Originally Posted by
noglider
Back in 2011, Mr. Money Mustache wrote an article called
The True Cost of Commuting and he meant the cost of car commuting. In the article, he uses the federal allowance for driving which was 51 cents at the time. Currently, it's 70 per mile. Some people think that the cost of driving is not linear per mile, but Mr. Money Mustache argues that it is. Fixed costs are believed to be purchase and insurance, but the less you drive, the less often you need to replace your car. The same goes for repairs. Calculating the only the fuel cost for your distance is wrong. So when you ride 10 miles instead of driving 10 miles, you're saving $7 off your car expenses. I don't know what bike expenses per mile are, but maybe
acidfast7_2 does, since he did a study of it (with a sample size of one) a few years ago.
We've discussed this before and Mr. Money's argument that the "Federal Allowance for driving" (actually the IRS deduction for business use of a vehicle) represents the variable cost of driving each additional mile for personal use was flawed in 2011 and remains just as inaccurate, if not more so today because it (like the widely publicized AAA cost per mile rates) is based on not only the variable costs of mileage (fuel, tires, wear and tear replacement of parts and some maintenance), but much more so on the fixed costs of ownership such as insurance, loan interest, registration and depreciation with the expectation of frequent replacement (every 5 years for the AAA model) with a new vehicle.
What is the standard mileage deduction
The reduction in vehicle maintenance costs or for replacement frequency for someone who reduces its use by 2000 miles/year by commuting and shopping with some other method like the OP's example is almost insignificant, and there would be little or no reduction in the fixed ownership costs as long as the commuter still owns the vehicle.
The OP's calculations for actual $ savings considering reduction in fuel, parking and toll expenses for commuting by bicycle instead of car provide a much more accurate portrayal of the potential cost savings realized by bicycle commuting than Mr. Money's misleading version.