No matter how you cut it, owning a car in the city just isn’t worth it. Long-term parking costs way too much, and when you take it out, you can never find street parking. Most of the time, it’s better just to use one of the many other existing transportation methods. If you’re unsure of your options, we’ve thrown together a list of the best ways to get around the city without a car.
Ridesharing Services
Just because you don’t own your own vehicle doesn’t mean you can’t easily get a ride in someone else’s. Ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft have become staples in many communities, but they’re especially popular in cities. While taxis still exist, these ridesharing services are much more convenient and, in some cases, cheaper.
Some car-sharing services are starting to pop up as well. They work similarly, except you can drive yourself wherever you want. You just have to return the vehicle when you’ve finished using it.
Public Transit
While the rates of those rideshares are reasonable, if you really want to save money, you should look into public transit options like buses or trains. They might take a bit longer to get you to your destination since they will make multiple stops along the way, but your wallet will thank you, especially during the busier hours of transit.
Bikes
You could always use a bike if you’d rather skip the hassle of standard transportation options. Most cities these days have dedicated bike lanes, making them much safer to ride on busy streets. Plus, after you buy the bike, it won’t cost you a thing and will give you an excellent form of exercise every time you use it. The only downside is traveling longer distances might become a bit tiresome.
Personal Electric Vehicles
When a standard bike tires you out, that’s when personal electric vehicles come into play. These include bikes, scooters, and even unicycles. Unicycles take up less room than a standard scooter, so once you master the key tips to ride an electric unicycle, you’ll have a fun, unique, and super easy way to get around town. Electric transportation methods give you most of the benefits of a standard bike without tiring you out or making you too sweaty once you reach your destination.
Walking
Finally, if all else fails, the last way to get around the city without a car is by using your own two feet. The beauty of densely packed metropolitan areas is the fact that everything is so close by. There’s a good chance that many of the places you’d need to go on any given day are within a reasonable walk from your apartment. So why not try walking to your destination every once and a while? You might find out that you even like it.
