2 ms·
> when people realize they can have an extra 10 grant a year post-tax by using a cargo bike instead of a car The only people spending $10K/year on their car wa
by rootusrootus 4y ago
> when people realize they can have an extra 10 grant a year post-tax by using a cargo bike instead of a car
The only people spending $10K/year on their car want to. The kind of folks who would be most swayed by a financial argument manage to spend much less. On top of that, your analysis is one-sided. What would be the going rate for additional daylight hours if I could sell them on the open market?
- frosted-flakes 4y agoOnce you account for the initial purchase price, insurance, fuel, maintenance, and parking, $10K/year on average is probably an underestimate. That doesn't even account for increased costs created by auto-centric development, which incentivizes sprawl and makes housing more expensive (eliminating parking minimums can cut monthly rents by $250 per unit because you can fit in a lot more units), roads more expensive, and even simple things like eating out at a restaurant more expensive because you're still paying for all that parking, even if it's baked into the purchase price. It is certainly possible to have a car for only a few grand a year by buying used cars and doing your own maintenance and repairs on your own, but that comes with the compromise of decreased reliability, and most Americans need a reliable car. My own costs are probably around $5K a year because I drive a 20-year-old diesel VW Jetta, but I also don't need a car on a day-to-day basis because I bike to work.