There are many ways we can save on transportation costs. Here are some ideas:
1. Use a Car Sharing Program
Certain situations where owning your own car is absolutely necessary, but have you considered maybe selling your car and switching to using a car share program? Or if you don’t have a car, then opt into the program and not buy a car? If you live in a city where a car share program is available, it might be worth looking into. Cars have a huge upfront cost, or monthly loans to pay off for many years, along with insurance, gas and maintenance costs. Owning a car means that the value will depreciate quickly, and maintenance costs will increase as more parts need repairing or replacing.
2. Fill Your Empty Car Seats
If you commute to work, using a service like Popride in Canada may help pay off some expenses by picking and dropping people off that are going to the same destination, or somewhere along the route. If your seats are empty, why not fill it up with paying customers? Also, it’s a great way to make friends, especially if you find others who are communting to work in your destination. However, the service is not limited to commuting to work. It can be a one time route. Say if you decide to go up to the mountains, and you want to cover the cost of gas. Riders may be looking for these routes as not all trains and coaches/buses/shuttles takes you to remote places. Great to have company if you’re driving a long distance.
3. Share Your Car
Services like Turo allows you to list your car so it’s available to rent. If your car tends to be sitting doing nothing but collect dust, why not let others drive it and get money for it?
4. Take Public Transit
This depends on your location and situation. Some cities have really affordable transit passes, while others can be comparable to owning a car. If you have more more than one in your household, having a car to share rather then paying transit for each person is more efficient and cost effective.
5. Uber or Lyft
If your city has taxi alternatives like Uber or Lyft, these are much cheaper. And because the drivers are rated by customers, you may get a better service than taking a taxi.
6. Walk or Bike
If you got the time, physical abilities and good weather, why not walk or bike? It’s good for the environment, and good for our wallets and health.
Do you have other ways that you’re saving on transportation? Leave them in the comments!
