How to use the bike commute savings calculator
- Enter your one-way distance, the commute days per week and the weeks per year you commute. Leave out vacation and work-from-home weeks.
- Enter your car's fuel economy and the fuel price. The values shown are examples to replace.
- Add the other car cost per mile for tires, oil and wear, any parking per commute day, and your yearly bike upkeep. Open More options to add the cost of a bike or gear to see the payback time.
- Read the yearly, monthly and per-day savings, the cost of each way of commuting and the months it takes to earn back a purchase.
Formula
Commute days = days per week x weeks per year
Miles = one-way distance x 2 x commute days
Driving cost = miles / mpg x fuel price + miles x other cost per mile + parking x commute days
Savings = driving cost - bike upkeep
Only the costs you enter are counted. Costs that do not change when you bike a few days a week, such as insurance, a car payment and depreciation, are left out.
A 6 mile commute, 5 days a week for 48 weeks
That is 240 commute days and 6 x 2 x 240 = 2,880 miles. At 27 mpg and $3.50 a gallon, fuel costs 2,880 / 27 x 3.50 = $373.33. Adding 10 cents a mile for other car costs ($288.00) gives $661.33 to drive. With $150 of bike upkeep, biking saves $511.33 a year, or $42.61 a month and $2.13 for each commute day. A $600 bike takes 14.1 months to pay itself back.
A shorter commute shows the other side. For 2 miles each way, 3 days a week for 50 weeks, at 35 mpg, $3 fuel, 5 cents a mile and $400 of bike costs, driving costs $81.43 and the result is a loss of ($318.57) a year. Add $8 of daily parking to the 10 mile, 5 day case at 25 mpg and 12 cents a mile and savings climb to $3,064.00.
What this comparison leaves out
The result is about money you can see: fuel, parking, wear and the upkeep of a bike. It does not price time, weather, fitness, safety, carrying loads or the fact that you may still need a car for other trips. A short commute with free parking will rarely save much on paper, and a long commute with paid parking can save thousands. Use the numbers as one input, not the whole decision.
To compare the time and money of a commute together, try the Commute Time Cost Calculator. For the fuel side alone, the Fuel Cost Calculator and the MPG Calculator go into more detail.
Choosing the cost per mile
Other car cost per mile covers tires, oil changes, repairs and the wear that grows with distance. Many drivers estimate it from receipts: add a year of those costs and divide by the miles driven. A lower number makes biking look less attractive and a higher one the opposite, so try a range. If you rent a parking space by the month, enter the daily equivalent or compare it with the Monthly Parking vs Daily Calculator.
Assumptions and limits
- You bike or drive the same route in both cases, and a round trip is twice the one-way distance.
- Insurance, loan payments and depreciation do not change, so they are not counted.
- The values in the fields are examples. Your fuel price, mpg and costs per mile will differ.
- Nothing is uploaded, and the numbers stay in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
How much money can biking to work save?
It depends on distance, fuel prices, parking and how many days you ride. The calculator adds fuel, wear per mile and parking, then takes away what a bike costs to keep. Enter your own numbers, because the savings range from negative to thousands of dollars.
Why can the result be a loss?
On a short commute the yearly fuel and wear can be less than the cost of keeping a bike on the road. The result is then shown in parentheses as a loss, and the payback line says it never pays back at those numbers.
Should I include insurance and car payments?
Only if they would go down because of biking. Most insurance and loan costs stay the same, so they are left out. If you would sell a car, compare the full cost in the car cost tools instead.
How is the payback time worked out?
It divides the price of the bike or gear by the monthly savings. If the savings are zero or negative, the page reports that it never pays back at those numbers.