Living in McCauley means having a lot of great choices to get around. My main form of transportation is the bus, for which I have to be very grateful to the City. Not only is it efficient and practical, as a person with a disability on benefits I get a bus pass for a reduced rate. After taking the bus, I have the option of walking. I live only about a 20 minute walk from downtown and I love doing it even on the coldest of days. Something about getting exercise and fresh air and experiencing the steady rhythm of footsteps as I enjoy some of the great views of Edmonton, from gorgeous sunrises to the stunning downtown skyline, just makes me happy. Walking is also my main way of staying fit.

There are times when I really need a car. Earlier last year, I had a truck a friend was lending me that I was planning to buy off of him that was sadly stolen. It was an older truck and I guess that made it a target for thieves, whether it was easier to initially get into or easier to hot-wire or both. A lot of people who live in this part of town use “the club” on their steering wheels which is not such a bad idea. I now use a car-sharing service that is the answer to a lot of my problems.

The car service, called Pogo CarShare, is a great way to fill in those gaps in your life where a car just becomes necessary. You register with the service, then you can find where cars are with an app on your phone, reserve a car, and then go and pick it up. There is no central pick-up location – people leave the cars wherever there is City parking and you just go and open the door with a key fob device, get in, and punch in your code and off you go. The convenience level of it is huge.

I always rent a car at least once a month. My roommate chips in to my expenses of renting the car and I drive him around for his errands. Then I go and pick up my dad and brother, and once they are done with their shopping and whatever else they need to do, I have the car to myself.

I really like the freedom and low cost of riding the bus and walking for most of my transportation, but I have to admit there are cold days (just about anything worse than -10 qualifies!) when I really wish I had my own car. It is comforting to know that when I get a car, gas will be less than the cutthroat rate it was for quite a while. I will still have to deal with insurance, registration, purchase of the car, and maintenance. It will be a tough decision to make, but I am glad to know that I have options.

I have a feeling that when the sun starts coming out and long hot summer days are ahead, I’m going to take out my mountain bike and get out and have so much fun flying down roads that I will forget about a car for another season. It’s nice to know we only have longer days ahead of us at this point, and it’s going to be fun times in McCauley again soon!