Today we are talking with two of our newest members, Rosalie and Donald, who are in the process of selling their vehicle! It’s a big decision to move from car ownership to carsharing. Today we are looking closer at the “whats, whys, and how much” involved in their decision. 

Rosalie and Don recently moved to Winnipeg from PEI to be with family. Their son and daughter in law are also Peg City members; they earned driving credit by referring these two.

Read on to learn about our latest promotion. Earn $50 in driving credit when you sign up for Peg City this May!

R: “They had me at ‘we want you in our lives'”, said Rosalie. “So I told them, ‘give me two years and I’m there’, so, here we are one and a half years later!”

Like many families right now, these two are unable to see their loved ones, and miss seeing their grandchildren, one of the main reasons they sold their house, furniture, welding and carpentry tools and moved across the country in a Toyota Rav 4.

D: “That’s why we bought the car. We loaded it up to the gills, as my mom would say, and moved to Winnipeg” said Donald. “For me, it was between Winnipeg and New Zealand”.

Lucky for Winnipeg, New Zealand isn’t accessible by road.

The two have since lived in the Wolsely, Corydon and now Osborn areas, which they credit for having access to many walking, cycling, and bus routes. The two make regular use of a variety of active transportation modes!

D: “We used to walk up to the Superstore and the Bulk Barn nearby. Now in Osborn we make a habit of biking and busing wherever we can. “

R: “We usually walk or bike to see the grand-kids. From here it’s only a 25-minute walk. Maybe 45 for Don!” She laughs.

Since they make such frequent use of active and public transportation, the couple has chosen to sell the SUV and become Members of Peg City Car Co-op.

R: “Now when we don’t bike or walk we can take the car. There is a hybrid-electric Chevy Volt just down the street from here. “

The Cost of Ownership

I asked the Simeone’s to estimate what they have spent per month on their vehicle in the one year they have owned it. We came up with this reasonably conservative estimate. The figures below do not include the purchase price of $12,000 because they intend to sell it, but keep it in mind!

Since they bought the car outright, there is no “financing” cost. They have not had any significant repairs or damages to the vehicle. Because they have only owned it for one year and it is nearly ten years old, depreciation on the car is not significant.

However, depreciation is one of the most commonly overlooked expenses. In the first five years of use, a car loses nearly 60-70% of its value!

Regardless, we still arrive at a chunk of change: $3,600 a year. This figure is on the low end of typical annual vehicle expenses! A more average look at what it costs to own and operate a compact car in Manitoba is as follows.

Some sources, in case you want to make your own cost comparison: financing cost, insurance estimator, fuel costs, parking in Winnipeg (we only included an estimate for private residential parking, if you also pay to park downtown during the day, add another $120), average maintenance cost (we bumped the cost to $1000 because PCCC rotates winter tires on all our vehicles, which CAA’s does not include in its figure), depreciation. We excluded major repairs/damage as they can vary greatly, but they can be hundreds to thousands of dollars in a single bill!

Comparing Carsharing

The two mentioned that they likely only need a vehicle once a week for grocery shopping and some community activities (when the time comes). So let’s compare how much they can save by switching from owning a private vehicle to carsharing.

These two are on our Member plan, which means they also pay a member share to enter the Co-op, which is a one-time, completely refundable $500 payment.

The same amount of travel with PCCC would cost our friends 27% of what they spend currently spend to own a private vehicle. Even more, only 10% of what the average person might spend on a small private vehicle in Manitoba.

Now, these numbers are rough, so I encourage folks to look into their own expenses. We all have different needs and habits, so your costs could be much milder or much worse. Feel free to use our trip calculator (found at the bottom of the page) to see what it might cost for you to carshare instead of own.

If you are ready to give carsharing a try, you can sign up with our latest promo, CARSHARE2020, you’ll get earn $50 in driving credit, plus we will waive your registration fee!

If you refer a friend with this promo-code, we’ll give you $50 driving credit as well! Make sure they pass along your name when they sign up!

The new mix: walk, bike, bus, car carshare

Now that these two have made it to Winnipeg, and have settled in, they are finally able to ditch the car and get back to their hobbies, with a little help from Peg City Car Co-op.

R: “I’ll be using it to get to orchestra practice. I play the viola with the Pops Orchestra and flute, with another band. I think we might even time it so that Don drops me off at practice and does the shopping. That way we can get it all done at once!”

D: “I might take the car to lawn bowling. I could bus, but it takes nearly an hour and to drive might be less of a hassle.”

We love to say it, so I’m going to say it.

Goodbye hassle. Hello freedom.

For many, daily transportation has changed dramatically. The way we move and the reasons we choose to travel are shifting. But when we change how we move, do the costs change too?

The spread of COVID-19 has many reconsidering how and when they choose to walk, bike, bus and drive. By moving safely in a variety of ways, folks can cut costs, while flattening the curve at the same time.

When to Walk, Bike, Bus, and Drive

Could I walk instead? Can I bike where I would have bused? Should I borrow a car instead of owning one?

Every way we move through the city comes with some cost, and level of risk, practicality, and flexibility. We’ve broken down five ways most folks get around by asking these four questions:

Risk:

I am concerned about my possible exposure to COVID-19. If I have to travel, how might I be exposing myself?

Cost

Time, money, and even mental health! How much will it cost to use or access this type of transportation?

Practicality

I can’t fit four, 48 packs of toilet paper into my backpack and then hop on my bike. How can I get where I want to go in a reasonable time and still carry the things I need?

Flexibility

Can I save money by using this less?

Moving with the times

There are many ways to move with the changing times, and we hope this offers our community some tools for deciding the best and safest times to walk, bike, bus, and drive.

In a nutshell: stay home if you can, walk and bike where possible, bus if you must, drive less, and only pay when you do.

If you are interested in adding carsharing to your multi-modal mix, or you are done paying the high price of car ownership, join Peg City Car Co-op today!

COVID -19

We are closely monitoring the news and government updates regarding COVID-19. We will continue to update our members and community through social media and direct email messaging.

Our chief concern during this time is the safety of our members and staff. For info on how to schedule a pre-booking cleaning or to review our up-to-date COVID-19 policies, please read our official statement here.

As a community, we can all work together to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by minimizing non-essential travel, practising social distancing, as well as regularly washing and sanitizing our hands.

PCCC strongly recommends that members and passengers clean/sanitize their hands upon entry and exit of a vehicle. When possible, use an alcohol-based disinfectant to wipe areas down and to disinfect your hands if you don’t have access to soap and water. More than ever, it is important that members do not leave any waste in vehicles.

If you think you may have been exposed to COVID-19, or feel any symptoms commonly associated with the illness (e.g. fever, sore throat, cough), please follow guidelines set out by Manitoba Health.

Working together, we can help keep each other safe!