We are now entering our second week as a car-sharing household.

I’ll admit to experiencing more than a little trepidation before embarking upon our ‘grand’ experiment. It all sounded great on paper: save money. Save time. Be kinder to the environment. But would the theory measure up in practice?

My wife and I decided we wanted to save money and help the environment by running one car. We both work within a few miles of one another, so we could car-share during the morning commute. As we tend to finish work at different times, I would then travel the ‘return leg’ by bus.

Around the time we were considering our ‘one-car policy’, my brother’s beloved 13-year-old Ford began to misbehave. After some well-timed to-ing and fro-ing, we all agreed that he would buy our ‘two owners from new’ and save us the trouble of selling privately.

The reality of our decision didn’t really hit home until I dropped off the car keys with their proud new owner. I then realized that this was it: the last time I would drive my car. The last time I would enjoy the convenience of doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, without having to plan ahead. The reality hit home. I’d been spoilt. Taking transport-on-demand for granted. Read the rest of this entry »