Hi all,

Trying to decide the pro's and cons of commuting by electric car vs bike for my situation.

My commute is 25 miles each way 6 days a week.

Before I commuted by bike + train I used to have to buy gas twice a week + maintenance + depreciation on my vehicles which don't get good gas mileage to begin with. Just gas alone I was spending $500 to $600 a month.

However since last year I have been taking advantage of riding my folding bike to the train station and getting on the train then riding to the office. This would be 6 miles total a day by bike. My commute ended up costing me $215 a month for the train pass. The benefits was that 1) I lost 20 lbs doing that 2) I'm on time for work for the most part and 3) my cars are better used for recreation and fun on the weekends (off-roading for one car and race track/ canyons/ cruising for the other car) rather than sitting in traffic and depreciating. The disadvantage is that now I have to be sure to leave work on time to catch the return train which means any of my overflow patients would have to be seen by the physician assistant which means I loose out on productivity bonus on 3 to 4 patients which could translate to $100 per day.

Now after all the really good deals on electric car leases. I am tempted to go back to commuting by car... but by electric car. As an example of the costs I am working with:
- EV lease is $139 a month with ZERO down
- $30 ish dollars a month on the cost to charge it
- and the state is going to give me $2500 to get an electric car
- lower car insurance rates + lower electricity rates as well
- my other cars can still just be used on the weekends
- I'd have to cycle on my own when I get home
- I can see more patients and not rush them in the late afternoon

So if the state is going to give me $2500 to stop riding my bike & stop taking the train and it's going to be cheaper to commute EV... what would you do?

Personally I'd probably get the EV. But I probably wouldn't feel real good about missing the bike rides.

I would want to renegotiate that overflow patient arrangement if at all possible. That involves a lot more money than the transportation issue, as far as I can tell.

ETA...What weekend activity will you have to give up in order to fit in more bike riding?

I really enjoy the bike rides although they are shorter than what they used to be. Also I liked the fact that I was being a good healthy example to my patients because they would see me around the city on my bike. I have a nice bike trail at home that is longer than my commuting miles... but after work I get lazy fast. I can probably fit in more mountain biking on the weekends and spinning in front of the TV during the weekdays. Another option is that I can park my EV a little further from work... but then I would not be able to charge it at work.

I wish I can renegotiate the overflow arrangement. My office was bought by a much larger entity. Previously my productivity was related to what the office made overall after expenses. After being acquired my productivity was supposed to also be linked to the PA/ PA's that I supervise. However the new entities billing department couldn't figure that out so they are using a band aid solution that isn't working in my favor.

Since I work opposite direction of the majority of commuters, there isn't that many trains I can take home or to work.

But yes, thanks for the input... so that's +1 for EV

Here, the best of both... https://organictransit.com/

Do both. Drive in part of the time... bike and bus the rest.

Get a Nissan Leaf or if you're in the mood for a great expensive EV get a Tesla. The EV will put money in your pocket unless parking costs a lot.

I was surprised to see a couple of Nissan Leafs in Montana in the last month or two. I thought cold weather would make the batteries too inefficient. Maybe they are still more efficient than gasoline engines.

If that's the straight deal on the EV I'd be leaning that way. Locally the Leaf lease was advertised in near that range but when I looked into it I couldn't get those terms. Plus, the government incentives were already factored into the lease price. So I was disappointed, but if it were actually $139/month plus the incentive I'd be driving one now. Although I'd still bike to work

I don't think that will do well on the freeway for my 25 mile commute

I was thinking of doing that, however my current commute involves taking the Amtrak in the AM then Metrolink in the PM. The only pass that works with both would be a monthly pass. I can't just purchase a 15 ride pass and use on both.

The current Leaf deal is $180 to $199 a month plus $2500 ish down which makes it zero down after the state gives back money. The Tesla is just too expensive to be cheaper than $215 a month (the cost of my train pass)

I'm leaning towards just doing it. The deal I am looking at is the Chevy Spark EV which is advertised on Chevy's website... fun to drive, handles pretty nice, the 400lb/ft of torque was impressive... looks like an appliance... but it's a lease so who cares. Interestingly there was a frenzy over the Fiat 500E deal last month however doesn't seam to be the same type of frenzy on the Spark which is more capable than the Fiat.

The possibility of gaining back that 20 pounds would make that decision for me. The biggest lie I have ever told myself is that I will take the time after work to ride/exercise equivalent to my commute. This is something I have to force myself to do by situation (like you aren't going to work without it). Although you mention you are in the Medical field, this would seem to me to trade health benefits for some convenience/monies. I am jaded having spent the first 39 years of my life obese, and no amount of money or convenience could make me go back; don't go there, nothing is worth it.

wsgts

No, I don't suspect it would, Just like the bike doesn't, or an E-bike wouldn't, or a E-hybrid wouldn't... I think a Tesla would work, or at least it would for me...

I'd have to plug it in every night and write a check every month. Too much hassle for me. No way.

I haven't kept up with EV tech, but IIRC you couldn't just plug them into an ordinary wall socket. Don't know if that holds true these days, but if hasn't changed, then unless the cost of wiring for a charging station is factored into the price of the lease....

Perhaps you should just do a park and ride scenario with your current vehicles. Find a parking lot that is like 10-15 miles from your office and then ride your bike the rest of the way. You'll keep the weight off, the car(s) won't use as much fuel.

It comes with a level 1 charger that lets you plug into any socket. But I think 8 hours gets you 40 miles which is fine because then I can just keep topping off at home and the office. Eventually I'll get a level 2 charger.

I'll have to recon the train station before my regular stop and see if I can park and plug an electric car there.

That's how it is for me too. I'm pretty undisciplined, so if I don't have to exercise, I probably won't. Or at least I will waste a lot of time/energy to get started on the xercise.

At my age, I have quit fighting my character flaws, and now I just try to work with them. Bike- (or walk-) commuting is the best way I know of to force myself to get daily exercise.

25 miles each way and you spent $600 a month on gas? 5 MPG. Cool. You must have the turbo boost dialed up to 11.

I commute a similar distance in a 5.7L Toyota Tundra truck and spend $130 per month on regular gas.....I only get 18 mpg

How environmentally unfriendly are Electric Vehicles?

I'll stick to my bike or truck and wish the government would stop giving away "free" money to subsidize pollution with misguided subsidies.

How environmentally friendly are electric cars? - BBC News
Life cycle air quality impacts of conventional and alternative light-duty transportation in the United States

A couple of thoughts.

How practical is moving closer to work?

How is electrical power generated where you live? Coal? Wind? Atomic? Other?

Or it might be fuel costs as computed by someone well versed in LCF Brand Economics™

How common are charging stations where you live? Could you drive to a charging station somewhere a few miles away from work, then bike in the rest of the way? It can be simple enough to just keep the bike on a bike rack if you can't leave it locked up near the parking spot. And if you commute from the suburbs into the city, maybe it's also a good way to cover most of the more suburban distance in a car and then beat the in-town traffic on the bike. That lets you get your exercise while also trimming your commute time, and depending on the traffic where you work it could conceivably even be faster than just driving all the way. Along similar lines, you could find a place to park that's a mile or two away from work and walk from there. Walking a mile or two each way generally burns more calories than biking 3-4 mi each way anyway.


That said, you could also do any of that with a cheap 'regular' car. I'm assuming the electric car would be in addition to, not instead of, your two (at least two?) "recreational" cars. You could buy a cheap used small car that gets better mileage than a race car, and has a larger range than 40 miles. It might be a bit more expensive up front than leasing a subsidized electric car, but it will give you more flexibility and it would be yours and paid for.

This also seems like a really good argument to bring up to your various elected representatives, for why improved train service should be a priority. If there were more trains running, presumably you could take extra patients and still catch the next one. And any city that has problems with traffic congestion and competition over parking should have ample reason to get you in and out without driving a car even if it is electric.

One last thing to consider is other effects your train commute has on your quality of life. Do you gain stability or peace of mind from being basically required to leave work on time and go home and relax? For some people, that alone is a significant reduction in stress and worth the cost of missed overtime. Maybe you're one of them.
And are you able to get work done on the train, or read, or just relax, in a way that you wouldn't be able to if you were driving? If so, driving is wasted time, whereas a bike-plus-train commute is productive (exercise plus reading or working or whatever).

My stepmother is a teacher and has a two-hour commute each way, using a commuter train, a subway, and a bus ride or a walk. That's a really long commute, but she spends a lot of it grading papers or doing other work that she would have to spend just as much time on anyway. So it actually works out to a lot less actual lost time than if she drove in every day, plus it gives her a chance to get some exercise and socialize with friends who share part of the same commute.

Both of my "recreational" vehicles get 15 mpg and costs anywhere between $60 to $80 in fuel per tank in this area. I used to have a 100 mile commute round trip where I lived previously which is why it used to cost me $600 to $800 in fuel. Now it is $300 to $400 plus the depreciation on the cars plus the maintenance.

Not practical to move much closer. I bought a place near a train station to commute by train. All the places other places between where I live and work we are priced out of. With new houses starting around $700,000 and condos or townhouses around $500,000... I don't know how the middle class can buy here.

I think where we are in Orange County I don't think its Coal.

Since I had exactly that length commute and a similar situation (six days per week, a need for flexibility most days in terms of start/stop times), I know what I would do. I rode five days per week and either drove, took public transit or hopped into my colleagues' car pool one day per week.

Any reason I offer up to explain my choice would just be rationalizing. The simple fact is that I enjoy riding my bike, so I look for opportunities to do it as often as I can. Sure, I enjoy the benefits of exercise-driven good health and vitality and the cycling improves my mood from cranky to crotchety and life is more fun when one is trim than when one is carrying around a bowling ball's worth of adipose, but the real reason I have always ridden a bike to work is because I enjoy it more than any other means of transportation.

Wow... So you did 25 miles each way totaling 50 miles a day? Now that's commitment!!!

I can see myself doing maybe 10 to 15 miles a day each way max by bike.

My previous commute was 6 miles to the train station then the reverse back up hill. Now it's just 2 miles and flat. At least cycling to the grocery store and local restaurants is more convenient now.

There aren't too many continuous bike routes between my home and work. I don't mind cycling in urban areas where traffic is denser and slower. But riding 25 miles one way through the heart of Orange County where most speed limits are 50 mph sounds scary.

In your shoes, the economics of the possible productivity bonus alone say get the electric car. But maybe you can get creative about it.

For example, assuming there's a place to leave it, you can drive the car in to work, with the bicycle inside. If there's no overflow patients, you ride the bike home all or part of the way, if there is, you stay and drive. Of course, if you ride the bike home, you have to ride it back in the next day, but from your OP, that was never the issue.

Now, there's the question of the train fare, and whether to buy a monthly or pay by the day, and that in turn depends on how often you expect to use it. The bright side is that the productivity bonus should more than offset any added expenses. If it doesn't, stick to the bike and save your dough.

What about leaving a bike at the office and riding the full 25 miles home on days you miss the train? Riding 25 miles each way daily would be overtaxing, but riding 25 miles at the end of the day once in a while could be an occasional treat.

edit: Also, it would be nice to have the option of car-share to take the car home once in a while and otherwise leave it parked near the office for others to use. So far, I've only heard of car-share being priced for short rides but it's not unthinkable to use them for 12-hour periods when you need to stay late at work and thus miss a train or bus and just need something to home for the night and back to work the next morning.

Wait, that gives me another idea. What about keeping a cot at the office for overnight stays once in a while?