Cycling Costs versus car ?

[subaqua]

I agree, though I'm not sure I know the answer. State ownership rather than private companies feels better, but then it didn't work so well before.



I disagree I'm afraid!
Car ownership is a choice and a luxury. I own a car, and thanks to cycling it's not doing very many miles. This makes it expensive per mile to keep, but I do so because it is convenient. If it came down to me paying for the car or making my mortgage payment, the car would go.

Go back 50 years (I know the world has moved on, but stick with me) and very few people owned cars. Kids walked to school or got the bus, and having a ride in a car was a luxury.
Putting my green hat on, on a global scale, if everyone on the planet had the same standard of living as us (where car ownership is seen as a necessity, there wouldn't be enough resources to keep us all going - this situation needs changing which is why public transport needs sorting.

Finally, and probably my most contentious point is that people often choose to live in the places they do. I live in a city which is served by a fairly extensive public transport network, so many elderly residents near me (who have not owned cars for many years) are able to get by pretty well. I would quite like to have rolling hills and a rural outlook, but I don't and that is the compromise I made living in the place that I do. I'd quite like to have a babbling brook at the end of my garden, but when I chose to live didn't come with that, so I don't get one.
If you have chosen to live in a rural area where public transport is poor, then you may feel that you need a car to access services. If you can't afford that car, then you may be better off considering a move to a place better served by the public transport. Or (bring it back to the thread title) you could cycle which is much cheaper than driving.

50 years ago people didn't work 50 or more miles from their home Women generally didn't work and could go shopping on a daily basis thereby reducing the need for a car to get the shopping home. sadly today we have different work pressures and most people work and a weeekly shop has become the norm.

I have a car which sits there for most of the week, but at the weekend to get out into the countryside proper with the kids its needed, otherwise its a 30 mile ride and for a 3 year old thats a little too much.

I had to attend a course for work in Rickmansworth before Christmas, I did the first 3 days by bike and Public transport. going there was OK in morning, but the evening trip gome was rather different as bikes are not allowed on certain sections of public transport and i nearly had to leave work before i arrived to get home again

the fuel costs against the cost of Public transport, were so small as to be insignificant and as we need a car for holidays etc VED insurance etc isn't going to be factored in .

 

[GrasB]

Your calcs are based on your wife and you cycling? As obviously any saving to cycling over driving is deminised. You are in a good situation it seems, if wifey worked where I did I would probably drive more often - though still try and get her to ride it, mainly in the summer (or even a tandem!).

Yeah currently I cycle & my wife drives. Unfortunately it isn't as simple as it seems as I start 3 hours before my wife & she can't start any earlier. If I start latter I'd have to forgo some of my extra duties & the unsociable hours bonus which would mean I was worse off overall.