How much has cycling to work saved you?

English Bob

Having just read an article about two guys that commuted all year & how much this saved them in cash I got to thinking about how much I've saved. I reckon it'll be around 800e taking into account maintenance of bike, equip etc.,
Will plan on using bike as long as safe through winter & hopefully keep going next year. Reckon what I save during the next year would make a nice week hols (or those new mavics!!).

DirkVoodoo

"saved"?

levitronix

Im saved i found god again ! cycling home from working nights with a frozen bike at 6 30 am ....

xz

Nothing, had to pay back the full 1000, but at 20 a week for a year, I'm not complaining, finished paying Sept, just gone.

dayshah

I probably save about €400 a year by not using public transport.

My bike cost €450, and you can probably add €300 for buying bike tools, helmet etc. Had a bike that was worth €700 that was stolen.

Overall I'd say it would take 2 years to break even. I do my own maintenance.

Of course compared to a car its a lot cheaper.

mfdc

In theory I'm saving about a grand a year on bus tickets since I started commuting by bike. The bike cost about 500 in Summer 2008, so again in theory I'm about 2 grand to the good. Hooray!

In practice though, combining clothes, replacement parts, extra stuff like panniers and tyres etc I'm still quite far in the hole. Not to mention that commuting got me into cycling proper... include that and it'll probably take a decade to break even the way things are going

captain P

About 5-10 hours a week of my time!

uberpixie

Yeah I don't think I have "saved" any money over the last 3 years.....

I have already gone from an entry level hardtail (€450 then sold on for €200) to a single speed bike (€550).
I then went from panniers (€100+) to a Chrome Citizen courier bag (€130).
I now have this on order from wiggle if they ever get of their arses and ship it..... http://www.wiggle.co.uk/carradice-sqr-slim-bag-including-sqr-bracket (€60+...)
Not to mention going through 2 different cycling jackets (€160 + for both) before settling on a Cannondale Cycling jacket (€140 from cycleways.....) http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=30417

Top that off with lights, lock, good lights, gloves, helmet, skull cap, buff scarf, extra base layers, track pump, new tubes etc.....:o

This cycling habit is bloody expensive and if I ever stop renting and get a place with space I'm screwed as it will be at least another nice bike maybe a cyclocross for some nice relaxed long distance spins over crap roads and then maybe a hardtail for some light MTBing and then......

Still cycling does get me awake in the morning and I save at least an extra half an hour in bed in the morning and save an extra half hour on the way home in the evening and it does keep me off smelly cramped buses full of sweaty unhappy sick people I am def a much happier camper after a relaxed peddle into work in the morning.

tomasrojo

It depends on what I'd be doing if I weren't cycling.

If I took the view that otherwise I'd own a car and be driving for almost all those journeys, over the last 25 years I've probably saved 70 grand.

Haven't decided what to do with it yet.

Reesy

Been thinking about this myself.

Bought a new bike (a Giant hybrid) about 3 years ago, before the bike to work scheme. Cost about EUR 300 I think.

We moved to offices in town earlier this year. Since April I've cycled to & from work in town on average about 5 single journeys a week (I travel overseas with work a fair bit). Each single bike journey saves me EUR 1.80 (10% of a ten journey bus ticket), so that's 1.80 saved per day. 7 months x 22 days / month = about EUR 280 saved. Costs this year: 2 new lights + repair to gear shift (fell off while attempting to send a text... muppet!) + 2 tubes = about EUR 80.

Given that I had used the bike a bit in previous years, I reckon I've paid for the bike comfortably now.

More important, I've been physically fitter, had more energy, and felt better than for a long time previously.

Am injured at the mo, so on the bus. Am itching to get back on the bike!

poochiem

between dart and bus ive scratched €25 a week, but spent around 2k on bikes and accessories, plus clothing, tools and cleaning stuff in the year. however the exercise, fresh air, getting up later but getting into work on time, not getting depressed every morning and evening being squashed with hundreds of other grumpy people and reading the awful letters page on the Metro is beyond value.

hurray for bikes

thehangtenguy

Around 900 euro per year on fuel costs.

serendip

If your alternative is driving, then you can probably count about a Euro saving for every kilometer.

These folks seem to think it's about a dollar per mile for me: http://www.commutesolutions.org/calc.htm

So at about 5000KM commuting per year, that's a fair old saving. Cycling does cost money, but nowhere near that kind of money.

(Aside: I always wonder when people drive up north to shop whether they really are making savings after the overhead costs of driving up there are taken into account -- you can't just count the fuel costs.)

davidsatelle100

time close to 2 hours a day 5-6 days a week.

money wise it costs me money, always need a 'new' jersey\jacket\light\computer .............................................................. bike

seve65

mmm well I seem to be constantly buying stuff, but still Im sure I would be saving a lot, I commute 4/5 days all year round.

Tell you what though, you cant put a price on the improved fitness and health, reduced blood pressure etc.

monument

If I had no bike I'd likely have spent in the region of €3,500 - €4,000 in the last four years in Luas and bus tickets, and maybe including taxi saving too.

Time wise a bicycle has always been faster then the bus or Luas for my commutes -- most commutes in the last four years would have required switches or long walks. Most of the time my commutes would also be quicker than driving (anything but a motorbike).

Dublin Bikes has also likely saved me a few pound euro but likely only around €50-€80 on buses and taxies.

Beasty

About €15-20 per return journey on fuel and other car running costs, which should up to around €1,500 to €2,000 during 2010

Eros_Panties

Well I would spending about 700 a year on commuting. Although I'm looking at upgrading to a better bike in the 800 euro range as I've really gotten into cycling over the past 2 years. So I guess I'm breaking even give or take.

Where I get the real saving is time spent travelling. If I use the bus I'm looking at 45 minutes commute each way but, with my trustee (heavy) bike I manage 18 minutes in and about 14 minutes home (downhill)

Halves my travel time... and as an earlier poster said keeps me away from a bus full of grumpy and or sick people. You can't put a price on that,

Civilian_Target

Money? Minus something. It's 2 euros a day to bus to work, my bike costs more than that, even before you count the extra food I eat to power it.

Time? Maybe if you add up bus + gym it saves me time.

Life improvement? Hell yes!

Idleater

Considering the car and motorbike have to be serviced and maintained regardless of how much I cycle, and since I enjoy cycling as a hobby I'm considering racing next year, I think in monetary terms I'm breaking even this year and will be down next year.

However, that's in monetary terms. Health wise, if I didn't cycle I'd be either a blimp or I'd have to spend money on a gym which would significantly impact on available time at home. Now I can play playstation on the couch when I get home

Cabaal

If I cycled to work each day for a week it would save me 50e in petrol, however its a 35mile cycle to work and 35mile home so not something I want to do right now.

Come March/April I'm aiming for 2 days a week on the bike, given it'll take me 2hours each way I think thats a good amount of cycling.

cdaly_

Sure you'll have that down to 1h20 in no time...

catastrophy

Im currently cycling 18 miles each way to work as often as I can, as well as to the shop etc and Im saving about €40 a week. I dont count expenditure on gear in that because Im treating it like a hobby.

Collumbo

Savings:

Time: lots...

Money: Nil, probably costs me more actually because then I keep 4 bikes on the road for racing and commuting. I definitely end up spending around €1000-€1200 a year on equipment, around the same price as public transport for the year + gym membership...

BostonB

Saved some doctors bills I'm sure. Bit of money saved on petrol. But spent a bit on bike/gear too. Main advantage is its made me happier.

funkyjebus

ah yeah, i remember this saving theory i once had, so i started cycling. now i have a 100-200 euro a month addiction. my theory has incorrect, but at least now my life is more complete!

droidus

The annual Bus ticket is over 900. I didn't buy one this year, so in theory the bike has now (roughly) been paid for and anything from here on in is pure profit. If it runs for 5 years and I cycle every day minus maintenance and equipment costs etc... id expect to save about 4000.

Dord

Saving me around 3-3.5 hours in commuting time a week. Also it's gotten me out of the habit of getting taxis to work if I'm running late. The bike is faster than a taxi. That's just commuting to work, outside that it cut the journey to my parents house to half the length and saves 7euro in public transport costs each time.

Also I feel much better and more alert in the mornings when I get to work. A good portion of my commute is uphill and killed me for the first week but now I'm much better at it.

CramCycle

According to my doctor it has saved me approximately 4kg in the last year

slavedave

Don't know what the price per mile estimate is for cycling but my first commuter cost me 500 quid and I rode it for 12k miles (still have it - albeit parts have been replaced when necessary) over the last decade.
Considering the bus cost me 2.50 a day I'd say that the old faithful payed for itself several times over.
Now to put in another 10k miles to recoup the outlay for my new bike!

kippy

This kind of question is very similiar to the one I ask myself a couple of times a year.
How much money have you saved every year because you dont smoke?
Obviously my expenditure is about 3-4K less a year but I dont really have that 3-4k in my pocket at the end of the year to use. I often wonder where it goes to be honest.

victorcarrera

After giving up the fags back in 2004 I got an old peugeot racer for nothing off my brother and started training with the intention of being able to do the 'epic' 80Km round trip commute twice a week. That was where the saving ended. I now have 7 non rent paying bikes squatting in a spare bedroom + a wardrobe full of cycle spares and clothing. Oh and yesterday I ordered a new frame and fork.
While on the cycle commute I felt I needed to have a meal in the work canteen at 5 Euro and dinner again in the evening at home so no saving there as diesel would have cost about the same as 2500 cals of food.
The cycling has definately helped me stay off the fags as I could not smoke and compete.
My son has worked out that over the 25 years that I smoked 15 a day I smoked 187,000 cigs at a cost of 50,000 Euro at todays prices so I guess I can recover the cost of the spare bedroom if I live another 25 years and don't buy any more bikes.
The commute saved me on gym fees and gym time.
I agree big time with others above in that the health and wellbeing benefits are priceless though.

Just read this in Sean Kellys guide to cycling.
Health benefits: Regular cycling boosts your health, fitness, strength, mood, sense of
well-being and life span. In 2009, research suggested that if everyone spent 15 minutes
cycling to and from work or education, it would save the Irish Health Service €815m
annually.

paddyduc

I save €120/month on diesel and parking when i cycle the 8k each way to work. I also grow my own veg which i use as fuel for cycling so i don't have to buy 2500cals/day.

gaoife

Ive saved about 2500 this year just in parking and petrol my parking is €5.00 a day outside work grrrr but i love cycling in and out now

breezy1985

save 20e a week on taxis home from work so 1000 this year - about 200 on parts and repairs

800e saved:)

dayshah

victorcarrera wrote: »

I now have 7 non rent paying bikes squatting in a spare bedroom + a wardrobe full of cycle spares and clothing.

Why not mix and match the parts to have one really good bike, one really crap one (that you can safely lock up in town), and then sell or give the rest to Saint Vincent De Paul.

Go on, your first bike was given to you, and you can fill SVdP with Christmas cheer

Idleater

dayshah wrote: »

and then sell or give the rest to Saint Vincent De Paul.

If they were valued highly enough he /they could also benefit from tax back on the charitable donation...
Best if on the high tax bracket though

tomasrojo

A few people have mentioned that cycling isn't much cheaper than public transport. I've found that if you are "careful with money" (as Elaine Benes tactfully put it to George Costanza), cycling is quite a bit cheaper.

I worked out one year that utility cycling cost me about 2-3c per km (€200, 7000km), factoring in replacing parts. I mostly do my own repairs, so there's virtually no cost there. I don't know whether I should factor in food costs, but I spend about €100 a week to feed two adults and a baby, so it's probably doesn't account for too much. And I don't buy lunchs. I bring a very big lunch box with me instead. I generally only buy a new bike when the frame breaks on the previous bike.

So, in my experience at least, you should be able to save about half a grand a year, even compared with public transport.