I can't imagine life not being that way. I live in NYC and can walk to everything important, or take a short subway ride to anything else. I've gone months without getting in a car- if I ever move I think I'd miss that a lot.
Still, I miss Victoria. I try to get back every year for the Beerfest.
Everything I need is downtown so I rarely bus anywhere. Living out by uvic would be annoying without a vehicle though.
I was actually penalized when I renewed auto insurance for not carrying it for 2 years, despite not owning a car nor driving at all.
Robust public transportation should be a huge initiative for all major cities, and even more so ones that are growing quickly. The efficiencies, environmental impact, and convenience for citizens are too much to ignore.
If you're willing to walk a bit and take some buses, you don't need a car. And you find really cool places while walking that else you'd never know existed.
You don't know what you've got till it's gone... etc.