Driving costs 268,000 more a month but saves 240 hours a year. Is it worth it?
Driving and transit usually trade against each other. A car costs more but is faster, transit is cheaper but slower. Put side by side on cost and time, they give the price of an hour saved.
How to compare driving and transit
Monthly cost is fuel, insurance plus tax and maintenance, parking, and loan or lease payments for the car, and the monthly pass or fares for transit.
For time, multiply the round trip by the number of commuting days a month, then scale to a year. What matters is putting the cost gap and the time gap side by side.
A worked example
These are assumed numbers, with 20 commuting days a month.
| Car | Transit | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | 330,000 (fuel 150,000, insurance 80,000, parking 100,000) | 62,000 |
| One way | 30 min | 60 min |
| Round trip | 60 min | 120 min |
- The monthly cost gap is 268,000, or 3,216,000 a year.
- Driving saves 60 minutes a day, which is 240 hours a year.
What is one saved hour worth
If you pay 3,216,000 more a year to gain 240 hours, one hour costs:
3,216,000 ÷ 240 hours = 13,400 per hour
If that is below what your time is worth to you, driving is reasonable. If it is above, transit wins. This is the same yardstick as the real hourly wage in A 10% raise that lowers your real hourly wage by 4%.
What the calculation leaves out
Depreciation and tolls are not included. Tax and maintenance count only if you add them to the insurance line. The value of reading or resting on a train is not counted either. Whether driving is stressful or relaxing differs by person. These are hard to count, so weigh them separately.
Frequently asked questions
Should I include the car loan?
If you bought the car for commuting, yes. If you own it for other reasons anyway, you can leave it out.
Can driving come out cheaper?
Yes. With high transit fares or low car costs, driving can win on both cost and time.
How do I estimate fuel cost?
Last month’s actual fuel spending is the most accurate. Otherwise, estimate from round-trip distance, fuel economy, and price.
To compare with your own numbers, use the Driving vs. transit comparison.