Thank you for everyone who took place in last weeks #Frugal posting topic: Electricity.
This weeks posting topic: TRANSPORTATION
So for anyone who is interested in writing about the transportation situation in your country I'd love to hear about it. As long as its transportation related feel free to post. However if you want to share in the prize pot then you should try to: Tell about how expensive it is to travel in your country. Tell what the economical ways to travel are and any travel hacks you may have. Pictures are always appreciated but not required.
If you are Nigerian and want to talk about the cancellation of the fuel subsidy and the hardship of the new reality of higher fuel prices feel free. However, if you could focus on the reality of travel rather than ranting against the policy I'd appreciate it.
I'll try to curate as many posts as I can thanks to the generous help of #Hive Pakistan. However, they limit me to curating only two posts a day and only posts over 300 words
Prize Pot for this weeks posts : Up to $10HBD (depending on # of posts) with a little extra being given to the best posts.
Side Mission
If you are heading out shopping I have a bounty on the following products:
- Soybeans
- Soap
- Toothpaste
- Shampoo
- Sugar
If you can get a price AND weight of any of those items drop a response here and maybe a picture. There will be a prize pool of $5 HBD to be split among anyone who cares to post about the price of basic goods in your community. No purchase required just curious about prices.
Looking forward to your replies and HAVE FUN!
There are only so many ways to get around my suburb of Vancouver.
- Walking
- Biking
- Public Transportation
- Ride Share
- Private vehicle.
Of those options I would hate to say that #5 Private Vehicle is far and away the most popular choice of most people. However, let me go over each choice.
Walking
Maybe its no-one's favorite option but it is actually a pretty good way to get around. At least for short commutes. Now the "Lower Mainland" or "Greater Vancouver Area" is a large area. To go from my home to the center of Vancouver is about 70km. It is all part of the same Greater Vancouver area but far too long to walk!
An average person can walk about 5km/hr. Personally I think walking anything less than 2.5km if perfectly fine. The streets are safe. There are sidewalks everywhere. Well marked crosswalks. Nice walking paths. Why not get some exercise?
Some people are too busy. Some people are getting large items or groceries. Some people are going to work and don't want to arrive sweaty or wet (depending on weather). In general though why not walk? It's healthy and free.
Bicycle
Bicycles are even faster than walking. 20km/hr is quite reasonable for an average person on a bicycle. That would give a 30 minute range of almost 10km which I would again consider reasonable to bike around town.
Unfortunately there are more drawbacks to riding a bike.
First: In my down Bicycles are required by law to share the road with cars. Cars have been known to crown out bicycles and not give them the space and respect they deserve. Our town mayor was actually riding his bicycle to work and got hit by a car forcing him to crash into a ditch.
Second: Bicycles can and do get stolen. A good lock and place to lock the bike can reduce the amount of theft considerably but not everywhere has a place to lock up a bike.
Third: Bad weather. When the weather is good, bikes are great. However if there is rain or snow taking a bike is a terrible idea. Since my town gets an average of 155 days or rain/snow a year that means bikes aren't a great everyday form of transportation.
However, many streets DO have dedicated bicycle lanes. Many stores DO have areas to lock up your bicycle. For those places it makes good sense to save some money and take a bike.
Electric Bike / Scooter / Monowheel / Hoverboard
As fun as these alternative forms of transportation are they are actually not legal to ride on the roads. Now there are a few areas that allow electric scooters but mine isn't one of them. Electric bicycles ARE allowed everywhere a bike can go but they are limited to 500W motor and 32km/h.
Those limitations mean that an e-bike can have a much longer useful range than a bicycle but has all its same problems (weather, theft, etc). Also e-bikes are expensive so they are really missed if stolen.
I do see a lot of electric scooters, monowheels, and hoverboards riding around town and the police don't actively target them. They are not however, legal.
Public Transportation / Busses
<a href="https://www.abbotsford.ca/city-services/transportation-roads/transit"Source: Abbotsford City Transit page
While the city busses are usually an OK solution for getting around the town they are currently on strike. As a result no busses to go from place to place. Normally the fare would be $2.10HBD for a pass to go anywhere in town. If you need to take different busses to get to your destination no problem. You just pay $2.10 and keep your receipt and go from bus to bus until you reach your destination.
However, some busses have a slow schedule and only travel once every hour or so. They DO run on time and DON'T wait until they are full which is nice. They can be delayed though so expect to arrive 5min early and maybe wait 5min if they are running slow.
If anyone mentions they are taking the "loser cruiser" or "32 seat limo" they are usually referring to the public busses.
RideShare (Uber, Lyft)
Uber is convenient but certainly not cheap.
$6.50HBD for a ride of about 2.5km. Now I can walk that distance in 30min which means by walking I'm saving myself $13HBD and getting some exercise.
However if I am purchasing a lot of groceries of if I walk somewhere and the weather turns particularly bad its nice to know that Uber is an option.
It is also a good option to go to and from the airport. I could drive to the airport when I'm flying somewhere but the parking gets very expensive. Much better to just pay an Uber and not have to worry about the expense for parking!
Private Vehicle
Now I really wish a private vehicle wasn't a necessity in Canada. Unfortunately some trips are very long and busses between different cities are challenging to plan.
When I travel to my rural acreage I'll be driving almost 2600km (return). When I go visit my mother I'll be travelling 2800km (return) while a cross Canada trip would be about 12,300km (return).
Roadways are typically kept in good repair. People generally follow the road rules and virtually anywhere worth travelling to is on a well kept road. As a result almost everyone has a vehicle.
It isn't a cheap option in any way though.
Fuel is expensive at about $1.50 HBD per liter
Insurance is expensive at about $ 2,250HBD per year
Maintenance is expensive at about 0.25HBD per km travelled (average)
Parking can be hard to find and expensive in metropolitan areas
So while I hate vehicles they are a necessary evil in the Country.
To try and save at least a little money here are a few tips I use:
Buy a small vehicle with good fuel economy. At 5l/100km my vehicle costs less than 1/4 what people in larger trucks are paying.
Buy a basic vehicle. My car is basic and easy to repair without a lot of electronic gadgets on it. If something goes wrong the repair costs is typically much cheaper than many other vehicles.
Keep the vehicle well maintained. Emergency towing and emergency repairs can be very expensive. Regular oil changes and checkups keep surprise expenses to a minimum.
Replace air filters regularly. Better airflow to the engine better fuel efficiency.
Keep tires properly inflated. Less roll resistance means better fuel economy.
Ride share when possible. More people in the vehicle mean less costs per person sharing the ride.
Do all stops in one trip if possible. When the engine is warmed up it gets better economy. If you do all the trips at once you have a warmed up engine and it is more efficient than doing a lot of small trips during the day.
So, that's my quick primer on getting from place to place in my town in Abbotsford. Sure I could talk more about air flights, intercity busses (which suck), ferries and water travel, etc. However, just wanted to give you a taste. If you have other questions by all means send me a comment and I'll happily reply.
If not. Thanks for reading and I hope you make a post of your own for this weeks Posting Topic: