Housing affordability is one of the largest looming crises in cities right now. People are being priced out of the urban cores where most jobs and services are concentrated, and forced to sit in traffic for hours, and to depend on driving to sort large distances separating them from schools, workplaces and family.
they have laid out the plan so it is as painless as possible. Tolls and parking are paid automatically or via easy to use mobile apps, so we don't feel them accumulating. Fines and leases are also one click away. When we pay for insurance, a monthly SMS from our provider reminds us our payment has gone through. Gas and oil changes are paid by credit card, usually. For almost all of these transactions, there is no actual cash involved. We do not see money leaving our wallets and we practically don't feel it. But it adds up. And according to Jeff Speck in his book Walkable City, owning a car can set you off on average $9000 each year. And that money comes from your budget.
So, when you are looking for your next appartment, do the math. Specially in unaffordable places like where I live in South Florida, a one-bedroom appartment in an older building with no services in a walkable neighborhood goes for about $1500. Since you could essentially walk or bike to the store, church, school, the pharmacy, restaurants and cafés, the movies, the vet's office, the park and pretty much anywhere else, a transit card or even Uber fares wouldn't amount for more than $300 a month. You could find similar accommodations for about $1000 elsewhere. But no walking means you must get a car. Now factor in those $800. Turns out both appartments go for pretty much the same.