Feeling Vrtuous

No, I did not forget the 'i' in virtuous! Seeing that we live on the edge of Ottawa's downtown core and can walk or take the bus to most things, we decided that a car was not something that we absolutely needed to go about our daily routine. We did, however, decide that occasional shopping trips to IKEA (waaaaay in the suburbs) or weekend skiing jaunts to Gatineau Park were a necessity. Enter Vrtucar.

Vrtucar is a car-sharing network in Ottawa that gives you access to a fleet of cars that are parked/stationed in and around downtown. There is a one-time refundable membership fee of $500, and then members pay a small monthly fee ($20 in our case), an hourly rate for car rental ($2.50 - $3.00 an hour) and a kilometre rate (something like $0.35/km). That's it. That's all. No insurance (they have group insurance). No gas (unless you need to fill it up, in which case the total you paid for gas is deducted from your monthly bill, plus $1.50 for your troubles). No repairs. No maintenance. No changing the oil or winter tires. No hassle! Cars are booked online, and there is almost always something available for when you want it. We've been signed for a month and so far, so good!

Car sharing networks are popping up all over Canada and the States including in Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa/Gatineau, Toronto, Kitchener, Vancouver, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago.

And this is why I am feeling particularly vrtuous these days!