Intracity Transpo aka Getting Around Toronto

When reviewing my week last week I realized that I had used almost every single one of my go-to transpo solutions for getting from here to there in Toronto.  Not such a big accomplishment if you own a car (which I don’t), or never leave home (which I do), and last week was very busy.

Seemed like the perfect time to do a round up!  (and why not share some promo codes too?)

Self Propelled

These are my primary methods of transportation since most of the things I do are close enough to home to make life easy.

Walking 

my 2 legs carry me lots of places (not as many as Connie’s carry her, but this isn’t a competition). Of course I don’t count my paces any more. At least not often.

Biking

It’s been almost exactly 1 year since the Basketmobile got stolen and I still haven’t settled on which of the new bikes I’m happiest with.  But I can tell you I’m downright unhappy without one and one of the first things I want to do when I get home is jump on my bike for a ride around. In the meantime I’ve loaned the newest one to Marcela while she is in town.

City Transit aka the TTC:

Next on my list is Transit, especially for quick trips across the city and rainy days.

Bus

rainy days down Sherbourne to and from work.

Streetcar

Trips down King or Queen. Hell, you can travel one end of the city to the other on King and Queen cars. (Usually I’m just going to Chinatown though)

Subway

It’s astonishing how far you can travel on the subway for $3 (less if you buy a token).  A single one way trip from Kipling Station to Kennedy is 34.3km as Google maps it.

Car & Driver (aka cabs or cab equivalents):

Hi, my name is Lex and I’m a cab-addict.

Taxi

Ya, so, I take cabs. More often than I should. I figure my cab-addiction might be equivalent to other people’s shoe-addiction since I don’t like shoes, and cabs are efficient, cost-effective (at least when compared to owning a car or buying Jimmy Choos), and give you a little burst of luxury as if you have your own personal driver. 

Uber

Uber takes that luxury feeling of a personal driver to the next level.  You use an app to call for a car service to come fetch you. You get a text telling you how long the wait will be, who you driver is and what their rating is, and another when the cab is about to arrive. A black vehicle pulls up, you get in, you go to your destination, you get out. If you are polite, you say thank you.  A text comes in asking you to rate your driver. Your credit card is billed and while you do pay a premium for the service and the quality of cars, it’s only about 10-20% more than a regular cab. (My average trip has been $20.67, tip built in.) Besides, it’s all so civilized. A great way to get from here to there in style!  [sign up with this code, you get $30 credit and so do I]

Hailo

while it hasn’t launched yet, I suspect I’ll be trying Hailo out very very soon.  It’s an app to call for a regular cab using your cell phone but with no premium fees or rates.  They are just rolling out in Toronto now.

Short-term Car Use

there are times when where I need to be is far and/or inconvenient.

Autoshare

it’s like renting a car on an hourly basis, with gas and insurance covered. Except of course I rarely get an Autoshare for less than 4 hours.  The hourly rate and mileage charge per-km varies depending on your membership level.  It’s great for distance, errands, moving and trying out different types of cars including hybrids, convertibles.  An extra bonus is that for those of us who have never owned a car, Autoshare allows us to build an insurance record for cheaper than getting on someone else’s insurance as an occasional driver. (Our monthly membership is <$13.56 for 2 of us, and our usual rental is 5 hours at $7.25/hour & 20cent/km)

Car2Go

the newest on our list and frankly one of the most fun!  It’s like a self-driven cab… at about the same rates and you get to drive a SmartCar! You pick up a smart car, drive to your destination, drop the smart car at a Green P parking or other Car2Go spot and move on. (The onboard nav system actually tells you where the Green Ps are!)  You don’t pay for the time you aren’t driving and there are LOTS of these cars across Toronto.(Our usual rental is 30 minutes at 35cents/minute but it’s also $12.99/hour, first 200km free. One time signup fee of $35 but see bold for FREE signup) [Sign upand give me some free driving minutes by using the promo code “TDOT Alexa Clark” and you’ll get registered for free until Sept 2nd 2012. ]