The Cost of My Commute
Nov 10th, 2009 by Alex
I was cleaning out the starred items in Google Reader and found one of Snay’s posts wherein he calculated the cost of his daily commute. He commutes via the Washington Metro system — a combination of bus and rail — at a cost of $5.40 per day.
A year later, I decided to figure it out for myself.
I drive to work. As much as I like mass transit, it doesn’t work for me. Not only does it cost more, it takes longer and doesn’t operate on my schedule. I didn’t consider the value of my time, either… but it’s definitely a factor. Being able to leave when you want to is a luxury.
So, the figures.
Car insurance costs about $2. Granted, this isn’t based on mileage. It’s for the day, regardless of how much I drive.
My commute varies in distance depending on the route I take; I usually avoid the shorter route due to evening traffic and opt for the longer but more peaceful back roads. Averaged out, it’s a 15 mile round trip. At 40 miles per gallon and estimating $2.75 per gallon (a tad high based on recent numbers), that’s $1.03 on fuel.
I didn’t include maintenance costs. Considering that most of my miles aren’t driven to or from work, I figure the majority of any future maintenance costs — since it’s effectively a new car — are going to be more a result of social engagements. And I barter for most of my mechanic’s labor; the cost turns out to be pennies a day.
So assuming I did my calculations correctly, that’s a tad more than $3. Less than a lot of people spent on a cup of coffee in the morning.
I was actually talking with a coworker today — he drives from Virginia — about the cost of commuting via public transportation in DC. Cost has gone up a bit — (whether DC Metro might start doing an unlimited monthly pass) the Metro system itself hasn’t had a price increase, but Montgomery County transit, which I use to get from the Metro station to work, did eliminate their discounted rate from Grosvenor. I need to figure my monthly travel costs out.
I worked mine out, roughly. IF I stop for coffee it’s free. Based on my “new” commute–as I save that much in gas now. Life is good.
Parking is usually the gotcha. Both yourself and Snay do not have to pay for parking?
Snay: Let me know when you recalculate.
Tamra: I can’t even conceive of how many miles you drove with your old commute. What was it, 40 minutes each way?
DJ: Snay opted to go sans car when he moved down to D.C., so no parking for him. One perk of working in a business park is that parking is included.