4 ms·

The average American spends $3000 a year on gas. Imagine if you didn’t have to do that.

dsfyu404ed 4y ago
I do ~23000mi/yr (way above average) commuting at 23mpg (somewhat below average) and gas here is about $3/gal (average) so I pay about $3k/yr. I am nowhere near typical. There is no way the average American pays that much for just gas unless the source is doing some slight of hand. Obviously I pay more than $3k/yr after you include other expenses but still, few are buying that much fuel. I used to take the train when I worked downtown and @$350/mo or $4200/yr for a pass (which also covers the subway and buses) it's basically a break even vs driving. Medium distance rail and bus needs to get a hell of a lot better for it to actually be cheaper for the average person in practice.
- fundad 4y ago
  $3/gal is practically free
- HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
  > @$350/mo or $4200/yr for a pass (which also covers the subway and buses) it's basically a break even vs driving. Cost-wise, yes but there are other benefits. I live in rural MN and used to commute to downtown Minneapolis about 40 miles away. It was far more convenient, not to mention much faster, to drive to an express bus stop and take the bus into the city than to drive. The 6 block walk to the office sucked sometimes when it was raining or -20F but not having to deal with traffic, plus the reduction of wear and tear on my car was well worth the minor inconvenience. Now, I realize that's an ideal situation: having a bus 15 minutes away and a relatively short distance between the bus stop and my destination, but it's possible. Cities can do this: Minneapolis has streets that are bus-only at rush hour to speed up transit -- cars will get ticketed if the cops see them. The Metro area has a large number of bus routes between suburbs and even to the edge of the ex-urban areas. There was a big push around 20 years ago to improve transit and it's definitely paying off, but it takes commitment and patience that I guess a lot of other areas in the country don't have.

I do ~23000mi/yr (way above average) commuting at 23mpg (somewhat below average) and gas here is about $3/gal (average) so I pay about $3k/yr. I am nowhere near typical. There is no way the average American pays that much for just gas unless the source is doing some slight of hand. Obviously I pay more than $3k/yr after you include other expenses but still, few are buying that much fuel. I used to take the train when I worked downtown and @$350/mo or $4200/yr for a pass (which also covers the subway and buses) it's basically a break even vs driving. Medium distance rail and bus needs to get a hell of a lot better for it to actually be cheaper for the average person in practice.

fundad 4y ago
$3/gal is practically free
HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
> @$350/mo or $4200/yr for a pass (which also covers the subway and buses) it's basically a break even vs driving. Cost-wise, yes but there are other benefits. I live in rural MN and used to commute to downtown Minneapolis about 40 miles away. It was far more convenient, not to mention much faster, to drive to an express bus stop and take the bus into the city than to drive. The 6 block walk to the office sucked sometimes when it was raining or -20F but not having to deal with traffic, plus the reduction of wear and tear on my car was well worth the minor inconvenience. Now, I realize that's an ideal situation: having a bus 15 minutes away and a relatively short distance between the bus stop and my destination, but it's possible. Cities can do this: Minneapolis has streets that are bus-only at rush hour to speed up transit -- cars will get ticketed if the cops see them. The Metro area has a large number of bus routes between suburbs and even to the edge of the ex-urban areas. There was a big push around 20 years ago to improve transit and it's definitely paying off, but it takes commitment and patience that I guess a lot of other areas in the country don't have.