Does it make sense not to own a car at all?

[faith1201]

@jamesf123 I literally work in IT and I cant afford a car at all

 

[jamesf123]

@faith1201 I mean that's not enough information to go on, but it sounds a bit exaggerated, especially for IT?..
Pretty much anyone who works here and does not have external burdens could afford one (doesn't mean they should, but that's a different story).

 

[classytam]

@jamesf123 Yes, it makes sense. This is one of the world's best public transport systems.

 

[rosethepoet]

@jamesf123 Driving and having a car is something people are indoctrinated with since a young age. In Zurich it‘s absolutely not necessary and not having a car saved me a ton of money.

 

[jamesf123]

@rosethepoet I have started driving very late and didn't really grow up in a car culture. I don't think it's necessary at all, but I do think "when it's real nice, I like it". But it's an expensive toy in the end.

 

[kathrineswitzer]

@jamesf123 It really depends on where you live / work and what you like to do I guess... I live in center of Geneva and having a car here would be a headache more than anything else. I can completely rely on public transportation even working in Lausanne, so don't feel the need for a car except for vacations, it's true it's a struggle to go skiing for example. Anything Wallis basically a car is required lol.

 

[nena111601]

@jamesf123 Why on earth would you want to own a car in Zurich? I once accidentally summoned an Uber, and let me tell you, I'd have gladly traded my car for a teleporter right then and there. The traffic was like a snail parade, and the ride cost me an arm, a leg, and my last ounce of Swiss neutrality! Living here means having the world's fanciest public transport – and I say that as a former New Yorker! So, do yourself a favor, ditch the car, and grab an e-bike. If you've got kids, attach a chariot and create your own epic, Swiss-style adventure!

 

[jonathan123]

@nena111601 E-bikes are great. I have 3 small children and put 2 in the trailer and one in a bike seat. Sucks a little when it rains but e-bike makes things much better when wrapped up in rain gear because you don't get nearly as sweaty.

 

[maidian]

@jamesf123 I havent had a car for the last decade, I think cars are way too expensive nowadays. And the conditions for drivers went down a lot :

Taxes, insurances, radars everywhere, 20kmh roads, 30kmh roads, speed bumps every 200 meter, hard to find a park spot, pay for a garage.... No, tyvm.

I have a small scooter for the city and take the train to go farther.

 

[jamesf123]

@maidian Bit of an exaggeration I think. It's a beautiful city to drive in, and one shouldn't be driving too much in the city anyway. On the price, I agree, it's all made for leasing etc.

 

[myreveille]

@jamesf123 I never had a car and I just finished my studies. Me and my wife were considering buying a car, even though we live in the city center, sometimes we think having a car would be very handy, for example to go to shopping centers that are outside of the city and buy something big or just go for a day trip somewhere. Public transportation is very expensive even having half price.

 

[jamesf123]

@myreveille Some of the posts in the thread give a good overview of various options. Basically, you don't need it in the city, and you can rent cars on apps for short trips, but it can be nice, especially if you do enough trips outside of the convenience of fast public transport lines.

But it will never be magically a lot cheaper than public transport, unless you have an extreme use case.

 

[myreveille]

@jamesf123 The problem l personally see with the absence of something constant like a GA or a car is that I might end up not doing stuff just because it's cheaper.
With your own car you can just take it and drive it wherever you want. On the other side, with a rental you need to plan, book and pay 200.- every weekend you want to go out.

 

[jamesf123]

@myreveille Fair enough, and I can see the same happening with me. It's just a matter of convenience ) psychological barrier. Again I don't think there's any problem with deciding to buy a car, it was the right decision for us before, but it's just shit in terms of optimising finances and the use case is different now.

But just try something like GoMore once for a day trip or so. Unless you are extraordinarily spontaneous (i.e. don't ever plan for the next day), it's really super seamless. Zero contact if you don't want to, everything done by app.

In fact one of the things that kind of makes me think more about carsharing is that I don't have to drive the same car every time, but could have fun trying different ones.

 

[myreveille]

@jamesf123 GoMore looks like a good option, 50-70 francs a day looks like a pretty good price, better than mobility or public transport

 

[poppae]

@jamesf123 Mobility costs 3,3 CHF/km approximately, all included.

 

[louisegirl]

@jamesf123 In Zurich I recommend Mobility car sharing. Been living in ZH for years without a car and still don't have one.