Dear Vanny R.I.P. (Part 1)

We knew this day would arrive, although we hoped it would be later rather than sooner. Our beloved hand-painted Vanny, that has reliably transported most of our babies since they were born, was running on borrowed time. Herb White, everyone’s local mechanic, officially pronounced it dead a few weeks ago, although, technically, it still runs. Diplomatically he suggested “you don’t want to drive it very far,” adding something about brake and fuel lines. Husband and I interpreted this news differently. He, normally the conservative one, wishfully took it to mean that we wouldn’t be taking it on vacation any time soon. I began immediately referring to it as “The Van of Death.” I guess it was something in my choice of words that made for a convincing argument.

Here is our (my) dilemma. We live in a rural village about forty-five minutes from the city centre. I really, really want to try life as a one-vehicle family for two reasons: I’m interested in challenging our ingrained beliefs and habits around being a two-car family plus I’d rather be making a significant contribution to the Take-the-Family-to-Zio’s-House-In-France fund instead of buying a bucket of bolts that I just don’t value. But I’m coming ‘round to the idea that it may not be possible. Here’s the deal.

Losing use of the van means that we are down to a Ford Escort hatchback. Great as a second car, not so great if we’re all trying to go somewhere together like outings, church and vacations. Somebody has to stay behind, overnight at the in-laws, or we have to shuttle children in shifts, which is a bit nuts. It also means that I can’t carry home large nursery purchases, lumber or other building supplies which are key to my current undertakings. Perhaps one vehicle living would be more workable if Little Red Riding Car was a van instead. But it’s not.

Better scheduling?
Both of us work predominantly from home (at the moment), our children go to school by bus, and our vehicles spend a good deal of their life parked in the driveway. I’ve estimated that we really need about 0.7 of the car and 0.3 of a van. Although this adds up to the absolute use of one whole vehicle in theory, in practical terms it doesn’t. Many activities happen in a concurrent, non-linear fashion. So we have gone to heavy-duty household calendar use to coordinate our meetings, appointments and child-related activities, which is not a problem, and which serves to make us more mindful of our overall driving habits. It’s incredibly tempting to hop in the car for a whimsical trip to the store when it’s eyeing you from the driveway. But a wrench is thrown in the plans if Husband has to travel by plane (the airport is 45 minutes away) or if I need to take a roadtrip for meetings or be gone for a full day without rushing back to play TaxiMom. My pre-planned schedule will also take a butt-kicking if any unexpected meetings arise for Husband. I, ostensibly, have the more flexible schedule at the moment.

Public transportation?
There is no public transportation, save for one private bus that leaves the area at 6am and returns around 6pm each day. It’s not a bad option if you work a regular, predictable job in the city but that’s about it.

Alternatives?
The nearest town with limited services is about ten kilometres away. Cycling to town is an appealing occasional option during the spring or fall while the kids are in school. But it’s just not reasonable during the winter or with kids in tow to make that trip on a regular basis for the barest of necessities. And, God forbid, I should forget some key item on my list and have to turn around.

Sharing vehicles?
When we had two vehicles I floated the idea of a communal truck out to a few friends in the community but had no takers. It seems ridiculous to me that we all own equipment that sits unused so much of the time when we could have a simple share system with people we trust (who have good insurance). I sent an e-mail to the folks at ZipCar but didn’t receive the favour of a reply. I think the ZipCar/VirtuCar idea is a great one but the reality of getting one in our village would require a significant song-and-dance on my part just to grow some basic understanding around the service, then a whole lot more than that to bring an actual vehicle into play. Not the best use of my time at the moment but it could still have some future possibilities.

Our transportation challenges highlight why the Center for Neighbourhood Technology in Chicago developed their H&T Affordability Index. H&T stands for “Housing and Transportation.” Their argument is that the true cost of housing must take into consideration transportation costs in order to determine true affordability. Traditionally, housing was deemed affordable if its annual cost did not exceed 30% of a household’s income. This is the same kind of thinking behind the push for tighter building envelopes, super-levels of insulation, and energy-efficient appliances in residential construction. There are long-term operational costs that can no longer be ignored.

While housing stock is (generally) cheaper toward the suburbs and beyond, the farther households are away from the city centres or workplaces, the higher the proportion of incomes are spent on transportation costs (http://www.cnt.org/repository/heavy_load_10_06.pdf). As in our village, public transportation is scarce and the population small so even the possibility for ride shares is diminished. Consequently more vehicle trips are taken by individuals.

Click here to check out the statistics on Average Household Expenditures by Province in Canada from the Canadian Council on Social Development. I’ll give you a hint: the top three expenditures are income tax, housing and transportation.

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If you have any brilliant, alternative ideas around solving our transportation dilemma, I’d like to hear your thoughts. Forget about telling us to move. We’ve already thought of that. As for smaller family planning? A little late, I’d say.