Originally Posted by
pacificaslim
Unless one gets to commute on terrain he enjoys and would be riding on anyway, I don't think the financial angle is a great one. 'Cause as they say, time is money.
Let's see...I save at least 500 hours a year driving a car to work versus riding my bike (on roads I wouldn't much enjoy riding on, especially at 5am when I go to work). Cost of used car (depreciates about $1k/year), insurance ($600k/year), fuel($1000!), and maintenance ($400) is about $3000/year. Hmm...500 hours of free time for $3000? I'd make that purchase every time! Even if I just went and spend that 500 hours riding my bike anyway, but on roads/trails I enjoy more than my commuting route, ha!
Wow, I disagree with your assessment at nearly every turn. But, I'm just lucky enough to have a great commute. I'm out there at 5 a.m., before the wind picks up, before it gets hot, before the rain, when there are no cars--it's awesome!
I think your estimates of car costs are low by half. For example, $1,000 of fuel=@350 gallons, maybe 7,000 miles--I ride nearly double that on my bike every year! 12,000 miles a year X 50 cents a mile leaves me thinking $6,000 a year is a better guess, for most people.
The time is the biggest miscalculation, on my books, at least. I need miles on the bike to train up for my goals. So, when I commute by bike in 80 minutes instead of 40 in the car, I'm getting back 40 minutes a day, if you buy the assumption that I want the miles, anyway.(training for PBP)
Neither answer is 'wrong'. It depends on the initial assumptions you make--different situation, different assumptions, different answer. (But, you do know you're in the car-free subforum, right...?)