How HourCar’s shutdown changed life for my family

I live in Minneapolis with my wife, a nurse at Hennepin County Medical Center, and my 7-year-old twins. In June 2021, my family involuntarily became car-free when our Toyota Corolla was totaled in a multi-car crash outside Chicago. The trunk of our car was banged in, and the rear windshield shattered. I swept safety glass out of the car seats of my crying and confused 2-year-old children. I stood in a broiling breakdown lane making phone calls, and wondering what we would do next. After months of research, we decided it was not affordable for our family to replace our car. Instead, we would try to rely on biking, walking and taking transit to meet our daily needs. Cityscape: HourCar’s closure in the Twin Cities would be everyone’s loss  But not every trip feels safe, comfortable or accessible using those modes, especially with young kids, so HourCar and its Evie Carshare program quickly became critical ingredients in our transportation mix. In nursing school, my wife