Commuting - Bike Costs vs Car Costs: A little spreadsheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AksqDNByMdZbdFpoUVFuSFF3UWJ6MWhRN3ZTVmdBa0E

(link now public)

Upshot: I should have purchased a much more expensive bike

This comparison is based on deprecation of car and bike, on how often I ride the train versus ride, and I ignore fixed costs like car registration because I'm not getting rid of my car, just looking at my savings when commuting by bike (actually if I own my car longer, I suppose those fixed costs increase -- ironic, eh? A bike causes you to spend more per-car on registration?)

Don't think your document is publicly available - I can't access it.

Don't think your document is publicly available - I can't access it.

Me either

cannot open the link.

cannot open the link.

Should be fixed!

Works now:)

You are missing an important factor: time and health.

Time spent communting, and health benefits/detractions of cycling and sitting.
These are the largest costs associated with commuting.

You are missing an important factor: time and health.

Time spent communting, and health benefits/detractions of cycling and sitting.
These are the largest costs associated with commuting.

Agreed, though verrrry difficult to quantify, save in a wide epidemiological sense.

How did you get $600 for maintenance?

How did you get $600 for maintenance?

Campagnolo, Rapha, Castelli, Light & Motion...

Campagnolo, Rapha, Castelli, Light & Motion...

I guess, I still don't understand?

I guess, I still don't understand?

expensive ass components = expensive ass repair bill

is that 12% depreciation/year? ah, maybe that's monthly payment/insurance?

what about having a car (like me) with 0% depreciation and €0 parking/year?

then the values come out quite the same, unless i am doing something incorrectly.

i guess that i could have 2 bikes or 1 car and 1 bike (which for me is that better option.)

...Upshot: I should have purchased a much more expensive bike


That's easily fixed. Just buy *more* bikes.

Campagnolo, Rapha, Castelli, Light & Motion...
Fortunately my Pocket Rocket doesn't have such expensive tastes. It also didn't cease to exist upon reaching 20 kmiles (but my car didn't either after 100 kmiles).

Agreed, though verrrry difficult to quantify, save in a wide epidemiological sense.

I think the time factor makes it impossible for many to commute by bike.
Also, city layout and structure does not make cycling easy.

Once those hurdles are accounted for, people will commute by bike.

For example, it would take me 35min by car to get to a work site. By bike, 1.5hrs+.
Despite that, I know people would bike if the streets were bike-centric and not bike-hostile.

Real change will only come with public pressure and heavy lobbying because in general, people are lemmings and they will fight tooth and nail against change, even if it is in their best interest.
I have seen this over and over.

The thing is, once change happens, those complainers magically disappear. But, it takes a huge battle to get over that hump of ignornance and fear.

When streets are laid out to give advantage to bikes and pedestrians, and cars are relegated in traffic (as they should be), that paradigm shift will change everything.

I see the change happening and hope it continues.
Right now, the cost of biking is too high for the majority.

So, even I say, Car cost is less than bike because it currently saves time (in my city and situation).
Time and health are the most valuable commodities. A few hundred or thousands of dollars doesn't really mean much and won't affect change to any real degree.

What about me, when I've owned my car 11+ years and have over 320K miles on it and it barely ever needs any work? In the past 12 months I have spent a grand total of $1,940 including both gas and parts, not including insurance. Gotta love Hondas. :)

The time factor makes it more interesting for me. If I cycle, I reach office in 12 minutes. If I drive, I take anything between 10-30 minutes (not including the 5 minute walk to the car park).

What about me, when I've owned my car 11+ years and have over 320K miles on it and it barely ever needs any work? In the past 12 months I have spent a grand total of $1,940 including both gas and parts, not including insurance. Gotta love Hondas. :)

Crank out a spreadsheet and see!

You do have to include insurance - it is a car expense and not a cycling expense. Well, I think you should, but I'm an engineer and not an accountant. Still looks to me like cycling would be cheaper for you.

In my case, I have a paid for rig that gets 16mpg around town, so simply riding saves me about 5 bucks a day. I can't do without the car, but riding allows me to reduce the miles I drive, extend the life of my tires, lower my insurance cost (miles driven will change the rate), lower maintenance costs, and increase my fitness, lower my doctor bills (no crashes included nor planned for), and have more fun.

It really does cost something between $.5 and $1 per mile to drive, when the loaded cost is considered (tires, maintenance, gas, insurance, wiper blades, pine tree air fresheners, etc.). Even with your figures, I think you could have a mighty fine bike and maintain it well.

But most of us that don't live urban can't easily do without a car. So the savings mostly has to be wear and tear and fuel costs - you'll have insurance whether you drive or not. Hmmm, guess I came full circle on that one..

Well I don't know what insurance would be. I pay about $1K total for both our cars, but mine is a little more than half of that as my car has full coverage with liability only on my wife's.

So maybe $2500/yr for my car. To commute on my bike would save considerable money, but the distance would cost me almost 2 hours of the day, or over 500 hours per year that I would not get to spend with my wife and son. To me that's worth far more than the money saved by not driving.

just FYI, the German federal government pays 0.51€/km when someone uses their car for personal business.

however, we actually have a car that university employees can use for "official" work (a BMW 7-series active hybrid) and we often have "official business" in Switzerland, so we try to take it and open it up on the Autobahn.

however, students always try to use their own cars ... because they get a huge refund check for driving 700km (35% of their monthly salary).

anyway, i don't think that i save money over public transport on a bicycle (i pay 20€/month for unlimited usage of the excellent system) but I do save a huge amount over a car. am i getting rid of the Audi though, not likely because the train isn't always the most convenient. for example, a 400km trip on Monday at 4am is not so easy.

So maybe $2500/yr for my car. To commute on my bike would save considerable money, but the distance would cost me almost 2 hours of the day, or over 500 hours per year that I would not get to spend with my wife and son. To me that's worth far more than the money saved by not driving.

THAT is a decision that can't be measured in dollars. Simply priceless, and even without my saying so the absolute right decision.

Crank out a spreadsheet and see!

You do have to include insurance - it is a car expense and not a cycling expense. Well, I think you should, but I'm an engineer and not an accountant. Still looks to me like cycling would be cheaper for you.

..

The OP said they were not going to get rid of the car so insurance cost is still there. I think they where looking at the cost savings of comuting by bike vs car, not going car free. But for most, if you dont use your car to comute, the insurance would be less.

Well I don't know what insurance would be. I pay about $1K total for both our cars, but mine is a little more than half of that as my car has full coverage with liability only on my wife's.

So maybe $2500/yr for my car. To commute on my bike would save considerable money, but the distance would cost me almost 2 hours of the day, or over 500 hours per year that I would not get to spend with my wife and son. To me that's worth far more than the money saved by not driving.

The one factor that one has to consider when taking up long distance commutes by bike. Not only the addition extra time, but also the extra energy expenditure, wear and tear on one's body. Even the Dutch, who have a much have a high percentage cycling rate, only ride on the average of 4 to 5 miles before switching to another form of transportation.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoxiZRdzI1w

The one factor that one has to consider when taking up long distance commutes by bike. Not only the addition extra time, but also the extra energy expenditure, wear and tear on one's body. Even the Dutch, who have a much have a high percentage cycling rate, only ride on the average of 4 to 5 miles before switching to another form of transportation.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoxiZRdzI1w

i agree

this video better demonstrates your argument

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfQsFgc3Xt0

Yep, my commute would be almost 30 miles RT which takes me upwards of 2.5 hours right now, vs. 45 minutes RT by car. No option for public transportation in my area. :(

For me a significant entry is "opportunity cost - riding a bike for 45 minutes a day (time spent commuting in excess of a car commute) versus working that much overtime - it amounts to about $30/day for me.

Also my vehicle costs are nothing like that much - I drive a 12 year old van that still has not required any significant (out of warranty) service, carry minimal insurance ($400 year) and there's nowhere around here that charges for parking.

So the calculation can be vastly different for different people. Just wanted to point that out, because there are people who will try to argue that riding a bicycle would always be a huge win for any person.

Great comments -- I'm hoping to make an interactive web version in the future, maybe with little sliders, because yes, everyone's situation will vary. That's why I made my own spreadsheet to start with.

One reason I started bike commuting is that here in the Silicon Valley the highways here are pretty-well hopeless at peak hours. It will typically take me between 90-120 minutes to ride each way, and while it's a 25-minute drive at 10pm, it's nearly always anywhere from one to three hours during weekdays.... as they say, your mileage may vary :)

Here is my opinion. I have costed it out but its at work and I am not at work :)

I am fat. Big and fat guy and I want to lose weight. I used to enjoy going to the gym until I found cycling. Then I found cycling in the form of commuting and I have lost a lot of weight (70-80 pounds). To me, that is pricesless. My drive is 22 miles RT and my bike ride is the same. With the car, I used to have urges to stop and eat at the endless donut shops from the house to work. And I would just be sitting, not doing anything during the drive. I got fatter and fatter.

Until I started commuting last year. Now my knees do not hurt as much, ankles do not hurt much, can eat more.... and healthier... things and basically get to exercise twice a way for 90-110 minutes RT. I love it!

For me a significant entry is "opportunity cost - riding a bike for 45 minutes a day (time spent commuting in excess of a car commute) versus working that much overtime - it amounts to about $30/day for me.

Also my vehicle costs are nothing like that much - I drive a 12 year old van that still has not required any significant (out of warranty) service, carry minimal insurance ($400 year) and there's nowhere around here that charges for parking.

So the calculation can be vastly different for different people. Just wanted to point that out, because there are people who will try to argue that riding a bicycle would always be a huge win for any person.

Why are you taking your 45 minute bike ride out of 45 minutes of overtime?

Your 45 minute bike ride should be replacing the 45 minute gym session, thus minimal opportunity cost.

A couple of comments:

1) The pocket rocket should last more than 20k miles. New chain, cassette, tires, etc... should be factored into the maintenance costs. The cars, too, can get more than 100k miles if properly maintained.

2) You include the cost of gas for the cars, but not the cost of food for cycling. If you're not trying to lose weight, then cycling 25 miles/day will add about 800 calories to your daily requirement. Of course, you can just eat two packages of ramen noodles for $0.10 or whatever, but let's be realistic. You'll probably eat the same foods you currently do, but in greater portions. If you normally eat 2400 calories/day and then need to eat 3200 calories for 3 days/week, your food bill will go up by 14% (19200 calories/week versus 16800). So, using this example, the fuel cost for cycling should be 14% of what you normally spend on food. Of course, your actual numbers may be different, but my point is that the fuel cost for cycling is not zero.

2) You include the cost of gas for the cars, but not the cost of food for cycling. If you're not trying to lose weight, then cycling 25 miles/day will add about 800 calories to your daily requirement. Of course, you can just eat two packages of ramen noodles for $0.10 or whatever, but let's be realistic. You'll probably eat the same foods you currently do, but in greater portions. If you normally eat 2400 calories/day and then need to eat 3200 calories for 3 days/week, your food bill will go up by 14% (19200 calories/week versus 16800). So, using this example, the fuel cost for cycling should be 14% of what you normally spend on food. Of course, your actual numbers may be different, but my point is that the fuel cost for cycling is not zero.

This is an excellent point that I made in another thread.

Eating an extra healthy 4000kcal/week is by no means cheap (even in Germany where food costs are extremely low.) One fresh chicken breast provides roughly 250kcal and costs roughly €2.50 where I am. Even beans, for the veggies out there, run 50kcal/100g and are at least €2.00/250g (125kcal). I would suggest that an extra healthy 800kcal/day costs roughly €6-8/day.

I'm sure that you can eat processed foods for less (note that I don't consider yogurt/cheese as processed). But cooking an extra 1000kcal/day (my gf and I commute 50km together round-trip total) for us would be, if meat based for example ... 500g of chicken breast (€5.00), rice (€2.00), canned peaches (€2.00), spices (€0.50), peanuts (€2.00) would be roughly (€10-12), or if non-meat based, a five bean soup with an onion (€0.25), 500g of beans (€5.00), potatoes/carrots/celery root/celery stalk/ginger (€3.00) would be roughly (€8-9).

So, having two people in one household commute together by bike requires roughly 1000kcal extra/day, which in our case costs an extra €8-10 per day.

A subway pass is €20 per month.

It's not that I think cycling is worthless, but the food costs must be considered as they run €100/month, which is roughly 5% of the average German net wage €2234 (Q2 of 2012). However, you can eat cheaper, by probably using processed stuff, but why cycle then?

also just for interest:

http://formyhour.com/cost-of-weekly-food-in-different-countries

check out:

all of the processed stuff in the Americans
all of the breads with the Italians
all of the beer with the Germans
and the overall costs.

just talked with two German students who said that for 1000kcal there are four options.

A. 300g rice, 100g peas, salt, pepper, butter ... total cost €1
B. 300g potatoes, salt, pepper, butter ... total cost €2
C. 300g pasta, jarred sauce, butter, salt, paper ... total cost €3
D. Big Mac meal ... total cost €6

I guess that I eat quite extravagantly.

When I lived in the U.S., I figured $1 could buy 400 healthy calories. A bowl of cereal and milk, bagel with peanut butter, make your own ham and cheese sandwich, pasta and eggs, etc... It's not extravagant, but it offers a little more variety than just beans and rice (which is not bad either, but I wouldn't want to eat it every day). So I'd figure the food cost of commuting 25 miles/day to be about $2 which is about half as much as the OP would pay for gas for his mini clubman doing the same trip.

When I lived in the U.S., I figured $1 could buy 400 healthy calories. A bowl of cereal and milk, bagel with peanut butter, make your own ham and cheese sandwich, pasta and eggs, etc... It's not extravagant, but it offers a little more variety than just beans and rice (which is not bad either, but I wouldn't want to eat it every day). So I'd figure the food cost of commuting 25 miles/day to be about $2 which is about half as much as the OP would pay for gas for his mini clubman doing the same trip.

I'd say that's pretty close. I pay roughly 10€/kg of muesli which contains roughly 4000kcal. Add 4L of UHT milk (2€) and some bananas/cinnamon (3€) and that's probably 5000kcal for roughly 15€. Or 300kcal/€ or so.

I'm hardcore though and eat it with orange juice, which is how it was originally intended and drives the cost and kcal up.

Eating an extra healthy 4000kcal/week is by no means cheap (even in Germany where food costs are extremely low.)
...
also just for interest:

http://formyhour.com/cost-of-weekly-food-in-different-countries

The link seems to refute your claim about German food costs. The German family had the highest weekly food cost of any of the ones shown and had over three times the cost of the California family. When grocery shopping I generally get average costs of $1 - $2 per 1000 kcal. which is far below your experience.

I agree that extra food costs should be considered for those who are not trying to lose weight. But it depends on what activities might be substituted if the cycling commute were dropped. Many people choose to spend time exercising either at gyms or on home equipment which also requires extra food consumption.

The link seems to refute your claim about German food costs. The German family had the highest weekly food cost of any of the ones shown and had over three times the cost of the California family. When grocery shopping I generally get average costs of $1 - $2 per 1000 kcal. which is far below your experience.

I agree that extra food costs should be considered for those who are not trying to lose weight. But it depends on what activities might be substituted if the cycling commute were dropped. Many people choose to spend time exercising either at gyms or on home equipment which also requires extra food consumption.

That's because the big German guy is drinking 30 beers/week according to the photograph :lol:

Notice how they're the only people not smiling as well :lol:

But seriously, how do you keep expenses at 1000kcal/USD? Rice/pasta only? No meat/fish/poultry? Frozen stuff? Processed stuff? Also, fruits/vegetables are hugely expensive per kcal but essential for vitamins/minerals.

But seriously, how do you keep expenses at 1000kcal/USD? Rice/pasta only? No meat/fish/poultry? Frozen stuff? Processed stuff? Also, fruits/vegetables are hugely expensive per kcal but essential for vitamins/minerals.
Not much meat and I do get quite a few calories from pasta and potatoes. But I haven't found fruit/vegetable prices to be an issue. The local farmer's market frequently sells oranges at 2 kg/USD during the spring and tomatoes are only a little higher than that during the summer. Having two apple trees, a plum tree, and a pear tree in the back yard also cuts down on fruit costs.

Eating an extra healthy 4000kcal/week is by no means cheap (even in Germany where food costs are extremely low.) One fresh chicken breast provides roughly 250kcal and costs roughly €2.50 where I am. Even beans, for the veggies out there, run 50kcal/100g and are at least €2.00/250g (125kcal). I would suggest that an extra healthy 800kcal/day costs roughly €6-8/day.



Jeez man, I pay like $6 US for 8 to 9 frozen chicken breasts. And that's from Aldi, a German company even.

The local farmer's market frequently sells oranges at 2 kg/USD during the spring and tomatoes are only a little higher than that during the summer.

yeah, the out of season stuff is a killer right now. oranges are 1.5€/kg for non-Bio or 3€/kg for Bio.

:(

you guys get Aldi, eh?

did they keep the non-reversing entry gates and the coin-operated carts (i love those as there's no cart mess around the store.)

i do love Aldi/Lidi as their produce is really good and cheap. however, their hours totally suck ... they usually close at 6p to keep costs down.

I have young children and HIGH blood pressure.
I NEED to exercise so that I can spend more years with them.
Riding home takes me 50min. A good cardio workout.
If I drive home I waste 15 minutes sitting on my but in the truck and still need to work out.

What is this? "I can leave out insurance costs" "I can leave out registration costs"?
Well we can leave out food + accessories costs and say cycling is $0! :p
If i really need to get somewhere faster i'll just buy a moped, i hate the idea of being trapped inside a cage.

yeah, the out of season stuff is a killer right now. oranges are 1.5€/kg for non-Bio or 3€/kg for Bio.

:(

you guys get Aldi, eh?

did they keep the non-reversing entry gates and the coin-operated carts (i love those as there's no cart mess around the store.)

i do love Aldi/Lidi as their produce is really good and cheap. however, their hours totally suck ... they usually close at 6p to keep costs down.

Yeah there are a number of Aldi stores around my area. They don't have the gates but do have the carts. My 2-year old like to play with the chain dangling off the coin holder thingy while I wheel him around the store. :p The produce is usually pretty good, but the bananas are suckage. Sausage is nasty, too. Smells like a huge fart. :rolleyes: I always have to shop at both Aldi and Walmart every week, because Aldi just doesn't have everything I need, or because some of their stuff sucks. My local one stays open till 8 Monday thru Saturday, maybe 6 on Sundays.

I find that I still need a car because I have to go out of town on occasion for work purposes and for other out of area trips. But, my commuting by bike saves me cash in the following ways:

1) I save money on fuel. Instead of fuelling weekly I can often go three or four weeks on the same tank of gas.
2) I save on insurance by having it rated for pleasure use only and I qualify for maximum discounts on my policy.
3) I save wear and tear on the car and maintenance expenses. My current vehicle is now 9 years old without any rust with only 110,000 kms on the dial. Since I bought it in 2008 I have averaged about 11,000 kms a year: less than half my normal mileage. I figure the car will last far longer and stay in better shape. Less wear and tear on the car means I can delay having to replace it perhaps for another 7 or 8 years.

Very interesting. I'm a bike only guy.

What is this? "I can leave out insurance costs" "I can leave out registration costs"?

Because I'm not measuring the cost of owning a car vs owning a bike. I own a car AND a bike (actually 13 bikes, but that's another story). Even if I only drove my car five miles per year, those costs would be pretty constant. The spreadsheet is just trying to compare the costs of using these various modalities (bike, train, car) for my commute.

The food aspect is interesting, I'm actually a pretty scrupulous counter these days and yeah, a ride day definitely sinks a lot more calories -- can make things tricky on our family's meals together, since my input can go up or down by a factor of two depending on my commute.