Alberta drivers say having a vehicle is essential but financial struggles a concern

A new study is highlighting the struggles drivers in Alberta are facing due to rising inflation; however, a vast majority say they couldn’t imagine not having a vehicle.

According to the third annual Car Ownership Index, a benchmark study from Turo, Canada’s leading peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace, in partnership with Leger, has revealed that high costs are pricing Canadians out of car ownership.

The study profiled drivers across the country, including in Alberta, with half of respondents in the province saying they were less likely to buy or lease a vehicle this year due to inflation rates.

More than 1 in 10 (13%) of Albertan respondents said they were planning to stop owning or leasing their car in the future, with 67% of respondents citing financial reasons, which is well above the national average of 42%, and is the highest among all provinces.

One of the top reasons Alberta respondents without a vehicle don’t own or lease one currently is how expensive a vehicle is, with 30% of Albertans pointing to that reason.

For those who do own a vehicle, 96% of them said they sit idle 86% of the time; however, despite sitting idle so much, 81% of Albertans who own or lease a car say it would be impossible not to have one, while 64% agreed they would have to change jobs if they didn’t have one.

That’s a tad higher than the national average, with 78% of Canadians who own or lease a vehicle saying it would be impossible not to have one, while 57% agreed they would have to change jobs if they didn’t have one.

The survey was conducted by Leger for Turo in Canada, from December 11 to 18, 2023. It consisted of a representative sample of 1,500 English and/or French-speaking Canadians who were 25 years of age or older.