Your hourly "wage" from commuting?
 

If you look at the cost savings from not driving to work, you could consider that in effect a "wage" you pay yourself for bike commuting.

What's yours?

Your "wage" would be calculated as follows: if you own a car and just use it less, at the per-mile cost of avoided travel. You'd do a whole lot better, obviously, if you could get rid of your car altogether, but the calculation is the same.

a) Cost per mile = (annual vehicle ownership cost, which is either the annual sum of your car payments net of residual value at the end of the year or the depreciation on the vehicle in the case of a cash purchase + annual fuel cost + annual cost of maintenance + annual cost of insurance + annual cost of tags, ad valorum taxes, etc) / annual mileage. In my case, it's about $1,500 in depreciation + (900 gals * 2.25 per gal) + $400 + 700 + 300 = $4,925 / 9,000 miles driven = ~ $0.55/mile.

My commute is about 13 miles each way. 26 miles/day * 5 days/week * 50 weeks/year (2 for vacation) * $0.55/mile = ~ $3,550.

It takes me an hour each way, including shower, to cover that distance, which is 10 hours a week or 500 hours a year. So my "wage" per hour of commuting is about $7.

The above ignores the effects of the overall reduction in vehicle use on overall costs. Some categories would stay the same and therefore increase on a per-mile basis (e.g. tags/taxes) while others would go down (e.g. insurance, maintenance).

Personally I also take into account the money/time I'm not spending at the gym. Of course, most of us also spend more on food as a result of our commute also, but personally that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make :)

interesting

60 miles per day, but I'm multi-modal and my company subsidizes the bus system by paying for all but $15 of my monthly pass. They also pay for part of parking if you choose to drive, but you end up paying $50 a month for a spot that would cost you $75-$90 otherwise. That's a savings of an additional $35 a month or $420/year. I'm saving 8,670 annually, which, when you count the bus ride, is 3 hours per day.

That's more than $11 per hour in my pocket while I'm on the road to and from work. While that's a pittance compared to what I make driving my desk for a living, money's money and I'd be lying if I didn't say I already did the numbers and it's one of the main motivators behind why I keep doing this.

Good point. Of course, in the category of increased costs, you have the cost of the bike, accessories, clothing, bike maintenance if you don't roll your own, tires, tubes etc.

And finally, in the category of other benefits, you might not die so young. But OTOH, you might get killed by a car.

I blow all my savings on more cycling stuff. This would in effect be a very difficult calculation for me to make. Heck, I commute so I can spend more money on cycling items. Ex: One of my pedals self destructed last Friday. Cost of replacement: $120 + labor (my existing pedals need assistance being removed today).

Money has nothing to do with why I commute. My coworkers cannot understand me either. On one hand, I am a car guy. I love cool cars... what can I say. But in a perfect world, I would be one of those guys who hoards collector cars, but never drives them. It drives my wife nuts. I didn't want to drive anywhere today because I just washed the car yesterday.

Anyway--- I look at my savings as health savings. I wish I lived further from work so I could get a better workout, but generally in the summer I will take "the long way home" to get more exercise.

I spend more money on clothing, bikes, parts, tires, extra food, etc.... than I save in car related costs.

You leave out an important cost consideration, especially people who are self employed.
For me, driving to work take 10 minutes or less (by highway) while the bike takes me about 40 minutes. The 30 minute difference, plus anothe 15 to change at work, time 2 is about 90 minutes extra a day. Since I bill my time at $120 per hour, that could be $180 a day that I can't invoice or collect.
Of course I can't bill out evey minute of my time, and money doesn't always rule. When I can commute by bike I do, just for the exercise.

That calculation is right on if your cycle commuting is not a replacement for time spent doing another form of exercise, and if your health care costs (or the length of your working career) isn't adversely affected by failing to bike to work.

I don't consider bike commuting a wage I pay myself. The most direct cost savings would be the $3.40 each day I spend on the T on days I don't bike or the ~$120 per month for parking (but I am highly unlikely to ever commute by car in Boston). I bike commute partially because it keeps me fit, but mostly because it is fun!!

Someone somewhere costed out all the financial pluses and minuses of bike commuting. If it keeps you from owning a car or an additional car, there is a big savings. If not, bike commuting is very close to a wash.

Well the OP brings up a point that commuting has hidden costs such as gear and repairs. It's good to evaluate its relative worth. That said, I'm not sure you can put a dollar value on improved health as a result of steady commuting.

I think it's almost impossible to estimate the savings. How much does heart disease and being overweight from allowing yourself to waste away in a car cost you in the long run? Loss of income due to more illness/shortened working life? Lack of energy? General well-being? Being fat and inattractive vs fit and attractive? About being outside feeling the wind in your face and interacting directly with reality rather than sitting in a box observing it through a window? (I'm sure that's not good for a human mind, IMO over time it makes you fat, lazy and stupid!) Impossible to put a price tag on. And honestly, even if I didn't save anything monetarily over driving a car I'd still be on a bicycle or mc.

$5500/250 hours of commuting = $22/hr. Apparently I need to ride faster if I want a raise.

If I didn't ride or walk, my alternative would be a taxi with a one-way fare of US$1.50 -- meaning $3.00 a day, $15 a week, or $750 for the year, assuming two weeks of holidays.

The time it takes me to ride rather than bike is only 15 min to and from work. I save on gas. Probably a gallon of gas each day I ride. 7.5 miles of city hills with SUV. I commute for the exersize but it sure is nice to only fill the tank once a month. I save $2.50 x 4 (15 min) = $10 per hour for the few extra min. it takes to ride. The best part is I get two workouts each day and don't spend much time at it. Plus it's fun.
The

$35 a week, train fare.

I figured I would have to travel 15,000km's to pay back the cost of my bike ($2000)

The cost of the vehicle payments, taxes and insurance are fixed. I save on gas and and wear and tear on the vehicle. My short hilly commute is hard on the car and each time I ride it give the car another day before the next part fails or wears out.
Benton

Am I the only one who has to pay for parking?

My company provides parking. We've also got a little workout room with showers for the bike commuters (and I can't think of a single one but me).

I don't consider needing a wage calculated in the elaborate way described above an incentive for my commute. I have figured out the overall cost savings in gas and maintenance on my car, though. I bike commute for health, for fun, and for the cost savings of not commuting in an inefficient SUV.
I have a Jeep Cherokee (slightly modified for snow and trails) so I get about 14 - 15mpg city driving.

15 mile r/t commute = 1 gal/day
Average gas price $2.50/gal
260 workdays/year
$2.50 x 260 = $650 in gas

15 x 260 = 3900 extra miles, so tack on $30 for another oil/filter change. $20 more for things like bulbs, fuses, wiper blades... and I'm up over $700 in savings just on my commute to work.

I'm quite skeptical on any cost savings, since I still need a car. Also, since I don't drive it often and it's there, my kids take it to school. School is fewer miles, so I might save 10 miles or 1/2 gallon or $1.20/day (maybe $120/yr.)

I think the good thing is that I'm pushed off or reduced the need for car #3, and that's saving me real money, given that I have a 17, 16, and 14 yr old (who needs to be driven countless places).

I don't know if we'd have already gotten one if I always drove, but I do know that we're not even looking or considering it now. Friends in similar situations have that third car.

+1

Where do I factor that in?

I figure my cycling habit is going to cost me in the long run. After all, I most likely will live an active life for many more years. :D

Mine's a buck o' nine, because that's what freedom costs.

$16/hr