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Petro prices could drive more to bus, try walking
Dallas Hansen
Winnipeg Free Press
Focus, Tuesday, November 8, 2005, p. A13
Repopulating of core, better transit are key to going without car
Dallas Hansen
ECONOMISTS and geologists have offered ample warning that the days of
cheap oil would not last. This year, however, their words took on new
meaning when gasoline prices rose beyond a dollar per litre.
Were it any other product, consumers might be induced to substitution,
even a change in lifestyle. But most Canadians have instead opted to
take the hit and keep on motoring, with many venting their anger in
nasty letters to our dithering prime minister, demanding he take action.
On a macro level, even a complete elimination of the gasoline tax would
do nothing to change the laws of supply and demand, conditions over
which the government is helpless. But on a micro level, householders
decrying the unaffordability of petrol could adopt one simple policy to
rein in their transportation budgets. They can quit driving.
It's not impossible. Motorists living in such urban enclaves as
Toronto's Bloor West Village or Vancouver's West End will admit to
seldom using their car for anything other than weekend getaways that
seldom happen every week. Even here in Winnipeg there exist districts
scaled to the wayfarer rather than the driver.
Upon closer inspection, the Everyday Low Prices of suburbia's big boxes
aren't necessarily so low. To begin with, their location and layout
presuppose automobile ownership.
At current gas prices, owning and operating even a basic vehicle will
average over $400 per month. Driving something that invites ignominy
will cost closer to $700 per month. Shopping at local grocers in the
walkable central city might mean paying more for some items, but
there's little chance that the difference will add up to hundreds a
month.
Corner store
Moreover, the overpriced independent grocer seems to be more myth than
substance. Recently I ran to the corner store for an emergency bottle
of lemon juice which I bought for $1.99. The nearest chain supermarket
sold the same bottle for $2.69.
Besides the fiscal, other benefits to quitting driving concern one's
quality of life. Having somewhere to buy fresh produce between the
transit stop and one's home means fresher food. Missing ingredients can
be had without wrangling through traffic and navigating a sea of
seemingly endless parking. Smaller grocers are often family owned, and
some, even in this day, still allow regular customers to run an
informal tab.
Quitting driving can improve health too, for walking offers us exercise without the tedium or cost of visiting a fitness club.
While few would disagree that the automobile is unessential for the
bachelor life, most Canadians would say that a car (or minivan or SUV)
is a must for raising families. But the inner cities are filled with
zero-car households that often comprise more than a kid or two. Many of
these families can't afford a car, but many can. Their children are
obliged to get around on their own: walking, bicycling, skateboarding,
even riding public transit. Our nation of chauffeured children is
really a nation of coddled, overprotected, spoiled brats.
Until gas prices rise yet further, life sans auto won't be a catching
trend. How far up need they go? It's possible that oil at $100 a barrel
will draw mass demonstrations, even rioting, before it will draw people
from their auto-centric lifestyles.
But in the last year or so, Winnipeg Transit buses have seemed much
fuller, with many routes standing-room-only not just during peak hours,
but throughout the day and indeed even the evening.
Most of these new riders likely did not opt out of driving; they were
forced out, by economic circumstances. It would be an interesting
statistic, the number of Winnipeggers who spend more on transportation
than they do on housing.
Winnipeggers frequently congratulate themselves on having a lower
cost-of-living than Canada's three overpriced metropolises. What they
fail to mention, however, is that in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver
-- in the central city at least -- it's possible to live without a car
and not be stigmatized, ridiculed, or inconvenienced.
In Winnipeg this might not be so, but given a proper transit system and
the repopulation of the inner city, more of us who can afford to drive
will make the choice not to.
Category: Editorial and Opinions
Uniform subject(s): Inflation, prices and salaries; Oil and petrochemical industries
Length: Medium, 584 words
© 2005 Winnipeg Free Press. All rights reserved.
www.dallashansen.com |
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