The Amazing Benefits Of Car-Free Living In Calgary, Alberta!

You know how it is, right? Driving in the city. Although Calgary is small in terms of the city population, driving can still be a little stressful. Sitting in traffic, navigating the roads, dealing with extreme weather and getting comfortable with the mountain roads that surround the city, are just some of the hazards that come with being a road user in Calgary, Alberta.

To be honest, you don’t need a car in any city in 2022 and Calgary is no different. With abundant public transport and access to beautiful surroundings makes Calgary a super easy place to live both car and carefree. Let’s check out some of the amazing benefits you’ll gain from car-free living in Calgary.

Benefits Of Car-Free Living in Calgary

There are numerous benefits from living car-free here in Calgary and we couldn’t be more behind trying to live without a vehicle while at the same time, reducing your environment.

No Wasted Time

No one wants to sit in traffic every morning and although Calgary holds a population of only 1.4 million, traffic is as much a problem as any city. Did you know, according to Think Insure, Canadians spend, on average, 27 minutes a day sitting in traffic?

Whatsmore, you can’t do much when you’re driving or sitting in traffic, which sucks for your productivity. In addition to this, when you don’t own a car, you’re not spending any of your precious time maintaining, fixing and keeping your vehicle on the road. If you’ve ever owned a car, you’ll know first-hand the costs involved and all the care required to keep your car on the road. Whether you’re handy at fixing your vehicle, or have to hire a mechanic, you’ll always save time sans-car, as you’ll never have to wait around while your car is being fixed.

Save Money

The biggest benefit of car-free living is the money you’ll save. Without a doubt, you’ll save a whole bunch of money by not owning a car. Some of the costs you’ll avoid include:
• Parking fees
• Potential fines
• Fixing costs
• Maintenance costs
• Services
• Fuel
• Registration, tax and licensing

Keeping a car on the road costs a lot of money and car-free living means you alleviate all of these costs. Yes, you’ll have to fork out for using public transport but the cost of this is significantly less than using your vehicle.

Your Health

Two of the best alternatives, to cars, are walking and cycling. Both are great for your health. Jumping on the bike every day or going for a walk where usually you would just jump in the car.
Calgary is also surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery, not only in Canada but in the entire world. This scenery includes some amazing bike trails that beg you to come and explore. Calgary has over 600kms of bike trails so you’ll never run out of awesome tracks to adventure on.
Commuting every day by bike will also mean you’re ‘getting your reps in’ and exercising every single day, instead of sitting in your car and getting frustrated at the traffic. Awesome for both your physical and mental health.

Sustainability & Environmental Impact

When it comes to sustainability, using public transport has a huge positive impact on the environment and although you’re still using fuel, having a bus with 50 passengers on, compared to 50 passengers all driving their cars, is significantly less.

If you live in Calgary, you’re also extremely lucky when it comes to public transport as what is already a great infrastructure that makes accessibility to public transport super easy, the city goes one step further. Calgary includes a fare-free zone for travelers using the C-Train system allowing you to hop on and off for free anywhere along 7th avenue.
Better still, if you’re cycling or walking every day, you are contributing to the sustainability of transport methods and reducing any personal environmental impacts caused by driving. While cycling to work every day isn’t anywhere near as exciting as hitting Banff’s bike trails, it certainly makes for a more enjoyable commute.

Productivity While Commuting

When driving, you can’t get much done other than sitting and listening to the radio, but by using public transport, you can use that valuable time to be productive.
Imagine if you used all the hours you spent driving in the morning to learn or work? How much would you get done?

Although public transport usually takes much longer than driving in your vehicle, using that time effectively will work wonders for your productivity – You might be surprised just how much you could get done.

Sightseeing & Car-Free Living

Did you know you can easily get to Banff National Park from Calgary, without a car? Well, many buses frequently take passengers from the city to park for less than $50. From the city, you can easily access the beauty of the surrounding national parks and either go hiking or take your bicycle to hit some of the hundreds of bike trails.

Summary

Now you know that car-free living in Calgary is not only possible but beneficial. Calgary is a city in which you can live sustainably and still have accessibility to everything you need to prosper in the city. To summarize, here are those main points again:
• Save time
• Save money
• Improve your health
• Reduce your impact on the environment
• Improve your productivity

If you want to take your sustainability and car-free living seriously, we have a completely sustainable property perfect for car-free living. You can rent it now, just contact us today.