I understand that isn’t possible for everyone and/or everywhere, but the biggest saving is not even having a car in the first place. Not just the actual price of the car (and it’s depreciation), but the monthly/yearly costs associated with owning one. Insurance, taxes, maintenance and possibly repairs.
It has been a very long time since I actually owned one, but at least here (EU) it can easily be like 150€ a month and you haven’t even driven a single kilometer. I’m pretty sure it’s physically impossible for me to use up 150€ in electricity with an eBike in a month, and there isn’t even any fuel accounted for.
I’d love to completely get rid of my car, but, alas, it would mean the end of my social life since the buses rarely run past 9 and the roads are too dangerous to cycle.
One thing I think we could do, though, is move towards making those fixed expenses of car cost sensitive to mileage. For instance, lets mandate availability of insurance-per-mile instead of insurance-per-month; because the temptation to USE a car in a car-dominated infrastructure is pretty constant and severe.
Yeah that is where the largest savings can come from. Never learnt to drive because of the costs involved with car ownership. Couldn’t afford it then and now I would rather buy something else. Could go on 4 cruise holidays a year with the money saved just by not having a car.
Even the bus costs a fair bit compared to a bike, but still cheaper than owning a car. Sure, fuel to go to work might cost less than a bus ticket. But a bus ticket doesn’t require me to buy a depreciating asset - well, other than enough clothes to not scare other passengers.
I understand that isn’t possible for everyone and/or everywhere, but the biggest saving is not even having a car in the first place. Not just the actual price of the car (and it’s depreciation), but the monthly/yearly costs associated with owning one. Insurance, taxes, maintenance and possibly repairs.
It has been a very long time since I actually owned one, but at least here (EU) it can easily be like 150€ a month and you haven’t even driven a single kilometer. I’m pretty sure it’s physically impossible for me to use up 150€ in electricity with an eBike in a month, and there isn’t even any fuel accounted for.
I’d love to completely get rid of my car, but, alas, it would mean the end of my social life since the buses rarely run past 9 and the roads are too dangerous to cycle.
One thing I think we could do, though, is move towards making those fixed expenses of car cost sensitive to mileage. For instance, lets mandate availability of insurance-per-mile instead of insurance-per-month; because the temptation to USE a car in a car-dominated infrastructure is pretty constant and severe.
Yeah that is where the largest savings can come from. Never learnt to drive because of the costs involved with car ownership. Couldn’t afford it then and now I would rather buy something else. Could go on 4 cruise holidays a year with the money saved just by not having a car.
Even the bus costs a fair bit compared to a bike, but still cheaper than owning a car. Sure, fuel to go to work might cost less than a bus ticket. But a bus ticket doesn’t require me to buy a depreciating asset - well, other than enough clothes to not scare other passengers.