8 ms·

I can't speak to SF, but here in Chicago, they have been gradually getting higher each year. I have consistently taken an Uber to work every morning for about 5

I can't speak to SF, but here in Chicago, they have been gradually getting higher each year. I have consistently taken an Uber to work every morning for about 5 years now, and I used to pay $5-7 for the ride, but now it is $9-12. I will say though, the huge benefit now is their rewards have a "price protection" [1] for some tiers that allow for a cap on that ride price, so I think it can no longer go above $10.99 or something. That has helped a ton from it getting higher. But that's only available for some of the higher tiers in their rewards program, I believe. [1] https://help.uber.com/riders/article/price-protection-on-a-route-benefit-details?nodeId=8137f096-80bd-470a-9e4a-f4c8cfc57b70 https://help.uber.com/riders/article/price-protection-on-a-r...

izzydata 7y ago
That seems more expensive than owning a car. Assuming 5 workdays a week and 2 rides per day then that is 40 rides a month on average which could be anywhere from $360 to $480 a month.
- bluetidepro 7y ago
  You also have to factor in gas, renting a parking space for the car at home AND at work, taxes, insurance, convenience, etc. It's one of those things like renting. Yeah, in the long run, purely financially, buying would probably be cheaper, but a lot more factors go into it in real life that doesn't make it as black and white. For me, not owning a car is still much better overall, currently. Also, as I mentioned in another comment, it's just rides to work in the morning. I take public transportation home after work.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - BeetleB 7y ago
    I'll bite. I keep track of all my numbers. For the 86 months I had my last car, I paid an average of $236/mo. This includes purchase price (subtracting out the amount I sold it for). Insurance. Taxes/fees. Gas. Auto insurance. Repairs and maintenance. Silly things like car washes. Of course, I didn't buy a brand new car, or even a recent car. And bought a reliable brand so repairs were low. My insurance was not just liability. All apartments I lived in had parking, as did my work. The types of apartments that have expensive parking are the type that have high rents anyway, so I save in both by not living there. Excluded is the gas for road trips, but I think that's fair as I doubt you used Lyft/Uber for road trips. So for less than what you're paying a month, I got to have a car, and got to drive anywhere I wanted to - not just work.
    - matchbok 7y ago
      I think most people would gladly pay a bit more to not have to deal with the annoyance of owning a vehicle. Parking in most cities is pain. Driving to restaurants or bars is a no-go with your own vehicle. The flexibility you lose with having to own a car is simply not worth it.
      - kcanini 7y ago
        Counterpoint: I think most people would gladly pay a bit more to not have to deal with the annoyance of only being able to use strangers' cars, of variable cleanliness, only after waiting several minutes for them to show up, and not being able to store anything in them during multi-stop trips.
        badestrand 7y ago
        In Germany a few big car companies start with an interesting middle ground, a "car as a service" where you pay monthly, can always switch to a different one or give it back for some time, they also handle repairs, tire changes and everything else that might pop up. It's quite affordable starting at ~$350/mo, so I am curious to see how people will accept it.
      - BeetleB 7y ago
        >Parking in most cities is pain. Driving to restaurants or bars is a no-go with your own vehicle. I'm not sure whether you're referring to driving under the influence or merely about parking. If the latter: In most cities in the US, these are mostly non-issues. So I disagree with your use of "most". Although I've used Lyft in the last few years for various reasons, only once did I use it because I was worried about not finding parking. For other occasions, I used public transit. But seriously - probably less than once a year do I need to find alternate transportation because I'm worried about parking. (BTW, I forgot to add parking to the above estimate. I spent on average $6.03 a month on it).
      - whenchamenia 7y ago
        I find a car to give more flexability than it takes. Its simple to pickup friends, do errands, with no scheduling or waiting. This doubtlessly depends on your area. Most people here assume everyone is in urban california fauxtopia.
- mjparrott 7y ago
  How much is the total cost of owning a car in Chicago? Including gas, parking, insurance, maintenance and consumables, depreciation/lease, etc?
  - chiefgeek 7y ago
    A lot. I live just outside the city limit. 2015 VW Golf Wagon. Payment is only $260/month because I bought it used, got a decent amount for my trade in, and put extra down. Insurance $100/month. Gas, tolls, taxes, misc parking $200/month. Parking at my apartment is included in lease but can easily be $200-400 depending on where in the city you are. I'm a freelancer. As such I don't pay for monthly parking in the city, which could be another $200-400.
    - dsfyu404ed 7y ago
      And how many trips do you take with your car (so we can calculate the cost for replacing it with an Uber)?
    - mjparrott 7y ago
      So $860 or so per month to own a car. “Included in your lease” doesn’t mean you don’t pay for it by the way.
- sumeetjain 7y ago
  The economics can be interesting. For me to own a car means I have to pay $300/month anyways, just to be able to park it in my apartment building. After considering the cost of ownership (insurance, maintenance, gas, etc), I decided it wasn't worth it.
- iamatworknow 7y ago
  You can get a lease on something like a Toyota Corolla with no money down and ~$250 per month. That plus gas plus maybe having to pay for a parking space would probably break even, if not save a little money. Not to mention any rides that aren't part of the commute.
  - Kye 7y ago
    Don't forget insurance, maintenance, tag, and other fees associated with owning a car.
    - dylan604 7y ago
      Like the occasional overzealous towing that seems to happen
    - iamatworknow 7y ago
      For what it's worth Toyota leases come with 2 years of maintenance included, and unless you have major trouble, that last year might be an oil change or two costing ~$100 at the dealership (less if you go elsewhere). Admittedly, insurance can be pricy depending on where you are. Registration/tag fees can vary quite a bit depending on what state you're in.
  - georgeecollins 7y ago
    Inexpensive leases often come with limits on mileage that make the cars more expensive to lease if you drive over the limit.
    - iamatworknow 7y ago
      The two leases I've had were 12k miles/year (or 36k for the term of the lease). I work from home now but I used used to live 10 miles away from my job, and still turned in my vehicle at the end of my first lease with like 10k miles to spare.
- cybersol 7y ago
  Parking spaces at both at home and work can easily be more than that in a major city. That is more limiting than even the car costs.
  - semi-extrinsic 7y ago
    I dare say, if you live and work in a major city, close enough to the centre that you don't have a parking space, you ought to have great access to public transport. Unless you're in the US, I suppose.
- dougmwne 7y ago
  Using Edmunds' True Cost to Own calculator, A 2014 Honda Civic would cost about 5k per year or $416/Mo. If you don't get free parking at work or home or if you have to pay tolls, that cost could increase significantly. A parking spot at a condo could rent for $200-$400/Mo. Parking downtown could be $12-$20 per day. That daily Uber ride sounds like a deal.
  - vkou 7y ago
    > That daily Uber ride sounds like a deal. ... for someone living in a bubble completely disconnected from the planet Earth, where they think that a $400/mo parking spot is 'normal'. Sure, there's a few million people like you out there. Not enough to make Uber break even, though.
    - dougmwne 7y ago
      But we're talking about Chicago and this is the very center of normal. There are in fact millions of people who work in the central business districts of the world's most expensive cities. Uber has 75 million riders. If they could actually convince some fraction of those millions of high income urbanites to only use Uber for their transit needs that would yield a disproportionate share of their revenue. It's great that you get free parking, but have you considered that you're living in a bubble too? 6 out of 7 people globally don't even own cars!
      - vkou 7y ago
        I don't have free parking, I pay $150/month for it. But I'm also a wealthy techie who happens to live within spitting distance of a booming downtown. 90% of the people living in my metro area (Seattle) do not pay $150/month for parking (And I'd wager that 99.9% do not pay $400/month for parking). ... And most of those people have commutes of >4 miles. The problem with taxis is that you pay by the mile. You'd be an idiot to drive yourself to work, if you live 2 miles from work, and have to pay through the nose for parking. You'd be an idiot not to drive yourself to work, if you live 15 miles from work, your bus system sucks, and your parking is cheap or free. [1] Doing 15 miles/day in a taxi costs nearly 3x that of doing 5 miles/day in a taxi. Doing 15 miles/day in a car is pocket change, compared to doing 5 miles/day in a car (Or 0 miles/day). Most of your costs with a car are fixed. Most of your costs with a taxi are distance-based. [1] And if we're going to get into a discussion about how the world should value the cost of parking spaces, I will happily point out that what we should have is good bus services, not private chauffeurs.
- bumby 7y ago
  As someone who used to work in a major city but now doesn't I think the ride share model makes much more sense in urban areas where you have more obtrusive costs like parking.
- Daishiman 7y ago
  But then you have to own the car, which for someone like me who would barely use it aside from an occasional weekend ride just makes little sense as far as the additional concerns of paying insurance, servicing, finding parking space and so on.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  Outside certain places with very high car ownership uber is tons more expensive.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
mjparrott 7y ago
Same experience here, also in Chicago. I take the bus now it’s much cheaper.
- bluetidepro 7y ago
  Yeah, I take the bus/CTA home everyday, but still love my morning Uber rides. Haha Just so much easier, and I hate being all hot and sweaty from the bus or CTA when I get to work in the morning. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

izzydata 7y ago

That seems more expensive than owning a car. Assuming 5 workdays a week and 2 rides per day then that is 40 rides a month on average which could be anywhere from $360 to $480 a month.

bluetidepro 7y ago
You also have to factor in gas, renting a parking space for the car at home AND at work, taxes, insurance, convenience, etc. It's one of those things like renting. Yeah, in the long run, purely financially, buying would probably be cheaper, but a lot more factors go into it in real life that doesn't make it as black and white. For me, not owning a car is still much better overall, currently. Also, as I mentioned in another comment, it's just rides to work in the morning. I take public transportation home after work.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- BeetleB 7y ago
  I'll bite. I keep track of all my numbers. For the 86 months I had my last car, I paid an average of $236/mo. This includes purchase price (subtracting out the amount I sold it for). Insurance. Taxes/fees. Gas. Auto insurance. Repairs and maintenance. Silly things like car washes. Of course, I didn't buy a brand new car, or even a recent car. And bought a reliable brand so repairs were low. My insurance was not just liability. All apartments I lived in had parking, as did my work. The types of apartments that have expensive parking are the type that have high rents anyway, so I save in both by not living there. Excluded is the gas for road trips, but I think that's fair as I doubt you used Lyft/Uber for road trips. So for less than what you're paying a month, I got to have a car, and got to drive anywhere I wanted to - not just work.
  - matchbok 7y ago
    I think most people would gladly pay a bit more to not have to deal with the annoyance of owning a vehicle. Parking in most cities is pain. Driving to restaurants or bars is a no-go with your own vehicle. The flexibility you lose with having to own a car is simply not worth it.
    - kcanini 7y ago
      Counterpoint: I think most people would gladly pay a bit more to not have to deal with the annoyance of only being able to use strangers' cars, of variable cleanliness, only after waiting several minutes for them to show up, and not being able to store anything in them during multi-stop trips.
      - badestrand 7y ago
        In Germany a few big car companies start with an interesting middle ground, a "car as a service" where you pay monthly, can always switch to a different one or give it back for some time, they also handle repairs, tire changes and everything else that might pop up. It's quite affordable starting at ~$350/mo, so I am curious to see how people will accept it.
    - BeetleB 7y ago
      >Parking in most cities is pain. Driving to restaurants or bars is a no-go with your own vehicle. I'm not sure whether you're referring to driving under the influence or merely about parking. If the latter: In most cities in the US, these are mostly non-issues. So I disagree with your use of "most". Although I've used Lyft in the last few years for various reasons, only once did I use it because I was worried about not finding parking. For other occasions, I used public transit. But seriously - probably less than once a year do I need to find alternate transportation because I'm worried about parking. (BTW, I forgot to add parking to the above estimate. I spent on average $6.03 a month on it).
    - whenchamenia 7y ago
      I find a car to give more flexability than it takes. Its simple to pickup friends, do errands, with no scheduling or waiting. This doubtlessly depends on your area. Most people here assume everyone is in urban california fauxtopia.
mjparrott 7y ago
How much is the total cost of owning a car in Chicago? Including gas, parking, insurance, maintenance and consumables, depreciation/lease, etc?
- chiefgeek 7y ago
  A lot. I live just outside the city limit. 2015 VW Golf Wagon. Payment is only $260/month because I bought it used, got a decent amount for my trade in, and put extra down. Insurance $100/month. Gas, tolls, taxes, misc parking $200/month. Parking at my apartment is included in lease but can easily be $200-400 depending on where in the city you are. I'm a freelancer. As such I don't pay for monthly parking in the city, which could be another $200-400.
  - dsfyu404ed 7y ago
    And how many trips do you take with your car (so we can calculate the cost for replacing it with an Uber)?
  - mjparrott 7y ago
    So $860 or so per month to own a car. “Included in your lease” doesn’t mean you don’t pay for it by the way.
sumeetjain 7y ago
The economics can be interesting. For me to own a car means I have to pay $300/month anyways, just to be able to park it in my apartment building. After considering the cost of ownership (insurance, maintenance, gas, etc), I decided it wasn't worth it.
iamatworknow 7y ago
You can get a lease on something like a Toyota Corolla with no money down and ~$250 per month. That plus gas plus maybe having to pay for a parking space would probably break even, if not save a little money. Not to mention any rides that aren't part of the commute.
- Kye 7y ago
  Don't forget insurance, maintenance, tag, and other fees associated with owning a car.
  - dylan604 7y ago
    Like the occasional overzealous towing that seems to happen
  - iamatworknow 7y ago
    For what it's worth Toyota leases come with 2 years of maintenance included, and unless you have major trouble, that last year might be an oil change or two costing ~$100 at the dealership (less if you go elsewhere). Admittedly, insurance can be pricy depending on where you are. Registration/tag fees can vary quite a bit depending on what state you're in.
- georgeecollins 7y ago
  Inexpensive leases often come with limits on mileage that make the cars more expensive to lease if you drive over the limit.
  - iamatworknow 7y ago
    The two leases I've had were 12k miles/year (or 36k for the term of the lease). I work from home now but I used used to live 10 miles away from my job, and still turned in my vehicle at the end of my first lease with like 10k miles to spare.
cybersol 7y ago
Parking spaces at both at home and work can easily be more than that in a major city. That is more limiting than even the car costs.
- semi-extrinsic 7y ago
  I dare say, if you live and work in a major city, close enough to the centre that you don't have a parking space, you ought to have great access to public transport. Unless you're in the US, I suppose.
dougmwne 7y ago
Using Edmunds' True Cost to Own calculator, A 2014 Honda Civic would cost about 5k per year or $416/Mo. If you don't get free parking at work or home or if you have to pay tolls, that cost could increase significantly. A parking spot at a condo could rent for $200-$400/Mo. Parking downtown could be $12-$20 per day. That daily Uber ride sounds like a deal.
- vkou 7y ago
  > That daily Uber ride sounds like a deal. ... for someone living in a bubble completely disconnected from the planet Earth, where they think that a $400/mo parking spot is 'normal'. Sure, there's a few million people like you out there. Not enough to make Uber break even, though.
  - dougmwne 7y ago
    But we're talking about Chicago and this is the very center of normal. There are in fact millions of people who work in the central business districts of the world's most expensive cities. Uber has 75 million riders. If they could actually convince some fraction of those millions of high income urbanites to only use Uber for their transit needs that would yield a disproportionate share of their revenue. It's great that you get free parking, but have you considered that you're living in a bubble too? 6 out of 7 people globally don't even own cars!
    - vkou 7y ago
      I don't have free parking, I pay $150/month for it. But I'm also a wealthy techie who happens to live within spitting distance of a booming downtown. 90% of the people living in my metro area (Seattle) do not pay $150/month for parking (And I'd wager that 99.9% do not pay $400/month for parking). ... And most of those people have commutes of >4 miles. The problem with taxis is that you pay by the mile. You'd be an idiot to drive yourself to work, if you live 2 miles from work, and have to pay through the nose for parking. You'd be an idiot not to drive yourself to work, if you live 15 miles from work, your bus system sucks, and your parking is cheap or free. [1] Doing 15 miles/day in a taxi costs nearly 3x that of doing 5 miles/day in a taxi. Doing 15 miles/day in a car is pocket change, compared to doing 5 miles/day in a car (Or 0 miles/day). Most of your costs with a car are fixed. Most of your costs with a taxi are distance-based. [1] And if we're going to get into a discussion about how the world should value the cost of parking spaces, I will happily point out that what we should have is good bus services, not private chauffeurs.
bumby 7y ago
As someone who used to work in a major city but now doesn't I think the ride share model makes much more sense in urban areas where you have more obtrusive costs like parking.
Daishiman 7y ago
But then you have to own the car, which for someone like me who would barely use it aside from an occasional weekend ride just makes little sense as far as the additional concerns of paying insurance, servicing, finding parking space and so on.
dsfyu404ed 7y ago
Outside certain places with very high car ownership uber is tons more expensive.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

mjparrott 7y ago

Same experience here, also in Chicago. I take the bus now it’s much cheaper.

bluetidepro 7y ago
Yeah, I take the bus/CTA home everyday, but still love my morning Uber rides. Haha Just so much easier, and I hate being all hot and sweaty from the bus or CTA when I get to work in the morning. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯