it was on NPR so it must be true:
whilst i was making my fabled three egg omelet con vermont cheddar cheese, i heard this on NPR: americans currently taking public transport, save something like 6 billion gallons o’ gas a year. thats enought to fill at least two swimming pools right? the big kind. also, on a more personal scale, you save something like 6,500 bucks a year by personally taking public transport. imagine how much you would save it if was free, like it should be!
6,500 dollars is alot of money, in terms of bikes. my proposed money grip tandem, if bought at retail, would cost about that much. i tried to make a single steel bike cost that much and came out 1,000 dollars short. at retail!
mariposa frame and fork
custom stem
custom front and rear intergrated racks
custom paint
custom honjo fenders
ta cyclotouriste rings
phil mag/ti bb
pc 89r hollow chain
suntour superbe shifters
nitto handlebars
brooks leather tape
modolo drilled levers
paul centerpull brakes
schmidt front hub
e6 headlamp
berthound handlebar bag and panniers
brooks professional, ti railed
thompson masterpiece post
ta pedals
mks aluminum toe clips with leather toe covers
ale straps
phil wood freewheel rear hub
ird freewheel
velocity 650b rims
wheelsmith xl 14 spokes
grand bois 650b tires
stronglight headset
aluminum bolt kit, for cranks, fenders, chain rings, bottle cages, derailluers
nitto bottle cages
ultegra ft and rear mechs
still under 5500!
if thats not a reason to ride yer bike or a bus to work i dont know what is.
I’ve been thinking about taking the light rail to work. I don’t do it now because it stops a few miles from where I work and I like the convenience of my car. If I could get over that and just leave a bike at the station then I could probably us public transport most of the time.
I estimate that I spend about 1000+ on gas every year. A monthly public transit pass is $64. $64 * 12 = 768. So I’m guessing that when it’s said and done, with maintenance that I would save by not putting as many miles on my car, I would end up saving a bit of cash. I don’t think it’s $6500 though.
I would also end up riding my bike more (health / peace of mind benefits), and I could help the environment (if I decided not to fill my swimming pool with the extra gas that I saved).
Now I just need to find a beater that I can leave at the station.
you by no means count as typical (old beater car with no payments and cheap insurance because of it). but you will. when yer car dies. a new A3, base model, 36 month lease, is 616.63 a month in payments, with a 5000 deposit. yer car insurance will go up, as well. a nice A3, with leather trim and all that, would run you 893 a month. so lets see. thats 7400 bucks a year just for the cheap one, not counting gas or insurance. thats 15 bianchi pistas, new. a year. or 2 round trips to italy for 2 people, with a two week stay at a nice hotel.
get that beater man. also: alot of bidnesses reimburse you for at least part of your public transport bill. cause they can write it off. you have a road frame you could build, you have that falcon which no one would steal. or put all the good parts on the falcon and put the white bike at the station. take off the tape so everyone sees its a 92 trek hybrid with purple decals.
Yeah, I know I’m not average. But honestly I don’t think that you just speced out an average car / car payment either. I would guess and average car payment is ~$300.
Honestly though, this is America you need access to a car or a buggy to live a normal productive life unless everything you do revolves in an around a major city. So I’d say that the compromise instead of calculating the total expense of a car would be to calculate the gas and maintenance. Then compare that to the cost of public transport.
My issue with using one of the bikes that I already own is that I like them, and I would feel like a shit head leaving them out in the elements. If I could find a bike that already has a bunch of rust damage then I wouldn’t feel so bad. Do you ever see anything like that at freeze thaw? Something like that bike that Nick posted with the steamer trunk on the front.