How Ankit lives without a car in the city
When he realised his car was an unnecessary drain on his finances, Ankit gave it up and has been living car-free for the last two years.
When he realised his car was an unnecessary drain on his finances, Ankit gave it up two years ago and decided to live car free instead.
“I live in Kirribilli, close to the city, so I don’t need a car very often and I didn’t want to be paying for registration, insurance and other costs for no reason. That’s why I started looking at car rental options.”
“I saw GoGet and Uber Carshare, but GoGet has a membership fee while Uber Carshare is pay as you go, which is good. Also Uber Carshare tends to be a bit cheaper than GoGet.”
Uber Carshare’s free membership meant that Ankit could sign up just to check it out. “I wanted to see what the app is like and how easy it would be to use when I needed a car. Sometimes you need a car at short notice, so I wanted to see how quickly I could book a car from the time I know need one. I like to check out new apps too - I’m a bit of a tech head.”
It was over a year after signing up before Ankit needed to book his first car, but with his Uber Carshare membership ready to go, he was able to book and drive straight away.
Now Ankit uses Uber Carshare once every month or two, when he needs to pick someone up from the airport or if he needs to travel out of the city or to somewhere that’s inaccessible by public transport. For everything else, there’s public transport or ride sharing.
“Usually I get around by public transport or using Uber or Ola. I weigh up the cost and distance of each trip to work out how much time it will save me to take a car, then decide whether to take a car or public transport.”
With so many transport options nearby, Ankit hasn’t missed owning a car. For the odd occasion he does need to drive, he can borrow a car from a neighbour.
“Whenever I’ve needed a car I’ve always been able to something close by, because there are lots of cars to rent in Kirribilli.”
For Ankit, car-sharing is a convenient and affordable way to access a car - and he likes the community feel of Uber Carshare.
“I’m a big fan of peer-to-peer sharing because it’s helping out another person and not a corporation, which I think is better. The cars are owned by real people, and I like the idea of helping someone else out.”