> A one way train ticket for that route is $36. The same trip via car takes about the same amount of time and $20 in gas.
Don't forget wear and tear on the car, though.
The IRS sets mileage at 58 cents/mile. That's $100 for Seattle to Portland.
Don't forget wear and tear on the car, though.
The IRS sets mileage at 58 cents/mile. That's $100 for Seattle to Portland.
The IRS has to come up with a fair number that translates all those fixed costs into per/mile. It is a good financial number, but worthless for this discussion.
Less car ownership on the horizon; 1)Cities are congested 2)The congestion in the suburbs is even worse than driving in downtown 3)For years the solution was to build more highways, but land for doing so is running out 4)Car ownership is no longer cool 5)Ride sharing and renting is become easier (GPS, Internet, Smartphones) 6)Cars have become safer, but the joy or riding in them has been killed. It's like being trapped in an egg carton.
Buying new tires are a thing. Even if you buy cheap tires and get good life out of them (and that combo is...rare, you get what you pay for), that's, say, $400 ever 40,000 miles, that's a cent a mile right there..and tires are usually more expensive than that and don't last that long.
The most obvious cost of wear and tear though is that eventually the car needs to be replaced. More miles = sooner replacement.
It depends on the car, but typically you are looking at $.20/mile for fuel, and $.05 for all other maintenance (including tires).
The average new car payment is something like $550/month. The average used car is somewhat less of course. Most people are making payments. Insurance is $500/year if you have a perfect driving record, many people pay more. These costs have nothing to do with how far you drive.
A few years ago I calculated my actual per/mile cost for my car, it was $.15/month, even though I bought it new (I track every fill up, though at 46mpg my fuel costs are less than average). The car had 200,000 miles on it to spread all the fixed costs across, and had been paid off for a few years.
The point is the marginal cost to drive a car you already own is low.
PS: Your insurance costs are fantasy land. The average US driver pays almost $1500/hr. I haven't had so much as a speeding ticket in a decade and live in a safe small town and am still over $1k/yr.
Sub in an eBike for the commuting & errands, its quite doable to go car light or car free (esp. if Car2go, Lime pod or another service is available in your city).
Still, even at the full rate, two people back and forth, it's still cheaper to drive.