Bus/Bike vs. Car for $$$

[Melalvai]

I've bought 3 new bikes and 1 used bike in the last year. I can't be buying any more!

Now it's time for Ortlieb classic roll-top panniers, and a pannier/backpack converter, and another Brooks B67 saddle, and a few cases of Clif Bloks, and some more wool (mmmm, Surly wool jersey!), and some bright bike lights, and....

But maybe I should pay my Visa off first? Naw....

I haven't bought any new bikes lately, but I've been working through my wishlist, which is similar (rack trunk/panniers, lights) and have just come to the same conclusion: no more until the credit card is out of my life!!

[maillotpois]

Wow - that is excellent. And think what you are doing for the environment as well as your wallet!!!

[quint41]

So cool. I take the bus daily, but we don't have bike racks here in Hartford. I wish we did!! I could bus one way and bike the other, or bike in and take the bus home if it rained later. How cool would THAT be?!

[surgtech1956]

You gals are so lucky that you have the option of taking a bus to work.

[crumpincommuter]

So cool. I take the bus daily, but we don't have bike racks here in Hartford. I wish we did!! I could bus one way and bike the other, or bike in and take the bus home if it rained later. How cool would THAT be?!

Hey Quint:

Not sure what bus line you take or if it's typically filled to capacity; but CT Transit locals do allow bikes on the bus, but conditionally. Up until a few weeks ago, CT Transit website posted a notice to that effect; it was really handy to have available to print off and to hand to a "reluctant" driver.

Personally I take advantage of the convenience on rainy afternoons or if a morning meeting cuts in a.m. commute shower time. The key is to stand your ground with the driver and if necessary; insist they call dispatch to confirm the allowance of bikes on the bus.

If you don't take CT Transit then join the local voices in speaking up for Hartford (links for advocacy available on www.wecyclect.org ; note all the "Gold Coast" buses have had racks for years and if I not mistaken our state tax $ all go to the same place).

Also From CCBA ( www.wecyclect.org) website...

Bikes permitted on CT Transit Buses: New policy at CT Transit in Hartford, bikes may be carried onto CT Transit buses, if a wheelchair tie down is available and if the bus is not full. If the bus fills or someone needs the tie down after the bike boards, the bike and rider will be asked to get off. Some progress, and thanks to the bike advocate who pushed for this policy (we do not know who, if you can claim credit, let us know.) Racks on buses coming soon, we hope.

Help Pass the Word!!!!!

[KnottedYet]

All King County Metro and Snohomish County Community Transit busses have bike racks on the front. Most are 2 bike racks, but after some bike riding multi-mode commuters complained about full bike racks, the Metro started adding THREE bike racks.

They are very simple to use, and if any of your advocates want to research the racks they could probably find a lot of resources thru the Cascade Bicycle Club www.cascade.org or King County Metro http://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/bike/bike.html or Snohomish County Community Transit www.communitytransit.org

[xeney]

You know what is depressing, though? This equation doesn't work out for me. When I was riding my bike to the grocery store, I always wound up starving and thirsty (even if I brought water with me) and bought a water and a Luna bar along with my groceries ... which cost me more than the gas to drive there would have. Even when I drive to work, my commute is so short that I only have to fill my gas tank every couple of months. When I am riding to work there is always some little thing that the bike needs, or that I justify buying because I'm riding to work. (Let's not discuss the number of messenger bags I own.) Walking should be free, but I spend less on gas than I've spent on good walking shoes that I justified because, you know, my feet are my commute vehicle. I am the Imelda Marcos of sensible walking shoes.

My car is paid for and under warranty, so the only maintenance costs I pay for are oil changes and tire rotations, and I need those very rarely because I drive less than 3,000 miles a year. Even if I walk and bike enough to drop that down to 1,500-2,000 miles a year, it is cheaper for me to drive most places than it winds up being to walk or bike. And the bus is always the most expensive option except on those rare occasions when I have to pay for parking (and then I am usually with my husband, so you double the bus fare and suddenly parking is a bargain).

I think it is just too cheap to drive.

[IFjane]

You know what is depressing, though? This equation doesn't work out for me. When I was riding my bike to the grocery store, I always wound up starving and thirsty (even if I brought water with me) and bought a water and a Luna bar along with my groceries ... which cost me more than the gas to drive there would have. Even when I drive to work, my commute is so short that I only have to fill my gas tank every couple of months. When I am riding to work there is always some little thing that the bike needs, or that I justify buying because I'm riding to work. (Let's not discuss the number of messenger bags I own.) Walking should be free, but I spend less on gas than I've spent on good walking shoes that I justified because, you know, my feet are my commute vehicle. I am the Imelda Marcos of sensible walking shoes.

My car is paid for and under warranty, so the only maintenance costs I pay for are oil changes and tire rotations, and I need those very rarely because I drive less than 3,000 miles a year. Even if I walk and bike enough to drop that down to 1,500-2,000 miles a year, it is cheaper for me to drive most places than it winds up being to walk or bike. And the bus is always the most expensive option except on those rare occasions when I have to pay for parking (and then I am usually with my husband, so you double the bus fare and suddenly parking is a bargain).

I think it is just too cheap to drive.

Yes but what benefit is it to your health/fitness to sit in the car and ride?

[onimity]

You know what is depressing, though? This equation doesn't work out for me. When I was riding my bike to the grocery store, I always wound up starving and thirsty (even if I brought water with me) and bought a water and a Luna bar along with my groceries ... which cost me more than the gas to drive there would have. Even when I drive to work, my commute is so short that I only have to fill my gas tank every couple of months. When I am riding to work there is always some little thing that the bike needs, or that I justify buying because I'm riding to work. (Let's not discuss the number of messenger bags I own.) Walking should be free, but I spend less on gas than I've spent on good walking shoes that I justified because, you know, my feet are my commute vehicle. I am the Imelda Marcos of sensible walking shoes.

My car is paid for and under warranty, so the only maintenance costs I pay for are oil changes and tire rotations, and I need those very rarely because I drive less than 3,000 miles a year. Even if I walk and bike enough to drop that down to 1,500-2,000 miles a year, it is cheaper for me to drive most places than it winds up being to walk or bike. And the bus is always the most expensive option except on those rare occasions when I have to pay for parking (and then I am usually with my husband, so you double the bus fare and suddenly parking is a bargain).

I think it is just too cheap to drive.

I hear you. I haven't driven my car in a couple of months but mine is paid for, cheap to insure rarely repaired (at 12 years old) and gets great gas mileage. I haven't driven it since mid-March but it definitely costs me more (out of pocket) to commute by bus and bike. I've spent enough on commuting necessities to pay for my yearly gas. But that's the out of pocket cost, and that's the out of pocket cost for a *comfortable* commute, one that I am lucky to be able to provide myself with; you can do it on a shoestring too, of course. Tap water and some pretzels will get you home too... But my main point would be that we don't always take into account often enough is the cost of our car-driving behavior.

I like to look at the cost in energy rather than dollars. 1 gallon of gas is roughly 31,000 calories. That's a tremendous expenditure for a single day's commute. Thirty times the cost, in fact, of my commute by bike. When you add to that the cost (in energy, in dollars, and in quality of life) of building and maintaining the infrastructure for cars the cost becomes astronomically higher.

I agree that it is too cheap to drive. Far too cheap. We don't see the impact of our choices because we consume enormous amounts of energy at ridiculously low prices even at $4 a gallon (or whatever it is ). I would love to see the price of driving reflect the cost of driving, personally.

My two cents.

Anne

[Laterider21958]

exeny you need a larger drink bottle and a big snack before the shopping trip! You are still saving the environment by riding rather than driving and your health is being boosted by the exercise.