Today marks the 100th time I biked for transportation to save gas by biking instead of using my car or minivan. So I've done 433.34 miles and saved $66.40 in gas. In the period June - July - August I paid $165 in gas and saved $40.07 in gas during that period by biking. I'm saving at an avg rate of 15 cents per mile biked. So my car / minivan gas bill is slashed by about 20 % by biking -- so that's a significant savings! But I actually saved more because I didn't have to pay parking meters, valets, or CTA bus / train fares. And sometimes I travel faster than cars on some of the congested roads especially on weekends.
Shown in the pic is the bike I use for commuting - a 2004.5 Giant OCR 1 with Jandd Commuter panniers (total cost $1156). I also use a Kestrel Talon hooked up to a Burley Nomad sometimes.
If you're just starting out and want to buy a bike for commuting I'd suggest a Trek Pilot 2.1 s.p.a. ($1459). Then put a rack and panniers on this bike.
Vote on the poll - Would you use biking to save gas?
Yes No No - because getting a good bike would be too expensive. No - because I'm rich No - because I'm outta shape ! Maybe I already only use a bike for transportation
Well, sometimes work is too far, but you can use biking for local errands like getting Lotto Tickets, shopping light (like for a gallon of milk), going to the library, going around my neighborhood. That's what I did a lot.
Best I saved was $4.19 in gas one day biking to Downtown then South Chicago back to Downtown then South Chicago then Downtown again then home. Would have been expensive if I used my car (parking lot $) and there was lots of car traffic too.
I calculated that over the course of a year, I save in excess of $600 in gas by bicycling to my job/school/grad student existence. Additional benefits to the riding the bike to and from school are that I am mentally awake by the time I get to school, and the money saved gets put toward bike stuff.
Parking costs did it for me. Only having a short-ish drive into the city centre, the price of parking was 2-3 times as much as the petrol to get there. The hassle of having to deal with stop-start peak hour traffic sealed the deal -- I still don't know how people deal with that every day without going insane.
The opportunity to bike-commute is what got me into cycling in the first place, and it keeps on giving, too: the car servicing is now yearly instead of half-yearly, and I also qualify for a low-kilometre car insurance policy, saving even more cash. 😄
And then there are the non-cash benefits: no aggro with having to deal with traffic congestion and fighting for car spaces, being able to take the 'long way' and get some more exercise, or take a more scenic route (view of trees and forests, rather than ashphalt), ...
I've been commuting by bike 4 or 5 days a week since June 23. In that time I've used a tank and a half of gas in my pickup truck. I filled up half a tank today, and I filled up half a tank twice before that (since June 23). I don't pay to park, I don't have the aggravation of being stuck in traffic, I'm losing weight and feeling more energetic at work. My commute is only 5.5 miles each way, and the nature of my job means I don't need to worry about showering after the ride to work. I just slip on my work shoes, strap on my tool pouches and get to work (I'm in construction). The weather here in Spokane has been hot and dry, and that means the weather hasn't kept me from riding. When winter comes and the roads are too icy for safe riding, I'll probably take the bus. I can ride the bus for a month for $35, which is about half what I pay to fill my gas tank with 19 gallons just once, and I would do that at least twice a month if I drove to work every day.
All in all, it seems bike commuting for me is the best thing to do. I can't think why I haven't been doing this for far longer than just the last few months.🙂
I was biking to work every day for awhile, but since my wife started her new job, I have to be home one hour after work for my kids. I really miss my commute, it was the highlight of my day. I am really missing it now that the weather has cooled off a little. I will probably get to commute once a week now, unless I can figure out how to ride the 11 miles home in an hour without getting run over by gravel and logging trucks. I really loathe state highways.
