Thursday 5 May 2016

Cost of Commuting Home

Hi Guys!

This will be short and sweet! I don't know what compelled me to figure out my cost of commuting but I was interested to see what my cost vs. savings has been for the last few years. I love that Toronto Bike Share tracks each trip with date, duration and bike stops picked up and dropped off.

Some things to note before I begin.

I usually renew the bike share pass anywhere from late January to late February. Yes, I ride during the winter months. I'd also say at least 99% of my trips are made from work to home (I walk to work) and this year my pass expired earlier than Winton's, so I just used his pass until it expired before I renewed my key.

Let's get to the deets!

Year   Number of Trips    Cost of One year Membership                Cost Per Ride (Rounded Up)          
2012           157                               $50 (Groupon)                               32 cents
2013           155                                   $92.35*                                      60 cents
2014           151                                   $94.61*                                      63 cents
2015           198                               $50 (Groupon)                               25 cents
2016            35                                    $86.70*                                     $2.48 (this will go way down)

*Includes Live Green Discount of $15 off (you don't need to prove anything to qualify)

Total cost of the Bike Share key is $373.66 to date Vs. cost of TTC (trips averaging $3 per trip) is $2088. With a savings of $1713.34 and average bike ride (not including 2016) cost is 45 cents. I work four days a week in the office, so if I work every week of the year it would max out at 208 rides, so hitting almost 200 last year is amazing! I'm super happy to see this and I feel so healthy! Especially, since there are holidays, vacation, and sick days I take off during the year. I also can't consider a metropass as I don't use the transit enough to warrant such a high monthly cost.

The best part of this, not just the savings is the exercise and de-stressing from sitting at a desk all day. It's nice to get out there and burn some pent up energy and office frustrations. I get a decent 15-20 minute work out riding home, bypassing traffic and the large groups of grumpy (and some crazy) people rammed into streetcars during rush hour. I love enjoying the beautiful and or miserable weather biking home. I feel more in control of my commute than to rely solely on the unreliable TTC to get me home. And not to mention the legs! I have muscles I've never had before hahaha! I also learned I missed riding a bike as an adult! One of my favourite past times in my childhood was discovering the neighbourhood with friends on our bmx's.

I've had people mention to me about purchasing a bike for further savings but I don't quite agree! First of all, I have no space! Downtown living means, I'd have to park it in our condo (Oooh precious space) or pay for a bike parking space. Parking in the building is a b*&%#, you need to go down a garage to whatever level and physically lift your bike off the ground and place it on a wall mount. I'm not interested in lifting and securing a bike on a wall or riding up and down a parking structure each day just to get my bike. The bike share location is just outside our building across the street or a two minute walk from the office. Secondly, the maintenance! I don't know how to fix or do anything but ride the bike, and if the Bike Share is broken I can easily switch out the bike at the next stop and hit the repair button to notify maintenance. Third, what is someone stole my bike? I see damaged bikes and stolen parts all the time when I'm walking in the city. I really don't want to risk it, knowing I'd probably want a nice bike. I've even considered an e-bike that's like a moped or even the folding ones, but they are so expensive and really heavy. I also work in a two story walk up, so dragging it up and down the stairs each day just sounds so much fun! *eye's rolling*

I hope this gives you guys an idea of what you can save and do by just switching out your mode of transportation. It can be as costly or as cheap as you want. That extra money looks like a nice vacation to me or even a nice boost in my retirement savings. It's all up to you!

Eros And Pookie




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