Cabbin’ Fever: A guide to the city’s best vehicles for hire

By Reanna Sartoretto | Illustration By Michael Byers

Nobody owns a car anymore. Well, okay, some people own cars, but they’re an endangered bunch, at least south of Bloor. As millennials snatch up condos in the core at a staggering rate (downtown’s population has grown by 20 per cent in the last 10 years), the rite of auto ownership, once a milestone commensurate with getting hitched or having kids, has slipped right off the priority list. When walking’s not an option, urban families are availing themselves of Uber rides, car-share subscriptions and other swipe-and-go services that make sense in a city where it’s sometimes tricky to move your arms, let alone parallel park an SUV. In fact, last spring, a new build on University Avenue became Toronto’s first parking-free condo building. In place of a sprawling concrete crypt, it has a handful of dedicated car-share slips—a fact that didn’t prevent 85 per cent of the units from selling out in nine days. The latest A-to-B options make going carless cheaper and easier than ever—provided you know when and how to use them. Here, a guide to the perfect ride for every type of traveller.