Comments on: Guest Post: Statistics, Dollars, and the Intangible (Priceless) Benefits of Cycling

By: Stephen J

Stephen J — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 21:48:45 +0000

We spend a shade over $1500/year on petrol, registration, warrants and basic maintenance for the car. Like Rob, I reserve the car for bad weather, heavy loads and long distance. People don’t believe me when I say I only fill the car once a month. One hopes that the car will last a deal longer since it has such light use too. Our car is a thirsty, turbo-charged Legacy wagon, but running it is a luxury I can afford since I don’t drive that often.

I have timed the drive and the bike ride to work. It takes about 15 minutes to drive, and about 25 to cycle at a pace that doesn’t break a sweat. I have a route that goes through the quiet back streets of Spreydon, then along the edge of Hagley Park towards the hospital and across town to Kilmore St. As far as I’m concerned, the extra 20 minutes a day are very enjoyable. It’s hard to say how much the sheer pleasure of riding a bike at a gentle pace is worth, but I greatly prefer it to driving a car on our main roads.

If only we measured Gross National Happiness, what a contribution riding a bike would make!

By: Simon Barnard

Simon Barnard — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 21:10:41 +0000

For those on a tight budget a good used bike at $200 should last for at least a decade, or $20 per year annualized. If you learn to do most of your own maintenance and repairs, as I do, tyres become the big expense, about $30 per year. Even at $180 per year for professional repairs cycling can be had for about $200 per year.

Sell the car and rent one when needed and save even more.

By: Criggie

Criggie — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 19:16:22 +0000

Hard to say, but my car used to do ~2500-3000 miles a year, and last year did under 500 miles. In the same window my cycling was in the thousands of km, but that was a lot of exercise…. few drive cars for fun.