Thursday, September 6, 2012
The High Cost of Driving
Posted by Ashley Kimmel on Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 10:41 AM
This is part of a series of stories by Kimmel, who's given up her car and is relying primarily on public transit.
I took an opportunity to steal my mom's car this past week while she was out of town, and I have to admit, I did a bit of joyriding. I like having a car. Not only is it fun, it makes life a whole lot easier.
It was not all fun and games, though. The convenience of car ownership comes at a cost. I kept track of things that I spent money on over the eight days, and here is what I came up with...
A little glimpse into the costs I accrued during one week of driving a car:
Total money spent on gas: $48.01
Total money spent on parking: $18
Total money spent on unnecessary things only because they were conveniently accessible: $103.87
Total money spent on necessary things that are not typically conveniently accessible: $148.53
Total money spent on a bus pass that I lost because I didn't use it for a week: $60
Total time spent finding parking spots: roughly 45 minutes
Number of times I was late for work (due to traffic and unknowingly finding myself one-way streets: 2
Number of times I was late to class (due to lack of campus parking available to students without parking passes): 1
A little glimpse into the costs I usually accrue in a typical week without a car:
Total money spent on transportation (with my new student discount): $30 per month
Total money spent on unnecessary things that happen to be close to places I go: roughly $50
Total money spent on necessary things that are not conveniently accessible: roughly $50
Total time spent walking to places because I missed the bus or the bus is late (or sometimes even just because walking is nice): 3-4 hours
Number of times I am late for work: 0
Number of times I am late for class: 0
Number of times I am early for work (usually about 45 minutes, in fact): all shifts
Number of times I am early for class (at least 45 minutes): every class
Besides the much-needed grocery store run, the pros and cons of the two are obviously in favor of me not having a car. Who knew?
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