Infographic: The True Cost of Commuting

Car’s are not a cheap proposition, and with rising fuel costs, they are only getting more expensive. But it can be hard to put a number on just how much cars are really costing us in the long run. Streamline Refinance came up with this handy infographic and, if the figures are to be believed, a car is actually costing you a lot more money than you realize.

A Study In Cost

Now I say “if the figures can be believed” because pretty much any study can be put together by cherry-picking data. That said, I don’t find the figures presented in this infographic all that outlandish. Cars are expensive to buy, and, more importantly, maintain, and a vehicle is a huge investment. And as it turns out, even a modest commute can have a serious detriment to your “real” wages.

But the most stark numbers come after 10 years of ownership. A two-car household after ten years of each owning a car will sink over $125,000 into their cars if they spend, on average, $19 a day on fuel and maintenance costs (like changing the oil, fixing a broken part, etc. etc.) That is going by the IRS’s own estimate that driving a car costs 51-cents per mile. The infographic also tries to take into account driving a “thrifty” car, but the numbers are still rather intimidating…and this from a car-lover! The infographic recommeds moving closer to home and biking to work, if possible…hwich for many of us, it isn’t.

I always take studies like this with a grain of salt…but knowing what I alone have spent on cars in less than a decade of having my license, I would say these numbers probably aren’t that far off. What do you think, dear readers? Is this a bunch of baloney, or are automobiles really costing us as much money as this infrographic would lead us to believe?

Source: Streamline Refinance

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Tags: a mile, biking, commute, commuting, cost of a car after ten years, cost of car ownership, cost of driving, how much does it cost to commute, IRS, streamline refinance, true cost of

About the Author

Christopher DeMorro A writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs, Chris can be found wrenching or writing- or esle, he's running, because he's one of those crazy people who gets enjoyment from running insane distances.

John Aislabie

These sorts of analyses come out regularly and the reason everyone ignores them is that the real world is not like this fully costed model. It is a marginal cost model.
You do not buy a car just to commute. You go out to the movies..with a friend. You pick up some hardware from the mall store. You get some supplies, including bottles and cans of drink. You take a bag of salt over to your aunt who can’t lift it. You get over to the bay where you plan to meet up for some surfing, and while you are there it is suggested that it would be good to meet up that evening at the lodge in the hills… and on and on.
In short a car is a decision a world away from just commuting, it is a life style choice.
For four of the last eight years I lived without a car , in a city with exceptional public transport, an easy commute to work and with all my regular shops within walking distance, but that lifestyle choice also had severe limitations, not least in flexibility of last minute decisions. Maybe we should all recognise that it is no great harm to trudge home through freezing rain with a couple of large bags of groceries, but it is no great treat either.
So a decision to afford a car is very largely separate to the decision about how to run it. The two expenditures are (correctly in my view ) made from different mindsets and the cost of the purchase is not part of the cost of running.
- T Adkins
  
  I have also lived with out a car for quite a number of years, it is a pain in all the ways you have mentioned. What I am not seeing here is; what are you trying to say with your post?
  
  For me this article is just a statement of how much a day or a year of commuting just adds up and gives a rough cost of that in dollars alot of us just accept this and go with out a care or thought to how we bank roll our car’s lifestyle.
  In your post what I see is that this chart isnt saying enough, are you saying or asking how much more does the car cost us outside of the commute?
  
  Between your post and that chart I am thinking about getting a scooter to save me money the chart basically says the scooter will more than pay for itself in saving in addition to the car I already drive. I have a 6 mile commute and get over 40mpg, and I look to save half if not more on what I now spend by getting a scooter that gets 90-110mpg. I had been mulling over the scooter choice for sometime seeing your post and this chart and knowing I pay about $70 a month on gas and most of my co-workers pay $75 a week.
  
  -T
  - http://gas2.org Jo Borras
    
    I don’t agree that most people “just accept this”, as you put it – I think very few people do the math at all, and that’s the point of infographics like this: to INFORM people, using fun and easy-to-parse graphics, of things they may not be aware of. If you are already aware of these facts, then this isn’t for you … like first grade. You already went through first grade, going to first grade again would be weird.
    - T Adkins
      
      @Jo- you are correct. I pretty much just used the words ‘accept’ because we don’t think about the other cost involved in the car, and without putting in the thought or doing the math many of us just ‘accept it’ as part of what we will just blindly pay as we chose our car lifestyle.
      
      I quite enjoy the infographics on this site, between those and some really well written articles about scooters by this Jo Borras guy, I am looking forward to doing more for the environment, and the nations energy security while saving myself time and money by getting a scooter. Now it is more what to buy now while I wait for the electric scooters and motorcycles I want to get here.
      
      -T
Dean

John, yes it’s convenient to own your own car and have it available at all times for whatever task you may need…however, I believe you missed the main point of this cost calculating exercise.

What I took away from this analysis was how much time and money we waste the further away we reside from where we work. If you think about it, the way most major cities are laid out with downtown core, suburbs and exurbs with all the related infrastructure supporting the automobile is just monumentally stupid.

I live in the Baltimore/Washington metro area where this stupidity plays out on a daily basis. People live, on average 20-30 miles from where they work, and they are faced with horrible commutes on a daily basis due to massive congestion and choke points, not to mention the stress of sitting in daily traffic for up to 2 hours per day.

Perhaps the best compromise is to live closer to where one works, own a small commuter car for convenience (EV?) or even just telecommute. It’s amazing how so many companies still require you to slog into an office just to sit in front of a computer in a cubicle to do stuff that you could just as easily do from home with an internet connection and teleconferencing…
http://gas2.org Jo Borras

Keep in mind that this information was presented by a company trying to sell you a housing loan (bottom right corner) so they’re using this information to push you into telling yourself “I can afford a more expensive home.” and then they will collect interest (usually at a higher rate for a higher dollar amount) on the loan they sell you to pay for that more expensive-than-you-thought-you-could-afford house that is “x” miles closer to where you work.

Another thing to consider is their “time cost”. Sure, maybe your time is “worth ‘x’ dollars/hour”, but unless someone is paying you 24 hours of each and every day, that calculation is meaningless.
- http://www.sublimeburnout.com Christopher DeMorro
  
  @ Jo
  
  Exactly. Every study has a purpose, a point, something they are trying to sell. That’s why I always say take any study with a grain (or shaker) of salt.
http://www.greenwaveproject.org Allen Knoll

It costs around 27¢ per mile just to roll it down a 1 mile hill for maintenance and repairs. At $3.50 per gallon 20 mpg is horrendous. Depreciation is a very tangible expense that is not mentioned. Loan payments are also part of the expense picture. Insurance is not trivial. a 45 minute commute one way is equal to 400 hours per year that I would rather be relaxing, reading or simply taking a nap.

If anyone is interested in a free ride to work it is definetly possible with [modular community transit systems] check it out at http://www.greenwaveproject.org under transportation.
Alex

These numbers are exactly the reason I cycle to work/school every single day. My bicycle cost me $75 and will probably last as long as I want it to (it’s an old model bike that was well taken care of…steel butted frame from: wait for it… 1972!… they don’t make things like they used to lol) and maintenance costs will probably equal the price of the bike over it’s lifetime for me. when it rains, i take public transit for maybe a couple of dollars per ride. this info graphic basically put into quantifiable numbers what I already knew. it’s a no brainer! if you live 15 miles or less from work, maybe you should consider cycling. it’s better for your health and your wallet. 15 miles isn’t as bad as you think. if you don’t have to stop much, you could go 10 miles in 45 minutes at a medium pace… well, at least i could!
Alex

I should add that my girlfriend has a car and when i need it, (when it’s not being used) I’ll go run errands or whatever i need to do with it. The point I am trying to make is that we should all make a conscious effort to at minimum recognize the difference of when we NEED to use a car and when we are just too lazy or too out of shape to take a better/cheaper/greener form of transportation. I know there are certain things I wouldn’t be able to do without access to a car, but I always think twice before I decide to use it. I think every american should, at minimum, recognize this, and stop taking their use for granted.
cb

I’m a big fan of living close to work and minimizing car time in general. I currently work from home and previously commuted by public transit for 12 years. That said, this graphic does not make the case it is claiming.

a) For starters, the arithmetic projecting 10-year-savings for two cars is off by about $33000. Break it down as follows: $125000 divided by 2 cars divided by 10 years divided by $19 per day = 329 commuting days per year. A more standard model would be 48 5-day work weeks (52 weeks – 2 weeks holidays and – 2 weeks vacation). That would be 240 commuting days. Build it out again: 240 commuting days * $19 per day * 10 years * 2 cars = $91200.

b) The arithmetic in the “Split the Difference” section is sound, but the assumptions are faulty. This formula assumes that all the time spent not driving is spent generating more income at the existing pay scale. That’s a big assumption. How many people really want to cut down their commute just so they can work more? A salaried worker may increase their hours without any commensurate increase in income at all. Hopefully that increase in time would lead to a raise and promotion, but not necessarily.

c) I didn’t take the time to check the arithmetic in the buy-a-house section, but based on the findings above, it is suspect until the numbers are crunched. Plus, this section is now comparing apples to oranges. The original scenario featured someone who lived 19 miles from work. The buy-a-house section features savings of moving 30 miles closer to work. Interesting…

d) finally, follow the source links and it’s clear that this info isn’t from a research study, but comes from a blogger who was inspired by discussions with friends. Putting the numbers in a pretty graphic with the headline “The True Cost…” makes them look very convincing at first glance.

Certainly everyone should think seriously about the cost of their transportation/location choices, but the numbers and case being made here seem to be inflated in the hopes of making a point rather than real analysis.
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barry

I think this is a useful exercise even though assumptions can be questioned. I note the calculations do not take into account externalities such as cost of pollution from extraction and transport of fuels, tax burden of paying for local roads, snow removal, lighting, and enforcement, injuries on the roads, need for miltary action to secure oil supplies, and such.

That said, my wife and I decided, without doing any calculations, to move where we can get along with only one car instead of the two we had, by moving to where I could walk or bike to work. Not only a savings but a healthier life style while still having a car for night events, shopping…. Hard to feel too sorry for those burdened by choosing long expensive commutes.
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