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How much can you save biking to work?
How much can you save riding your bike to work?
I save $6.06 per day, according to a handy online calculator.
Enter the length of your daily commute and any parking costs or toll expenses. Click a button and it spits out your savings.
My commute is 16 miles round trip, but I don’t have any parking or toll costs.
How are the results determined? Here’s what the website says:
“The per-mile cost of driving to work is 50 cents, including gasoline, insurance, maintenance and depreciation, according to the IRS’ 2010 standard mileage rates. Actual rates may vary by vehicle.
“The per-mile cost of biking is 9.6 cents and includes maintenance and depreciation, based on interviews with U.S. cycling organizations and previously published research, most notably from Road Kill: How Solo Driving Runs Down the Economy.
“Monthly parking fees are broken down to a per-day average on the basis of 19.3 workdays per month, a figure derived from Bureau of Labor Statistics guidelines.”
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Comments
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By gr
May 20, 2010 5:00 PM | Link to this
Biking to work is great (and I do it), but doesn’t make financial sense unless you get rid of your car, especially for a part time biker (1 or 2 days per week)
Of the 4 items : gasoline, insurance, maintenance and depreciation, only 2 of them are saved by biking - gasoline (100% direct savings) and maintenance (partial savings). You still pay insurance and your car will still depreciate (maybe not as fast, but not enough of a difference to make the calculation).
By Doug
May 22, 2010 11:20 PM | Link to this
Depreciation really only matters if you plan on selling your car at some point (or having it totaled, I guess.) If you plan on driving it until it drops, then it doesn’t really matter — and if you drive it less now, you can likely drive it more later.
Insurance may go down a small amount for reduced mileage. It depends on the insurance company. It’s not a big factor, but it’s there.
And you did ignore tolls and parking, which are directly affected (unless you pay for parking by the month.) Not that everybody pays these, but many do.
Ultimately, you’re right, that for maximum benefit you get rid of a car, but even if you merely use your car less, the savings can be significant.