If you’re in one of the most bikeable cities in the U.S., or even if you’re not, and you’re thinking about biking more for transportation purposes, you might get a boost from a new calculator that helps you to figure out how much you’d save by leaving your car at home and riding your bike instead.
The inputs are really straightforward and simple and I’m sure the give a decent average estimate of your savings. However, as APTA’s monthly transit savings report cards note, there’s a big difference in gas prices from city to city. Additionally, there’s a lot of variation in how much you spend on gas depending on the vehicle you drive. So, if you’re serious about getting an accurate number, you might want to use the calculator as guidance and calculate your savings on your own.
Or, as I’ve recommended before, you can just look at how much APTA says you’d save from switching to transit and add the cost of a monthly transit pass into that to calculate your savings from bicycling. You can then go ahead and subtract $0.10 per mile as the Kiplinger calculator does if you wish, though I’d be surprised if the health savings from bicycling don’t make up for that.
It would be nice if the Kiplinger calculator showed your savings in more than just the daily figure — adding in estimated monthly and yearly savings would make a stronger impact. But it’s a start. Take a look or take the suggestions above to see how much you could save by switching to bicycling!
Image: urban cyclist via Shutterstock
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