crhilton

I added up estimated costs and I figure my bike costs about $.10 a mile to run, not counting food (because I would eat it anyway, and I enjoy it in a way I can't put a dollar figure on).

I estimate my junker at about $.40 a mile because the mileage is sooo bad.

Edmunds puts the most efficient cars at around $.39 a mile to $.41 a mile. Even those prius's get I think $.42 a mile because of the cost to purchase one and extra maintenance (NiMH's aren't cheap).

SUV's usually score around $.60 a mile because they're so expensive to buy (turns out trucks require lots of expensive steel to tow stuff -- who'd have thought) and the mileage sucks. I still lose money on the bike though. Too much recreational riding.

T123

Bike commuting saves me a large amount of money! When I bike to work I save $26 per day parking and $5 petrol. Ignoring wear and tear on the car saved that is $620 per month for a 5 day commute per week. However I only bike commute 2 days a week but it has motivated me to catch a train 2 days a week as well which costs about $7 return so I save $24 those days. I would never have caught the train if I didn't start bike commuting. Parking costs rise $2 every 4-6 weeks in Brisbane and have done so for the last 8 months.

So my actual savings per month (ignoring wear and tear on a car which are significant!) are (31*2)+(24*2) or $110 per week which is $440 per month or $5,280 per year for a 48 week working year. I actually feel like I am making money while I commute which when you think about it I am! No wonder I am smiling when I ride. The cost of buying and running the bike is almost nil as I bought it for fun and only started commuting because I saw people here do it and I though - maaaaybbee I can too - and I did! So additional costs are a bit of extra bike oil and consumables but as I haven't taken into account wear and tear savings on the car which would far out weigh these costs they can be safely ignored. I bank the savings into a seperate account for the motivation effect. At my marginal income tax rate of say 50% that means I am saving 5,280 * 2 or $10,560 of my gross income per year - I gave myself a nice payrise! It's win win win from here. Now if I can just get rid of that Monday morning car commute and redo the math... niiice.

Some might say I am only saving the train fair but that is not correct. If i get lazy and don't bike commute to the city I do not catch the train at all. So these are real savings. In 2 decades of commuting I have used public transport less than the 20 times before I started this bike racket. I am a convert and I love it! Biking is of course fun and healthy too and that factor isn't taken into account. It feels great to actually use the bike for something useful and not just tooling around on the weekend, although of course there's nothing wrong with that either. Another unexpected bonus is the faster costs rise the more money I make and the happier I am! City workers who car commute stand to make a fortune by stopping the car commute. If you had a mortgage and used that extra cash to pay it off sooner the benifits esculate due to debt and interest reduction. If you put that money into superannuation you could retire years earlier or retire wealthier. Alternatively you can buy $5,280 of toys or holidays each year and be no worse off. I should calculate the savings on reduced maintenance and repairs on the car as these savings would go up another notch. I am in commuter heaven.

crhilton

$26 parking? OUCH! You must work downtown.

Intheloonybin

Posted by me earlier:

I do have to add/reiterate that once I get this "paid off", I will start to really pull ahead. I don't anticipate spending that much again for quite awhile as I have everything I need now. The next thing would be a new bike, and I am not in a hurry to replace this one.

cerewa

Used gasoline is mostly just carbon dioxide and water. You can sell water, but people spend money to try to get rid of carbon dioxide in the air.

donrhummy

Imagine how much you'll save when you sell your car and can give up auto insurance payments and car repairs too. The monthly savings will be a lot more than $150/mnth.

donrhummy

Holy crap! Wow, that's an expensive bike for such little riding.

My commuter bike will end up putting in 1,000 miles by the end of the year. I've spent $145 on it total with all accessories but, I know I might spend another $10 on tubes (you never know when it'll pop). The chain won't need replacing till I reach about 1,800-2,000 miles (I bought it used but it was barely ridden). So for this year, I'll be at $0.14 cents a gallon (or with new tubes: $0.15).

Next year I'll need to replace the chain (not tires as the cost of my bike includes new tires), so I'm looking at $163 - $173 (if I need new tubes). So it'll be a two year cost per gallon of $0.08 to $0.086.

And repairs are very unlikely to be needed over the next few years (other than a new chain and brake pads every two years and a new cassette 5 years from now). I just need to buy lube for the chain and that's it.

Bikes are MUCH cheaper if you're really just getting a commuter bike. Compare buying a used car to a used bike and the bike will come out ahead every time.

Now I do have a road bike that I ride for fun and THAT costs me a bundle. Partially because I love to buy great accessories for it, partially because the road bike industry is ridiculous and partially because I ride it 7,000-9,000 miles a year, which means it requires more new parts each year and more maintenance. But a bike you're riding 2,000 miles or less a year can be cheap.

thebikeguy

On a larger scale.For 14 years of living car free and commuting by bike,I've saved over $80,000.That's right,over $80,000.So there is alot to be saved($)and alot gained(health)by using the bicycle as a main means of transportation.
The cash savings are minor compared to the health benefits,I'm in better shape now than I was 30 years ago

Consularrider

I save no money by bike commuting since I qualify for employer provided public transit benefits that would fully cover my costs. That said, the non-monitary benefits of cycling for me more than make up for the incremental expenses. Now I just have to convince my wife of that.

sasquatch2

I have a 5 mile commute so my 14 MPG jeep eats about $40 worth of $3 gas a month (I like round numbers) I agree that the real savings start when I sell the car and lose the insurance and maintenance (OK it's really poorly maintained) costs but I've not been able to bring myself to do it.

help meeeee.

Paul L.

And don't forget the bike the doctor recommends for therapy for your knee replacement afterwards. My Father In-Law's replacement knee gets really stiff unless he rides regularly.

Paul L.

Jeep Cherokee here, 17mpg. 48 mi per day, 4 days a week (I have a work at home day), = 192 mi.
192 /17 = 11.3 So that is roughly $34 a week on gas. I figure that to around $1618 dollars a year. My bike cost me $700 dollars in 2002 and has over 20000 miles on it (it took a rest in 2006 and 2007 while I did the recumbent thing). Figuring on around $600 maintenace and bike stuff a year I am still clearing a pretty penny.

The math is easy.
200lbs man + 2000 lbs machine requires so many calories of energy to move it.
200 lbs man +20 lbs bike requires much less energy to move it.

Now if you are one of those guys who rides the "Lambourghini" of bikes then you can expect to pay quite a bit more (but not as much more as the guys that drive Lamborghinis do compared to drivers of common cars).

bkrownd

THAT is indeed the important part! Commuting kills cars fast.

cooker

Is that a theoretical saving or is the money actually in the bank?

crhilton

It's not a surprising number to me. Car's are expensive. I just read in the paper today that the average US Citizen spends just over $1000 a year to pay for accidents. And don't think it's mostly people who get in lots of them, remember you pay for insurance, fixing public property damage through taxes, etc.

The cost of congestion is just shy of $500 per person per year. I'm guessing that is probably calculated mostly by time lost, but also new road projects and environmental consequences from extra pollutants.

thirdin77

I've spent a lot of money too but remember that getting into an activity means first-time expenses which either don't recur or do so only due to the desire to upgrade.

The upside is that this "hobby" helps me reduce my need to literally burn up my paycheck every time I drive my car or even while I idle at a stoplight, for that matter.

Nachoman

I don't save much money by cycling to work. I commute by bicycle just a couple days a week so I'm still stuck paying maintain, insurance, gas and parking AND I have to add all my cycling expenses too! I've got the BEST of and the WORST of both worlds!