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Daniel wrote with the following story:
I work across town, which means I have to fill up my tank at least once a week. With the rising cost of gas, this comes to about $50 a week. What can I do, though? Work is too far to walk or ride my bicycle. Recently, while riding my bike, I was hit by a car. After the doc fixed me up I had my arm in a sling. This meant I couldn’t drive my manual transmission vehicle.
A coworker suggested the bus. What a revelation! With coupon books, the bus costs me $13.50 a week and I found a direct route which gets me to work about the same amount of time as driving. This saves me about $37 a week. It’s true what they: necessity is the mother of invention. Once my arm heals completely I going to continue to bus it.
Alternate transportation can be a real money saver. I’m always surprised at how many people never think beyond their cars. Especially if you’re looking to improve your physical fitness, look into biking to work or walking to the store. It’s easy to walk a mile to your grocery store, and then carry your groceries home in a backpack.
My wife rode the bus to work for several years. It took her an hour to make the commute and cost her about $50/month. If she had driven, she could have made the commute in half the time, but it would have cost her three times as much. For a couple of years, I tried to bike to work most of the summer. I did this for fitness, not for frugality, but the savings were a nice side benefit.
Often there are ways to save right under your nose. You just need to open your eyes to see them!
If you have a financial success story, drop a line at 
. Share it with your fellow GRS readers!
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June 4th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
We recently had to become a two-car family, so instead we became a one-car, one-scooter family. My Vespa-like scooter gets me to work in the same amount of time, and I spend 1/10th the amount on gasoline. It’s not as sweaty as walking or biking, and less dangerous at night, and with the right inexpensive clothing even rain isn’t a problem. I recommend others look into scooters as a viable option for commuting.
June 4th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
A few months ago, I started riding the bus in the morning then riding my bike back home. (I am lucky enough to live in an area where all the buses have bike racks.) When I drove to work, it cost me aprox. $125 a month. Now, an unlimited monthly bus pass cost $10 & my bike costs nothing but sweat. An unexpected benefit of the bus is time to read or listen to podcast & serves as a buffer between my home mindset and work mindset. It is not for everyone, but I highly recommend trying it for a week.
June 4th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
I recently moved with my fiance into a house my parents own, which happens to be right next door to the house they live in. Luckily, we all get along really well. The downside is that it is out in the “country” at least 30 minutes from work (of course, when I lived in the city, my commute was about the same, only it was b/c of stop-and-go traffic). Anyway, my dad and I kept seeing each other on our drive home. We even stopped at the same gas station at the same time…twice! So after being beat in the head with the fact that our schedules were similar enough to commute, we drive to work together now. Granted, my situation is unique, but it does prove that there are options, even if you live too far away to walk or bike.
June 4th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
My previous job was 19 miles one-way on a two-lane, no bikes allowed highway, with no bus routes so I didn’t have any option other than driving (which wasn’t bad at all since it was against traffic).
When I started my present job 14 miles from home with tons of routes to choose from, I actually made a spreadsheet to compare various commute options.
Bus was out of the question, since the fastest bus route took well over an hour and required at least one transfer (driving by comparison was 25-45 minutes, depending on traffic). My spreadsheet compared driving solo with commuting by cycle and scooter. Obviously cycling is the most economic option, but 14 miles one way was a bit far for me.
Enter the eZee electric/bicycle hybrid from Electric Vehicles NW. Up front costs were a bit steep at $1,600, but as long as I continue to ride it instead of driving at least 2-3 days a week, I’ll have made up the cost in just a few years. The $30/month bonus my workplace gives for using “commute alternatives” certainly helps. Plus, it’s good for my health.
Of course, I’m lucky in that I live just 2 blocks from Seattle’s best bike path/trail, the Burke-Gilman & Sammamish River Trails. The commute by bike is over a mile shorter than the shortest route by car, and takes just 40 minutes, which is less than driving in moderate traffic.
Feel good, save money, and save time. I love it!
June 4th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
My commute to work is 45km round trip, and I do it all on a Yamaha Vino scooter. I traded in my car, and am now saving so much on insurance (only $15/month), maintenance and gas ($5 to fill up). In fact, it’s cheaper than buying a monthly bus pass!
June 4th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
For my work commute, I drive one mile to the local light-rail train stop, and then take the light rail for the 15-mile ride into downtown. It slightly increases my commute time if I don’t time it well, but it’s totally worth it.
During the winter if the weather is bad, there is a bus stop 2 blocks from my home. I’ll get myself to the bus stop in lieu of making the one mile drive to the light rail. This does, however, make the whole commuting process 30 to 45 minutes longer so I only do it when icy conditions make driving unfun.
I save on gas, wear-and-tear on my car AND avoid a hefty $10+/day parking fee. My pass costs my $50 a month, and I save a few hundred.
DB
June 4th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
I started riding the bus as a “temporary measure” when our second car got stolen. That was over a year ago, it’s been working so well that I don’t intend to replace it. In the spring I’ll start riding my bike to work.
June 4th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
You all sure live far from work. I live about 200 yards from my office, which also happens to be one of the cheapest apartment complexes in the city. Where I live, rent is cheaper than property taxes alone, not to mention mortgage interest, maintenance, and other home ownership costs. The cost of my commute is just wear and tear on my shoes, and it’s a heck of faster than sitting in gridlocked traffic or the various public transportation options.
June 4th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
I started working at home and we became a one car family. I do all the grocery shopping on foot and have lost a good amount of weight too.
I think it’s sad that so many parts of north America are so unfriendly to pedestrians.
June 4th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Lemme suggest the new Schwinn Electric bikes! They’re awesome and actually work amazingly well, and you won’t look like a dork like those other bikes in post 4. Little ’spensive now, but they should be coming down. And no, they’re not for the lazy, they’re more for your dedicated commuter who needs a little help with hills or a hot day every now then.
http://www.schwinnbike.com/products/bikes_category.php?id=109
June 4th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
I’m curious how far is “too far to bike to work”? I live 45 miles from where I work, and take the commuter train into the city during much of the year. The cost for this recently increased over 25% to $250/month.
During the summers I bike to work. I start out at the beginning of the summer driving most of the way and bike the last 15 miles or so. As the summer goes along, I drive in a shorter distance and bike further, to the point where I’m biking in 23-25 miles and only driving in 20 or so. I do this twice a day, once in, once out. The amount of time my commute takes is not significantly longer compared to the train, and is actually significantly shorter compared to driving all the way.
This is my 4th year doing this, and let me tell you, an hour bike ride in the morning is a better wake-up than coffee, and a fantastic stress release after work!
Oh, and my first year biking, I got hit by a car too, but it didn’t stop me. The weather is way too nice during the summer for me to want to give that up to sit squished into that sardine-can of a train on a 90+ degree day when the train AC is broken.
I haven’t done the math yet, but I think last year I might actually have saved money biking, even though I drove 40+ miles per day more than I do when I take the train…
June 4th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I live about 4.5 miles from work. I walk almost every morning, which takes 80 minutes (about 45 minutes longer than the bus). I figure for that 45 minute investment I save $2 plus I don’t have to spend any time or money at the gym because I’m combining commuting and exercise. I take the bus home. I always carry my camera too, because the world is a much more interesting place on foot.
June 4th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
“It’s easy to walk a mile to your grocery store, and then carry your groceries home in a backpack.”
??????? When we go to the grocery store every 10-14 days or so, we bring back 6-10 bags of food, not to mention the occasional 2-6 12-packs of soda cans (when they’re on sale).
In order to carry that home “in my backpack” I’d have to go to the grocery store almost every day…
June 4th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
June 4th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
I try to work at home and not pay anything for commuting cost. Also saves on meals out, clothing,etc. Of course, it isn’t easy. But I don’t have to make as much money to replace outside income due to savings. I actually havent had a job in almost 3 years. ( I had 1 year of income saved, cut my expenses in half, 6 months severance, started selling things online, sold 1 website for 4 figures, and never bothered to look for another job when I was laidoff,etc). I have gone back to school in my late 20s ( I guess to “get a career” where I will have drive to work) and am also thinking about getting some kind of job ( doesnt really matter what as long as it pays), just to make things easier in the meantime. However, every time I think about it seems the added expense would wipeout any earnings. Not to mention taking time away from things I value more ( and could potentially be more lucrative). When I fnish my next( and last) degree, I dont think I will look anywhere outside of 15 miles from here. If there is nothing there, I will just keep working at home. Maybe freelance with my newer qualifications, if anything. I actually picked my major somewhat based on the local job market and forecasts,etc. I know that I can find something around here in the field.
Fortunately, I have about 4 grocery stores, Walmart, target, B&N, Malls,etc in about a 10 mile radius. So for shopping and running errands, the fuel cost is minimal ( I get 30 MPG). A Big Shopping Trip might cost me $2 in gas. It costs more for the gas in my lawnmower.
Not everything is about saving or sqeezing money. I can think of a lot of reasons NOT to ride a bike or take a bus somewhere. I have better things to do with my time. There are some places biking is not safe, and some employers where riding a bike is not practical,etc. I think we’ve been over the “public transportation is not available everywhere” thing a million times. And when it is, it’s rarely convenient. I used to have a co-worker who spent about 4 hours a day waiting for buses or walking. He didn’t have a car. No one on that particular bus did, or they would drive.
My life is based on frugality out of necessity ( but also a little choice). I know I can get by without needing a lot of money, commuting 100 miles or needing to work 80 hours a week and/or in some high profile profession.
So for me, I just dont go anywhere. Or I will work very close to home and save the time and money ( both apply to driving and biking/public transport), even if it means grossing much less.
June 4th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Right now I do a 150km roundtrip drive to work every day - takes me about an hour (or less) depending on traffic… at the time I started this commute, I had no money and no job. Now, its looking like my employer wants to keep me on… so I’m moving closer to work. With the cost of gas and maintenance, my $550 a month room, even if I drive back to visit my folks a couple of times a month, will be a heck of a lot cheaper than the maintenance for my old car. Plus, I’ll be within walking distance of work, which will mean about 40 min of walking a day, which is wonderful.
If the gas would have been cheaper, or the roads a bit clearer, I probably wouldn’t have thought about moving closer. Necessity is the mother of invention, or innovation.
June 5th, 2007 at 5:26 am
“??????? When we go to the grocery store every 10-14 days or so, we bring back 6-10 bags of food, not to mention the occasional 2-6 12-packs of soda cans (when they’re on sale). ”
If you’re frugal, what’s the point of the soda? seriously, this does nothing to fuel the body. It’s a senseless, purposeless drink. you’re *much* better off with juice or just putting a lemon in your water.
Makes me wonder what the 6-10 bags of “necessities” are- chips, mac n’ cheese.
June 5th, 2007 at 5:57 am
I walk my commute — 4.4 miles round-trip. In the morning, my wife and I walk together (we work in the same building). In the afternoon we leave at different times, so I listen to audio books, music and podcasts on my iPod.
I’m a big fan of living close to your work. I’ve done long commutes in the past — they wear you down financial and emotional. I hope to never do that again!
June 5th, 2007 at 6:33 am
I don’t have a car, even though I am a professional earning a decent salary. I take the subway to work everyday. I deliberately chose to live in a walkable neighbourhood with a variety of stores (supermarkets, drugstores, hardware store, etc.). I bike to the farmer’s market. I carry my groceries home on foot — using backpacks and canvas bags, I can carry up to $75 worth. Every so often I have my groceries delivered — that’s when I stock up on heavy items. I don’t buy junk food, so there’s less to carry. I sometimes stop at a natural foods store on my way home from work. Doing without a car isn’t very hard and it saves me a lot of money. It would not work in a suburban area though — but then I wouldn’t want to live in a suburban area!
June 5th, 2007 at 7:25 am
As someone who has been busing to work her entire career (granted it’s only been four years) and is now about to purchase a car, I have to say the monetary savings just isn’t worth potentially being late to meetings due to late or early buses (an early bus is worse than a late bus because if you miss the early bus you’re then left waiting for the next potentially late bus), or dealing with my nice business attire getting ruined due to snowstorms/rainstorms, or having to leave work an hour early just to get to my gym on time for my personal trainer appointment at the gym 10km away from here (should take about 10 minutes to drive).
I agree that using public transportation saves you money, but at some point the costs (not monetary) outweigh the benefits.
June 5th, 2007 at 7:56 am
“Paul Says:
June 4th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
I’m curious how far is “too far to bike to work”?”
Let’s keep in mind the fact that not everyone’s situation allows them to bike to work. That’s great that you can, but what about parents who pick up kids after school? What about people who would have to bike down winding roads with no shoulder (as in my case)? It is dangerous and irresponsible to bike down at least half of my commute, both for bikers and for drivers who have no visibility to pass.
What may work for one person won’t necessarily work for another, but I think the real point is to think outside the box to find the best solution for your situation.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:06 am
April,
I’m by no means saying what I do is do-able by all. I was merely asking what the OP meant by the statement that he lives too far away to bike to work, and trying to communicate that it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing bike commute. I drive half way, bike half way.
I count myself as quite fortunate to be able to bike, to be able to park freely at the places I bike from, and to have both a shower at work and a schedule flexible enough to allow it.
I apologize if I came across as preaching that everyone should follow my lead. That was not my intent.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:08 am
I have two options for getting to work, I can drive or I can take the train and then bike in from the train station. Both are about the same price, but the driving option is faster, about 30 minutes compared to 1 hour by train.
So the car options sounds better, but then I think about this. When I drive, I can do nothing but drive. When I take the train, I can read, work or even sleep, and then I get a good workout biking the last two miles from the station to work. So the hour I spend on the train commute is useful, while the 30 minutes I spend in the car is completely wasted. Add to that the physical benefits of the bike ride plus the environmental harm of the car, and it’s an easy choice.
Just remember that comparing time spend on alternate transit vs. in the car is like comparing apples and oranges. You can’t work or sleep while driving, or at least I hope you don’t.
Gal
June 5th, 2007 at 10:34 am
60 in 3 — you are right about that. I read a book or knit during my subway commute. It’s productive time and I don’t arrive at work stressed out by traffic.
June 5th, 2007 at 11:17 am
When I drive, I can do nothing but drive.
I listen to audiobooks on my commute. Working my way through the Aubrey/Maturin series at the moment. It helps to have local libraries with good book-on-CD stocks.
June 5th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
It’s true that none of these solutions will work for everybody. But I know an awful lot of people say they ‘need’ a car and I’m pretty sure a lot of them are just used to cars and can’t imagine life without one.
I’m 48 years old, and with the exception of 2 years when I lived in the country, I’ve never had a car. A car might make some things easier, but for me it’s not worth the expense or hassle.
June 6th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
I second everything that Paul has said, emphatically. Driving part of the way to work and biking the rest of the way is a great way to cut down on commuting costs if it seems too far to bike all the way.
A few years ago I started driving 15 miles in to work and biking the remaining 5, which took less time than either driving all the way or taking public transit, and was significantly cheaper than both. After a while I started driving 7 miles to the rail-trail that comes near our house, and biking the remaining 13 miles. This week I started biking the full 20 miles each way — a routine I will almost certainly not keep up full time, but it’s nice to know that I’m at a point where I *can* do it some of the time.
Driving all the way to work: $5/day in gas, $10/day in parking, 1 hour each way.
Driving to the train: $3/day in gas, $5/day parking, $4/day train fare, 1 hour each way.
Driving + biking: $1/day gas, 1 hour 15 minutes each way.
Biking: $0/day, 1 hour 30 minutes each way.
I can’t possibly tell anyone else what they should do, and it is certainly true that some people are in a position where they just cannot bike at all, but it is hard for me to contain my enthusiasm. Not only has it reduced my commuting costs in the short term, but the improvements in my stress levels, daily mood, and overall health are hard to put a dollar value on. I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
June 10th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
For the past couple of years I had no choice but to use public transportation to get to work which took about 2 hours each way (including a half hour wait between buses). I simply had never learned to drive. I lived in NYC for 15 years after high school so it was never an issue. Once I moved here to TX, I really didn’t mind too much since it gave me time to read, do the crossword puzzle, knit etc. and the bus pass is soooo cheap here. I don’t worry too much about weather since I can wear a raincoat or carry an umbrella.
I took driving lessons and earned my license last November. Very recently my office moved a bit closer and my commute is only about a half hour each way. I still don’t have a car, though I will probably get one next year. I won’t use it for getting to work most of the time since parking downtown is outrageously expensive.
I’ve really enjoyed watching some of my co-workers get used to taking public transportation-many for the first time in their lives. Some have even taken advantage of the express buses that have free wi-fi.
It all just takes a bit of planning. When I was initially looking for a place to live here, I specifically chose an apartment located complex across the street from a shopping center that had a grocery store and a bank and that was convenient to a major bus line. Unfortunately the grocery store closed last year, but there is another down the street and several others that are a quick bus ride away. In many ways this is not that much different from the way I lived in NYC, except most things shut down by 11pm.
June 14th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
The important thing is to do the math.
For me to commute 20 days a month, 16 miles a day (round-trip) at 38 mpg works out to $34/mo in gas. Parking is free.
To ride the bus would cost $60/mo.
Guess what? I drive most days - although I do telecommute once a week or so, thus bringing my commute costs down further.
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:38 am
If you have to drive, make good use of the time. I’m brushing up on my French by listening to language CDs and practicing the exercises. It’s been a lot of fun. I’m going to get Spanish CDs next!
December 6th, 2007 at 10:54 am
My car gets about 20 mpg. My daily commute is 20 miles round trip and takes me 20-30 minutes. Which means it costs me roughly $3/day to get to and from work.
But I wanted to try to drive less so I looked into using public transport to get to work. Because of the way the system is laid out, it would take me at least 90 minutes to get to work (one-way) and the fare is $2.05 one-way. So to get back and forth to work using public transport, it would cost me about $1 more per day and it would take me roughly 3 times as long to make my commute.
So yes, do the math first. It might seem cheaper to use public transport with gas prices being what they are, but it’s not necessarily true in all cases.
May 5th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I take public transportation, but I am curious about something, so I thought I would ask you about it. Should the gas keeping going up and up, would living further away, like these people, from work, be cost effective? How would that work for the suburbs, when people want to live well away from the main city?
May 6th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
When my parents chose a suburb to live in, access to public transport into the city was a consideration. Similarly, I have chosen to stay where I am in an urban area because it cuts down on the commute (altho nowadays I work a lot from home). It is also the hub of the old streetcar transportation grid, so if I HAVE to I can take public transport. Altho I had an experience once of a 4-hr. bus ride (round trip) for a 4-hr job once. That was NOT fun. I do wish the buses here in L.A. were more middle class, too.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I think it depends upon what you value. I live about 45 miles from
“the main city” and fortunately, have public transportation very close
by. I drive 10 miles a day, 5 miles each way to/from the train station.
During the summer I bike to work (not the entire way, see my post up
above (comment #22 for details). I’ve often thought about getting a
job closer to home, but that would then require driving much more
frequently. My total commute time is a little over 90 minutes
door-to-door no matter whether I take public transportation, drive, or
ride my bike. To take public transportation, it costs me $250/month,
which, given current gas prices, is probably cheap.
If I worked closer to home, I’d definitely have to drive, which would
almost certainly cost more, unless of course, I worked within about 20
miles and could bike the entire distance.
I also value where I live. And in this market, selling my house and
moving closer to “the main city” isn’t an option. I couldn’t sell my
house for enough money to buy something decent closer to the city, and
I almost certainly could find what I have for a reasonable price
either.
So, for me, staying in the exurbs (extreme suburbs) is what I’ll do
for the forseeable future. Currently, gas prices don’t affect me that
much with respect to my commute given the public transportation. Of
course, given that I must ride the world’s most mis-managed public
transportation system, my guess is that the costs will increase
another 25% or so within the next 6-9 months. This would make the 4th
or 5th increase in as many years. Sadly, this time they have a
legitimate reason