05-10-2022, 09:19 AM
(05-10-2022, 08:20 AM)ac3r Wrote: I think a lot of "lower income people" actually rely on cars actually. It's often a misconception that those without a lot of money take the bus or whatever. Yes, transit works for a lot of them but the transit system in Waterloo Region is also pretty constricting. It can take over an hour or more to commute through this city if you need to take various transfers. I grew up working class and my parents didn't have a lot of money, but they also couldn't take the bus because it took so long. They had to rely on a cheap car.
If you're living in Kitchener and working in Cambridge in a factory or working in a store at Conestoga Mall, you can't waste 2 hours of your day taking various buses/the LRT as it's a huge time sink. It can be much easier to buy a junky used car that can get them around the city in 20 minutes. We can't forget that affordable does not always mean pinching every cent you can, it also means using your time economically which is especially true if you're not only working, but have second jobs, are educating yourself, have children to take care of etc.
You need to consider how the rise of the e-bike has changed things. While many people may not have considered a regular bicycle to be viable for commuting compared to transit or owning a car, an e-bike is faster than a regular bike and much cheaper than buying a car. I have never owned a car in my life and have used a bicycle as a primary form of transportation. My e-bike has become my primary mode of transportation, even over my recumbent bike (I have been riding recumbents since 1992). With the increased cost of housing, the expense of owning a car has become less viable for many people, but you can do almost everything on an e-bike than you can in a car, so there may be a lot less need for parking in new developments than there used to be. If I was in a financial position to buy a condo, I would be looking for secure bike parking rather than car parking.