The Cost Of Commuting By Car Over A Lifetime In Major American Cities, Mapped
Earlier this year, we brought you a map by Educated Driver showing the amount of time residents of major American cities spend commuting by car over the course of a lifetime. It was, to put it mildly, pretty brutal. Now the same folks who made that map have put together a second map showing the amount of money residents of major American cities spend commuting by car over a lifetime, and it is just as brutal if not more so:
The lifetime cost of commuting by car in major American cities ranges from $67,154 (in Stockton, California) to $182,886 (in Atlanta, Georgia). Educated Driver started with the assumption that the average worker puts in 45 years of working 250 days per year. Then they put in "data from the US Census Bureau on average daily roundtrip commute distances as well as data from AAA on the total cost per mile of operating a vehicle (60.8 cents per mile for the average sedan when gas, insurance, and maintenance costs are considered)."
Now, obviously, not everyone's career lasts exactly 45 years, and the cost of driving can vary a lot depending on the make and model of one's car. But if this map doesn't make you want to become a bicycle commuter, nothing ever will.
