my god given right is to be happy

There are a number of perks to sharing a vehicle with a co-op rather than being the out right owner of one.

1. Access to a wide variety of vehicles. Jeeps, trucks, hybrids, Mini Cooper, Volkswagen Bug. No Smart cars, or motorcycles though.

2. Discount on most car rentals at three different car rental agencies.

3. 15% discount monthly Translink bus pass that I will continue to buy every month.

4. 10% off my monthly bill for being a good Co-Op member: returning vehicles on time, keeping the gas tank of vehicles I borrow at 1/2 tank, not leaving light on or doors and windows open, and paying my bill on time.

5. The Co-Op pays for all gas, maintenence and insurance. If you put gas in a vehicle or put it through a car wash, just attatch receipts and it will be taken off your monthly bill.

Today, I booked a 2003 Gray Toyota RAV4 to do a large grocery run and pick up a few things. It's parked 4 blocks away, for use between 1-5pm. The charge is $8.00 plus approx $0.18/per kilometre. This makes me happy.

The downsides? You don't get to indulge that part of being a human that says:

"I deserve to have access to a vehicle at all hours of the day. I deserve to be the only person in the vehicle if I want that and I deserve to use the trunk as a storage unit for my stuff. I also deserve to have this vehicle parked less than 20 steps from my front door and not have to share it if I don't want to. Lastly, I derserve to feel that having a vehicle is a god given right to my human functioning on the planet, not a luxury."

I think I can live with that.