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How far is your daily commute to work?

45 miles each way. Nine months out of the year it's on the bike and I look forward to my commute. Three months out of the year (rainy season) it's in my car and I dread my commute.

My bike gets ~40mpg. That's 11.25 gallons per week. At $4.20 a gallon it's $47.25 a week in gas.

My car gets 18 mpg. That's 25 gallons of gas a week. At $4.20 a gallon it's $105 a week. Plus, I have an additional $12.50 a week in bridge tolls in the car. So in fuel burn and bridge tolls, the bike saves me $70.25 a week. For the ~35 weeks a year I ride I save $2,458.75 on the bike.

Insurance for the motorcycle is ~$600 a year for full coverage.
I generally buy two sets of tires a year for the bike per year for ~$550
The bike requires more frequent oil changes for an extra ~$150
I do all my own maintenance EXCEPT for valve checks and fork maintenance. I let the dealer do those to the tune of ~$600 for both (ouch). I'll probably drop ~$250 a year on riding gear.

So, I get to keep ~$300 of my fuel savings for the year (~$6 a week). Essentially the bike is a break even proposition with regards to commute expense

EXCEPT FOR TIME

On the motorcycle my commute is ~50 minutes regardless of traffic. In my car my commute is anywhere from 45 - 120 minutes and I never know from one day to the next how long it will be.

The time savings and enjoyment are priceless. On the bike I'm home every night to have dinner with my family. When I commute in the car I just don't know when I'm getting home.
 
TripleSeven said:
How many miles are you driving to work and home each day? How long does it take you? How much money in gas are you spending daily?

Bonus question, what is the longest distance you'd be willing to drive for your, or for a job?
Click to expand...

I walk or skate about a mile and a third to my shop everyday. It takes from ten to twenty minutes depending on how much I dilly dally and if I take a longer route for better hills to bomb. I don't use any gasoline to get to and from work.

I'd be willing to drive a half hour one-way for a job I loved.
 
SJ-SF. Year round rider, but use Cal Train baby bullet at the first rains of year and on days when I just don't feel like riding. It's a nice alternative.
 
2.6 miles each way. I can walk it, and do frequently (especially when it's raining), but it's up and down 3 hills and I don't prefer to arrive all sweaty. 40 minutes if I walk, 7 if I ride. I put $20 worth of gas in every 2 - 3 weeks, but that includes other "in town" rides. Pleasure rides are on a different bike.

How far I "would" ride? That would depend on the job, the pay, the hours, and the type of commute. In other words, "All options are on the table".

P.S. I don't pay for parking either
 
10-15 minute bicycle ride depending on whether or not I hit all the green lights. If I take the light rail, it takes 15-20 min, and that's if it's just pulling up to my stop when I arrive. I don't bother waiting for it if it's not there already - and I can still beat it even if it is or just left.

I've done a 5 mile 45 minute commute (Fort Hood traffic suuuuuuuuuucks. If you think 101 is bad, move to Killeen for a bit. 101 will seem like a track day). I've done a 15 mile 20 min commute. And now I'm down to a 3-ish mile 10-15 min commute by bicycle. I pay a bit more in rent though, so it kinda balances out what I'd be paying in gas/maintenance if I lived further away.
 
Less than a mile. And I still ride :twofinger

But usually that's because I buy groceries after work.
 
37 miles each way. I leave EARLY morning and counter commute so no traffic, set the cruise control at 65 and it takes me 35 minutes. Coming home I try to drive 75 but it takes me 45 minutes.
It feels way to long.
 
Killroy1999 said:
The way that I see it is that every extra mile that you live from work cost you $34 extra per month (that is using conservative AAA numbers, not a 50 MPG moto).
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Curious about your math? One extra mile to work would be one extra mile home or two per day. Based on a 5 day work week that is 10 extra miles per week or 40 extra miles per month on average. Based on $4.20 per gallon suggested earlier in this thread you would have to be driving a car that gets only 5mpg? I am not sure what you drive but I would bet almost everyone reading this thread has a car or truck that gets better than 5mpg as their daily driver.

Driving a car getting 20mpg, adding an extra mile of commute to work will cost you ~$8.40 more per month.
 
My guess is AAA numbers include their avg 61 cents per mile depreciation (tires, etc..).
1 extra mile both ways = 2 miles x 21 days = 42 miles/mo x 61 = $25.20 plus approx. $8.40 (20 mpg) gas = $33.60
 
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5.7 miles. I come home for lunch every day. At around 50mpg I spend about $30 per month on gas on my commutes. I fill up usually once a month. Longest I'd drive is 30 minutes (I go by time, not distance). I used to live in Tracy and commuted to Dublin. Took me an hour to drive 27 miles one way... Never again.
 
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Was just over 40 miles each way. Took roughly an hour, and cost us somewhere around $400 a month in gas, but that was split between the two of us carpooling.
 
My900ss said:
Curious about your math? One extra mile to work would be one extra mile home or two per day. Based on a 5 day work week that is 10 extra miles per week or 40 extra miles per month on average. Based on $4.20 per gallon suggested earlier in this thread you would have to be driving a car that gets only 5mpg? I am not sure what you drive but I would bet almost everyone reading this thread has a car or truck that gets better than 5mpg as their daily driver.

Driving a car getting 20mpg, adding an extra mile of commute to work will cost you ~$8.40 more per month.
Click to expand...

The average AAA cost per mile is up to $0.783/mile X 2(round trip) X 21.4 work days/month = $34/month for every mile you live form work.

Of course AAA includes purchase, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, gas, registration, finance, tolls, parking, ect.
 
Yeah, I don't think even my giant truck has an actual operating cost of $0.783 per mile. And the Prelude certainly didn't.
 
About 300 feet 4 days a week.
 
52 miles rd trip to the Dogpatch District from Hercules for over 30 yrs.

Soon to be no more commute for the foreseeable future.

Al
 
4.1 miles right now. 3 of those miles are on the freeway, hiway 4 right at one of the choke points so it takes 10 or 15 minutes sometimes.

Longest commute was 87 miles one way, Brentwood to Santa Rosa. Union wages with paid miles, so it was worth it.
 
Killroy1999 said:
The average AAA cost per mile is up to $0.783/mile X 2(round trip) X 21.4 work days/month = $34/month for every mile you live form work.

Of course AAA includes purchase, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, gas, registration, finance, tolls, parking, ect.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for the explanation.
 
13 miles each way.
Off peak hours so it takes @ 15 minutes give or take a second.
 
1.5 miles. I am SO spoiled now.

I remember my worst commute was from Richmond Point to Sunnyvale on the ol' GS500 back in the day. I cannot fathom a commute like that anymore. :thumbdown
 
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