Do You Need a Car in Toronto?

Everyone asks me if you need a car when you move to Toronto.  If you live downtown Toronto, I think the clear answer is no.  There are plenty of transportation alternatives (public transportation, taxis, bikes, walking) that it isn’t a necessity.  If you do want to drive and don’t own a car, both Zipcar and AutoShare are available which are basically car sharing programs or short-term car rentals however you want to look at it.  I haven’t used AutoShare, but Zipcar is fantastic.  I used it all of the time in New York, and I think it is one of the best innovations for those who want a car but not the hassle of owning one.  

Even though we live downtown, I personally love having a car in Toronto, but my husband would prefer not to have one.  For me, though I enjoyed our car-free time in NYC, there is a certain feeling of freedom that comes from not being tied to someone else’s schedule (TTC).  I like to be able to pick up visitors from the airport, go to IKEA whenever I want, visit my family in Detroit, or take a weekend away.  He thinks this is what Zipcar is for so I guess we’ll agree to disagree.

 

Traffic in the city is bad between construction, street cars, turning cars, bikers¸ bad drivers, untimed lights, etc.  I find it hard to get around.  It can take us anywhere from 8 minutes to 30 minutes (I’m sure even more) to get to the highway from our place depending on traffic, which makes it tough to plan.  Like we used to say in Minnesota, there are two seasons – winter and road construction.  While I haven’t experienced a winter here yet, this season is definitely road construction.  I use my maps on my iPhone a lot to help determine the best route including traffic.

Cars are expensive anywhere, but especially here.  As I mentioned previously, gas is close to $4.00/gallon.  Unless you own a home, you’ll likely have to pay to park your car where you live. Street parking permits from the city range in price from $13 - $46 per month plus tax.  Also, any time you drive it in town, you’ll likely have to pay to park your car.  If you can get meter parking, it will cost between $1.00 and $3.50 per hour.  If you have to park in a ramp, you can expect it to cost much more than that.  The City has a great website though that you can use to find public parking, and the rates are more reasonable.  Car insurance is also expensive – we pay $160/month for liability only on our 2002 Honda Civic, and that was the best deal we could find.

If you are going to have a car, you should consider whether you will buy it here in Canada or bring it with you.  If you are moving here as a permanent resident you would have to technically import your car – which from what I have heard is a very onerous process.  Since we moved here on a work permit we didn’t have to import our car yet.  People who have had to import their car have differing opinions but many say they would have just bought it here (typically cars are more expensive here – same with everything else).  Making this one decision will take a lot of time and research to understand your specific situation.

I think the take-home message on owning a car in Toronto is that it is a very personal decision that will require a lot of research based on where you will live, what kind of car you will have, your budget, your personal priorities, and your immigration status.