Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Week 32 (June 29 - July 3) and an Assertion

Summary:

Monday - Bicycle
Tuesday - Bicycle
Wednesday - Car & Bicycle (AM carpool)
Thursday - Bicycle
Friday - Bicycle

I bought the Drifter (Surly Long Haul Trucker) a year ago this July, and have been tracking my commutes in a Google Doc since then. I'm in the assurance business and not usually the one making the assertions, but here goes:

For the one year period beginning July 1, 2008 and ending June 30, 2009, I saved a total of $364.75 riding a bicycle to work.

Here is the basic methodology that I used:

For every one-way trip taken via bicycle, I assumed savings of the equivalent of an applicable bus/light rail fare (rush hour, non-rush hour, downtown zone fare, etc). This is the alternative for me since I rarely drive by myself if I'm going to the office. Someone with a regular commute involving parking expenses would save significantly more.

Resources:

A visual representation of my commutes:


Underlying data:
Google Doc Tracking Spreadsheet

I'd be interested to know if this seems like more or less savings than you'd expect from a year's worth of bicycle commuting?

2 comments:

Brian G. said...

Seems like less to me...but that wouldn't be justification enough for me not to do it...or keep encouraging you to.

James said...

If/when I have a job where I can ride everyday, I'd really see a lot more savings:

52 weeks x 5 days = 260 work days
less: 10 holidays
less: 22 vacation days
= 228 potential commuting days
x $4.50 savings per day
= $1,026 potential savings per year

So when I consider that my success rate was about 36% ($365 actual savings/$1,026 potential savings), I feel a little better.