spending 70$'s you get unlimited free rides before the new month. For me that will be the 19th of June, 2024. Now if i use it on the weekends I can cap early but I tend not to have anything planned to do so I just relax at home. I don't drive so I live off of Public Transit. I hope to get a bike in the future so things might change.

I live in rural Wales and since retiring I do not own a car. I cycle short distances and take the bus for longer distances. The frequency between buses can be 1 to 2 hours, but that I find is less problem than finding a car parking space at my destination. The only problem is that there is no Sunday transit services - As a result nothing much actually happens on Sundays anyway. The other problem is the British government destroyed our railway system by breaking the Welsh network into 2 seperate systems. Our nearest rail station is 24 km away.