Five apps that can save you money on the road
Getting behind the wheel doesn’t come cheap. There’s gas, insurance, parking, maintenance, tolls and tickets, and of course the A-word: the dreaded accident. But there are ways to keep the cost of driving in check. Thanks to modern technology, the money stays in your pocket with the help of your smartphone. Download these apps, reduce stress and start saving money and time whenever you get in the driver’s seat. Of course, we don’t really need to remind you not to use your phone while driving, do we? WAZE Time is money, so why waste it idling in traffic? If you’re still using Apple Maps, Google Maps, or — heaven forbid — MapQuest, it might be time to consider an upgrade to something more modern. At its core, Waze is a GPS-based traffic app that gets you to your destination using the quickest and most direct route. The data is crowdsourced by fellow motorists also using the app, so things such as speed traps, construction, accidents and other disruptions are collected and updated instantly. waze.com HONK Parking can cost a small fortune, especially if you’re in a city and doing the find-a-spot dance daily. Honk makes sourcing both affordable and available parking easier than parallel parking. The map interface displays detailed information about each lot or space, including daily rates. Got a parking space of your own to rent? List it on Honk and turn that piece of unused pavement into cash. honkmobile.com GASBUDDY Boston-based GasBuddy brings its cheap fuel-sourcing skills to Canada with this gas price tracking app. A map reveals the gas stations within a predetermined radius, along with the cost of fuel at each one. Information from the company’s database — which is extensive, pulling from over 150,000 gas station locations across North America and taking user ratings into consideration — is updated in real time. gasbuddy.com CAA Yes, CAA has an annual fee, but use a tow and the membership will have more than paid for itself. The app allows access to all of the same services as if you were placing a phone call — tows, dead batteries, empty gas tanks — but also has a service tracker, so you can see when a truck has been dispatched and is en route. There’s also a builtin map that shows all of the CAA’s more than 100,000 partners within your area. Use the card to the max and save on everything from ice cream to gas and hotel stays. caa.ca/mobile EBRAKE Getting a ticket can ruin your day and your budget. Avoid distracted driving tickets by curbing temptation to check your phone with an app that locks the device when in motion. Earlier this year, a Vancouver Island man beat a distracted driving ticket after the courts ruled that an app such as eBrake — which he had installed on his phone — had locked his device, rendering it unusable while driving. He may have been holding the phone, as the officer reported, but the judge decided the app meant he wasn’t actually using it. ebrake.ca Driving.ca