Zip Car

I tried and tried to copy and paste a chart that showed the different plans a person can have when using a car share service called Zip Car. When I finally found one that worked I realized it wasn't in Canadian dollars! So suffice it to say that most rental plans worked out to be about $7.00 per hour. Some a bit less, some a bit more. That also includes insurance and gas.

While visiting my brother yesterday he told me about a friend's experience with Zip Car that left me thinking that it might not be for me...a broken key fob, a gas card that didn't work, damage to the cars that doesn't get fixed, dog hair and garbage left in the vehicles and so on. I have yet to try the one that is near me - it's a Prius and I have walked by it to see how it looked. There was a little bit of damage to the plastic over one of the headlights and the inside looked clean. We are allowed to "test drive" the service for one month so I think I'll do that in October, after my trip, before making any kind of a commitment.

A couple of people have been encouraging me to try the bus and I have found that there are a number of buses nearby that would be very handy and when I looked at the London Transit website I noted that at age 65 the price of a ticket really drops. So I am reconsidering the city bus system.  Once winter settles in I promise to ride the bus a few times.

There was also an article in the paper today which made me look more favourably on our bus system. A driver picked up a young woman, late at night, who was being harassed by a man at the bus stop. He managed to redirect the man and then went off route to take her right to her home. Apparently the transit system has declared buses to be "safe havens" and encourage anyone encountering any type of problem - violence, sexual assault, robbery etc - to find and board a bus. The drivers are trained to deal with these situations and to provide safety and transportation to an area or building where the victim feels safe. Wow - I felt really impressed by that!

Another positive fact about buses is that many of them (I'm not sure about ALL buses) have a bike rack on the front so for long distance rides I could use a mix of bike and bus. That's pretty cool! So London Transit has risen in my estimation.

See? I may be old but I'm not stuck in my ways!

So, here's my chart - a very simple chart. It shows the cost of using Zip Car vs Enterprise vs bus.

Vehicle                    Time used                       Cost
Zip Car                        1 hour/24 hours            $7.00/$72
Enterprise                    24 hours                       $19
Bus                              1 trip (varies)               $1.90 per ticket (includes a 90 minute transfer)

Zip Car is best for short trips like getting groceries or going to a store/location that is way the hell across the city. Depending on how much time I want to use I could choose between Zip Car or city bus. ($1.90 vs $7.00 or $14.00 or more depending on the distance and amount of time spent there.) Enterprise is better for longer trips ($19 vs $72) There is no ONE solution but a combination of types of transportation, including of course, me feet and my bicycle.

Wow, What a Week....

......in American history!! And that's all I've got to say about THAT!!

Because my life is much more interesting...NOT!! But it has been a busy and productive week here in little old London, Ontario. 

Transportation Update:  after walking with me around my neighbourhood in my last post (thanks for tagging along :) I realized I had forgotten a few things...important things...other places I get to by walking or cycling. 

Such as... our dentist is a block west of the library - very handy - but my doctor is a 20-30 minute bike ride away which is ok in the summer but not so much in the winter. I only go a couple times a year so it shouldn't be too onerous - that trip will be a CAR SHARE trip. (There are two medical walk-in clinics near by that I could use in a pinch but regular appointments will remain with my family doctor.)

My best friend is a 30 minute bike ride away but we have other ways of getting together, like meeting halfway, sharing a car rental or Car Share. I'll be seeing her tomorrow at a craft sale which I will bike to. 

Thursday (the day before yesterday) was my weekly get together with my brother, Kim. However, it rained all day and there was a Severe Storm Watch in effect so I had to cancel. That was disappointing and I'm not sure how I can get around in bad weather when it's "at the last minute" type of thing. 

I am waiting til after my trip in September to sign up with Car Share. I can use that when the weather is bad. Or use Uber, whichever would work out to be the cheapest. I haven't mentioned taking the city bus - I'm not fond of taking the bus and am not really familiar with the routes near me. I'd rather not go down that road (haha) if I can help it. 

I also forgot to mention that I'm only 1km from London's system of bike trails. I certainly cannot go without forest bathing at least a couple times per week. It takes me about 5 minutes to get to scenes like below, which calm my nerves and make me feel whole once again!

Okay, this is a bit random but I am thrilled that a vegan restaurant - Globally Local - has opened up near me. It is only a block and a half away and I rode my bike there last night for vegan tacos and fries. Soooooooo good!!

Also random - on Tuesday I rode my bike to the final protest and laying to rest of our Hydro One action that I've been involved in for almost two years. Here we are all gathered one last time at our local MP's office after the gov't sold a company that belonged to the people of Ontario to raise a little short term cash. BOO!!!

 Then on Wed. I rented a car to take Julie and I to the beach - it was a perfect weather day! Booking the car through Kazi I paid only $20 for a 24 hour period!!! Less than the cost of gas if we had gone in Dougie the Dodge!

 And, in other news, Luna kept a close eye on me while I made up 10 bags of trail mix and other energizing snacks for my upcoming trip to Scotland. Isn't she helpful?

Overall I am happy with how "transportation" is going but there are definitely some kinks to work out. I don't know if I can do this forever; time will tell. It's difficult to be spontaneous and hard to work around bad weather.

On the other hand it's wonderful to not have to worry about costly repair bills, insurance and the price of gas :)