Originally Posted by
noglider
Thanks for clarifying, [MENTION=20232]I-Like-To-Bike[/MENTION]. I agree that buying a new car every five years is not justified to commute that distance. In fact, I think buying a new car every five years is not justified in nearly every case. You brought up this idea of buying a new car every five years, and I don't know why, so I don't know why you are knocking it down. No one put it forth as an assumption.
67 cents a mile might be an average, and it's definitely possible to run a car for a lower rate than that. I've never bought a new car, so there's a start to more frugal car ownership. So yes, if you are more frugal with cars than the government assumes, your savings from switching from car commuting to bike commuting will be less than 67 cents a mile. But it's almost certain there will be savings. I expect you will agree with that, and if not, I'm eager to hear how.
I brought up the idea of buying a new car every five years
Response to 67¢ per mile savings after you stated a 67¢/savings for every mile of bike commuting (as well as an alleged deduction for same). I made a reference to the AAA 's Driving Cost calculator which also compiles fixed and variable costs to arrive at a cost per mile rate for operating a motor vehicle.
"AAA’s estimates of the cost to own a vehicle are based on financing a vehicle, owning and driving it for five years, and trading in that vehicle at the end of those five years."
I stated that this reference assumed that the government mileage rate (GSA or IRS) is calculated on a model similar to the AAA "driving cost" per mile figure.
IRS provides this information about the mileage rate determination at
IRS mileage determination
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) is:
67 cents per mile driven for business use
21 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes.
The standard mileage rate for business use is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs.
Hence over 2/3 of the IRS mileage rate derives from fixed costs, of which depreciation is almost always the largest slice.
Another bottom line: - the variable costs of motor vehicle operation "saved" by substituting a bicycle for motor vehicle use for at most 2,600 miles/year of commuting is minimal, unless it saves spending exorbitant amounts on parking fees and tolls.