3 ms·

A significant component of this is that your (usually free) parking on both ends of the trip is subsidized by its requirement in local zoning, which increases g

A significant component of this is that your (usually free) parking on both ends of the trip is subsidized by its requirement in local zoning, which increases general costs and subsidizes driving (parking spaces often cost $10,000+ apiece to build, excluding any land cost). The Highway Trust Fund, which pays for interstates, has also been bailed out by general federal funds in recent years, and local roads are usually built and maintained by general local taxation as opposed to any tax on motorists. Diesel trains with conductors also have high opex as opposed to electric trains. Plus transporting 4 people in a car is a best-case scenario for auto transport costs. And you seem to be making your estimate either assuming a very low TCO car or by excluding deprecation, maintenance, and insurance, since the IRS estimates the average car costs 54 cents a mile to operate. Beyond that, cities along the Caltrain line have severely restricted development around train stations and forced it to their fringes along highways, which makes train transportation less practical and auto transportation easier.

djrogers 9y ago
> parking spaces often cost $10,000+ apiece to build, excluding any land cost I don’t buy that for a second - even in extremely expensive areas like the Bay Area, concrete is less than $20/sq ft poured (ie including all costs), and most parking lots I see around here are blacktop which is even cheaper....
- kurthr 9y ago
  Well, anywhere that is popular enough to need parking (e.g. downtown commercial) is going to be more expensive than a standard house lot in SillyValley. A 5000sqft lot is easily $1M and probably more so you're going to need $200/sqft just for land. The minimum size for a compact parking space is 8x16 and area usage isn't better than 50% in a parking lot so you're at 256sqft before you start building anything... that's $5k.
  - dbaupp 9y ago
    (You missed a zero: 8×16×2×200 = $51k.)
- lukeschlather 9y ago
  In extremely expensive areas like the Bay Area, parking is usually either elevated or underground. Most of the buildings going up in Seattle spend 3-6 months excavating a parking garage. If they aren't elevated or underground, the land itself is worth hundreds of dollars per square foot, so even if the actual construction is negligible the parking space is still worth $30,000+ that could be used for other things.
  - AnthonyMouse 9y ago
    Even if a parking space is worth $30,000, amortized over 20 years that's only $.17/hour.
- jackvalentine 9y ago
  I'm not familiar with the USA as much, but the number holds true for Australia. A quick google found me this: http://www.vtpi.org/tca/tca0504.pdf http://www.vtpi.org/tca/tca0504.pdf Table 5.4.3 - 4 Parking Structure Construction Costs might be what you're after.

djrogers 9y ago

> parking spaces often cost $10,000+ apiece to build, excluding any land cost I don’t buy that for a second - even in extremely expensive areas like the Bay Area, concrete is less than $20/sq ft poured (ie including all costs), and most parking lots I see around here are blacktop which is even cheaper....

kurthr 9y ago
Well, anywhere that is popular enough to need parking (e.g. downtown commercial) is going to be more expensive than a standard house lot in SillyValley. A 5000sqft lot is easily $1M and probably more so you're going to need $200/sqft just for land. The minimum size for a compact parking space is 8x16 and area usage isn't better than 50% in a parking lot so you're at 256sqft before you start building anything... that's $5k.
- dbaupp 9y ago
  (You missed a zero: 8×16×2×200 = $51k.)
lukeschlather 9y ago
In extremely expensive areas like the Bay Area, parking is usually either elevated or underground. Most of the buildings going up in Seattle spend 3-6 months excavating a parking garage. If they aren't elevated or underground, the land itself is worth hundreds of dollars per square foot, so even if the actual construction is negligible the parking space is still worth $30,000+ that could be used for other things.
- AnthonyMouse 9y ago
  Even if a parking space is worth $30,000, amortized over 20 years that's only $.17/hour.
jackvalentine 9y ago
I'm not familiar with the USA as much, but the number holds true for Australia. A quick google found me this: http://www.vtpi.org/tca/tca0504.pdf http://www.vtpi.org/tca/tca0504.pdf Table 5.4.3 - 4 Parking Structure Construction Costs might be what you're after.