Tanner Zurkoski is spending one month in a car in Toronto to highlight the length of time people in the GTA spend commuting. At the crucial but difficult two week point, he dropped into the Metro Toronto office parking lot for a chat…

After two weeks, how are you feeling?

I’ve got a much shorter temper. My nerves are a bit frayed and it takes a lot less to set me off. Constant exposure to downtown traffic for 12 hours a day has made me develop some road rage.

Is it lonely in the car?

It is harder for me to wrangle friends. The novelty is gone for them. I have to go further into the recesses of my contact list. I think I’m down to acquaintances now.

What happens at mealtime?

Thankfully I haven’t had to do many drive-thru trips, only three times at this point. Another thing I do is park outside of a restaurant, call them and try to get them to come out to take my order. Or I start up conversations with people on the street and then eventually say ‘Hey, here’s $10, can you go get me a foot-long turkey club?’

The car broke down. What happened?

I knocked a wire loose with my foot — apparently your foot is not supposed to go that far into the car! That wire was connected to the (AutoShare communication box) and that box is linked into the engine and the doors. Once that wire is disconnected the car goes into ‘I’m being stolen’ mode, so it wouldn’t start

While his Honda was being fixed, Tanner got to test drive two electric cars.

Mitsubishi i-MiEV: “Really fun to drive; like a go-cart. It’s a cute car but a bit small for me.”

Nissan Leaf: “Looks and feels like a real car, but it is absolutely silent. The only sound you hear are the tires on the road.”

Track Tanner’s progress across Toronto