Originally Posted by
Steely Dan
that is a sweeping generalization. perhaps it's true IN YOUR SITUATION, but not everyone shares your situation.
for me, my bike-centric lifestyle allows me to forgo the costs of car ownership altogether. were i to own a car and use it to commute, i would:
A) Need to acquire one. let's say i find a used car for $5,000, so let's say ~$415/month spread out over the first year of ownership.
B) Register it with city and state. that breaks down to $15/month
C) Insure myself as a driver, liability only (state law). we can estimate that at about $100/month
D) Obtain a parking spot in my condo building. that goes for $250/month
E) Obtain a parking spot at my office. that goes for $80/month
F) Purchase gasoline for 30 miles/day of commuting, 20 days/month. that comes to about $85/month (600 miles/25mpg = 24 gallons x $3.50 = ~$85)
that comes to $945/month for my first year of hypothetical car commuting, and $530/month for subsequent years, provided that the car never requires any maintenance (for a used car, LOL!). maybe you're stupid loaded, but $945/month is not chump change to me, that's real money. hell, $530/month is very real money to me too.
so for some situations, the benefits of cycling can have something to do with how much money one saves.
I was speaking to my situation and understand that for some, a car is essential and there are some journeys where having our car is very cost effective vs other means of transportation... in travelling back and forth to Portland driving costs me less than flying by myself and with my daughters it is a no brainer as we'd be looking at $1200.00 / return for the three of us and would have to deal with airline security goons.
My car cost me $1.00 but was really acquired as a trade for some work I did which was in itself a little different... I saved my friend over $1000.00 on the repairs to his Mercedes van and he was rather grateful and gave me his extra car and the market value of a solid running and well maintained 1993 Nissan Sentra is probably $1000.00 and it has already paid for itself.
When I had a newer vehicle and payments, higher insurance, and higher fuel costs I was paying out $8000.00 a year for a vehicle that was also depreciating at an alarming rate.
My wife and were using Zipcar in Portland (usually when we needed a truck) and rented a car here for a few weeks this spring to deal with family matters and that cost me more than what I have in our car now.
My wife does not have a need to drive in Portland, she lives centrally and is very close to her work and my world here is pretty compact where everything I need on a daily basis is within 6 miles and this was arranged by choice so I could live a car free life.
Positives to the car would be that ability to travel long distances and travel at short notice and when it sits it does not cost me anything over the money I pay for insurance and registration and I get an outstanding rate as I have a squeaky clean driving record that spans 30 years.
Besides the financial savings, living car free or car light offers great mental and physical health benefits (to me)... with our current weather and recent snow my bike is actually the superior vehicle for getting around and having to drive under any circumstances makes me cranky and irritable while cycling (in any weather) puts a big assed grin on my face.