Could you get by without your car? One option might be to share a car as part of a car-sharing network.

For example, Grant Rodriguez-Mouland likes the convenience of driving but he doesn't like what it costs to own a car.

"I had a new car when I was younger and I spent loads of money keeping the car on the road and payments, and then I bought an old car and I continued to spend loads of money just keeping the car on the road," says Grant.

He bought a membership in the Cooperative Auto Network two years ago and it's paid off.

"I actually save at the minimum five hundred bucks a month," he says.

The Cooperative Auto Network has thousands of members sharing a fleet of two hundred vehicles in greater Vancouver. It's been around for eleven years.

"The people this is best suited for are people who would use a car less than four days a week," says CAN's Tracey Axelsson. "So if you are using a car once a week, or twice a week, we're definitely going to save you money."

You pay a five hundred dollar refundable membership fee to join.

Then, when you use a car, it's two dollars an hour, plus a variable rate per kilometre, and administration fee based on your monthly usage.

You book the time you want the vehicle on-line and usually there's one parked in your area.

CAN's on-line calculator shows that for driving around town, it's typically much cheaper than renting a car but that may not hold true for longer trips. And even in town, car sharing is not for everyone.

"On an almost constant basis, we tell people 'car sharing is not for you.' we think that it's going to be too expensive for you," explains Axelsson. "People phone us and say 'I need to get my grandmother to the doctor ever day and we just say 'you know what? This is not the service for you."

But for Grant it's perfect. 

"The only downside is you need to plan ahead especially for weekends," he says.

Another car sharing service called Zip car. You can find out more about that service at zipcar.com.  Whatever network you're considering, do some math to see if car sharing works for you.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen