I like driving. If you look through my photos, you will notice that I have been to a few car shows. I love the look of some of the old cars, but if I had a lot of money (old cars do take a lot of money, both to purchase, and even more for upkeep) I would rather buy a modern car.
In general, new cars are more efficient, built better, and most important to me, handle better.
So why don’t I drive to school? Parking. There are a few lots where you can rent a spot for $90 or $100 per month. Daily parking will cost at least $13.50. A monthly bus pass is $70. Since I can walk home from school, I buy $40 to $50 worth of bus tickets per month.
Ok, I am either a starving student, or a starving artist. Either way, I can’t afford to park downtown every day.
Which brings me back to buses. I am not convinced they are more energy efficient than reasonable cars. And buses are definitely less time efficient, but city councils seem to have a love affair with them. Roads are narrowed to provide bus lanes, traffic lights and intersections are optimized for the lumbering beasts and so on.
In a large city like Hong Kong, space for parking all the required cars is problematic, but in a small city like Victoria, why the big hate on the automobile?