The Cost of Owning a Car vs. Going Car-less

So, I want to do a little comparison of what it costs to own a vehicle versus being car-less.

The Ford F-150 is the best selling car in 2013 (and most of the last 35 years), so it will be the perfect test subject.

The average price to purchase the vehicle is right around $35,000 (Source). Let's assume that you've had another F-150 for 10 years, if you've  kept it in good condition driving an average of 15,000 miles per year, you can expect to get a trade-in value of $4,100 (Source). So that brings your price down to $30,900. Let's say you've also got good credit and are able to make a 20% down payment. So you'll put down $6,180, bringing your car debt down to $24,720. As I mentioned, you've got good credit, and you want to finance your car through your credit union for 48 months. Right now you can expect an interest rate of 3.95%  (Source). This comes out to a monthly car loan payment of $563.92. So, you've committed to paying $27,068 over the next four years to pay down the car debt. In the meantime, you've got other expenses to worry about: Taxes and fees, fuel, insurance, maintenance, and repairs (speeding and parking tickets if you can't follow the rules). Working with the 15,000 miles driven per year figure, you can expect to pay $2,151 in Taxes and fees, $29,452 in fuel costs (wow.), $20,506 in insurance costs, $8,720 in maintenance costs, and $1,774 in repairs. (Source). Now, there are 41,000,000 traffic tickets given out each year in the country, and 196,000,000 drivers, so let's say the average American will get 2 tickets over the lifespan of their car. With an average ticket cost coming to $152, you'll spend $304 on citations. (Source). If you live in a city, you'll have to pay for parking as well, but that's a little more difficult to calculate.

I think that about covers it. I'm not going to calculate depreciation, because I've factored in a trade-in.

So the initial price of the car is $35,000. What do you actually spend over the car's lifetime?

$4,100 trade-in
$6,180 down payment
$27,068 loan repayment
$2,151 in taxes and fees
$29,452 in fuel costs
$20,506 in insurance costs
$8,720 in maintenance costs
$1,774 in repairs
$304 in citation costs
-------------------------
$100,255 over 10 years.

That comes out to a cost of $10,025.50 per year.

Okay, calculating the cost of being car-less will be simpler since it doesn't have to be calculated over a specific timespan. For this we'll include walking, biking, and public transit, as these are the three major modes of alternative transportation in OKC.

It costs no money to walk. That's easy, but there are costs for taking public transit (not everywhere, but in OKC). A monthly bus pass costs $50. Which comes out to $600 per year. Purchasing a bicycle can set you back anywhere between less than $100 to several thousand dollars, but let's assume the user is a commuter and not a bicycle enthusiast. $300 will be our purchase cost, and we'll say the average user spends $80 a year on tune-ups and maintenance. (Source) I refuse to account for theft as a cost, because a car could also be stolen, and if a cyclist locks his bike up, it shouldn't be a problem. $150 for gear includes a helmet, reflective gear and a lock, and let's make that a recurring cost every five years, so $300. I don't really think winter clothing should be calculated for biking and walking because having a car doesn't preclude you from participating in a cold climate.

So for 10 years:

$6,000 in transit fare
$300 for a bike
$800 in maintenance
$300 in gear
-------------------------------
$7,400

That comes out to a cost of $740 per year.

This is 7.4% the cost of car ownership, and you have three modes of travel included compared to one. So, if you only used a bike and walking, you would spend $140 a year. If you only used transit and walking, that would be $600 a year. If you only walk, well, you spend nothing on transportation other than buying new shoes slightly more often than other people, but you'd really have to be walking a lot for it to be a big deal.

So I'll break this down for comparison by year:

Car
$10,025.50

Transit/Bike/Walk
$740

Transit/Walk
$600

Bike/Walk
$140

Walk
$0

This is why walkability is so important. You can save literally 10s of thousands of dollars by not owning a car. If extrapolate the cost of owning an F-150 over 60 years of driving, you're looking at more than $600,000 spent on transportation. I can think of a lot of things that I would like to spend that on other than a vehicle. Our cities should be designed so that people have the option not to spend this kind of money on something that they don't necessarily need.

Oh, and by the way, the average American family has 2.28 cars (Source). So the average family, driving the most common car for 60 years of driving (this obviously isn't the case for EVERYONE), will spend nearly $1,400,000 on cars. I think I'd rather have that for retirement, thank you.

edit: A friend of ours has brought to our attention that the $1.4M is under-shooting the true savings over time:

"I would add that even though the $400,000 (pre-post edit, now $600,000) over 60 years figure is significant and calls for a change in behavior, you have ignored the impact of investing these savings and the power of compounding interest. If you were to invest this roughly $7,000 per year in a low-cost, low-maintenace index fund at 6% annual interest (a fairly conservative assumption over the long run), you would have saved over $3.7 million during this 60 year period. This is savings that CANNOT be ignored."

This is valuable information (which kind of blew my mind) that shows how empowered people can be by not buying into the automobile cycle. More to come on this subject.

Upcoming Experiments: Uber and TIMECAR

The last week has been great for Carless in OKC. We've seen a steep increase in views, and have received many great comments from people in the area who are interested in the idea of being less dependent on motor vehicles. In the upcoming two week we'll be doing a couple of experiments to test out alternative methods of getting around town.

1. Uber

Uber is an application that claims to be a more affordable option than taking a taxi, and it's here in OKC! I know that many people are already using the service, and would love to hear feedback on your experiences. I've plotted a route from our home to Penn Square Mall, and Uber has quoted a fare of $12 to $13. That's a distance of 4.75 miles. The major difference I see in Uber and taxis is how the fare is calculated with taxis being based solely upon mileage and Uber being based upon time under a certain speed (11 mph) and distance above this threshold.

A taxi would charge $2.75 as a base rate, with a $1 extra rider fee, and then $0.25 for every 1/8th of a mile. So, that adds up to $13.25 before tip. I'll be interested to see what the charge for Uber ends up being since there doesn't seem to be much of a difference between the two in the math. On the Uber OKC blog there is the claim that it is 20% cheaper than a taxi.. so I guess the best way to test this will be to take one form to the mall and the other one on the way back.

We will report back with a comparison of convenience, cost, reliability, and more.

2. TIMECAR

The owner of TIMECAR in OKC has reached out to us, and we plan to try the system out soon. From their website, "TIMECAR is a membership-based car sharing service that provides 24/7 access to vehicles on an hourly and daily basis..." 

Car sharing is a great alternative to car ownership, and unlike Uber, you can actually drive the car. It does require you to have a driver's license, but all of the costs of the car are rolled into an hourly or daily rate. The main difference I see between this service and traditional car rental services is the membership aspect, which can greatly increase convenience and reduce hidden costs.


While these services are potentially very convenient and a good alternative to car ownership, I will be looking into studies to determine what the impact upon the number of cars on the road these services have. Because that is what is most important in pushing this city forward in terms of alternative transportation methods, reducing the need to use a car by creating affordable access to different modes of transportation and walkable/bikeable communities that are self-sufficient.

OKC Residents Spend More On Cars Than They Do on Homes

The average American family spends 19% of their earned income on transportation. And according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in the United States is $51,017, which means the average American family spends more than $9,700 per year on transportation. Combine this with 34.1% spent on housing, and the average American family spends more than $27,100, or 53.1% of their income on housing and transportation.

The H+T Affordability Index is a great resource to determine how your region, county, or city compares to national averages. Let’s look at Oklahoma City:

One great thing about Oklahoma City is that housing is cheap; so cheap, in fact, that the majority of people in the city spend MORE on transportation than they do on housing. That’s right. The average person in Oklahoma City spends 29.41% of their income on transportation, and 22.56% of their income on housing. People in Oklahoma City spend more money on their cars than they do for their homes! More than a quarter of the OKC population spends upwards of 30% on transportation. Oh, and the H+T Affordability Index doesn't include parking costs. 

Percentage of Income Spent on Transportation
Criteria	Population	% of Population
Insufficient Data	0	0%
< 15 %	0	0%
15 to 25 %	3,852	0.7%
25 to 30 %	391,528	71.1%
30 to 35 %	130,822	23.8%
35 + %	24,267	4.4%
Total	550,469	100%

Percentage of Income Spent on Transportation

 

This could all be for a number of reasons. For one, the median household income of $45,474 for OKC is less than the U.S. figure. The average household in OKC spends around $13,500 on transportation each year. For comparison, one person could ride the Metro Transit bus with monthly passes for 22.5 years for this amount of money!

Another, more obvious reason (at least if you live here) is that the city is designed around cars; therefore, every time a typical resident of OKC goes ANYWHERE they are spending money to get there. Each day, the average OKC household is spending $36.50 on transportation costs.

If you add in housing at 22.56%, the average OKC household spends upwards of $23,000, around 52% of their total income. We have great prices on housing, and it’s a shame that we meet the national average of housing and transportation expenses due to the reliance on motor vehicle transportation.

Here at CarlessInOKC we did the math and we spend a combined 19.1% on housing and transportation, with transportation costs only being 2.6% of our total income. We're comfortable, we're happy, and we get to where we need to go, and all it took was choosing a place to live that gives us the option to not have a car... the affordable housing costs also help a great deal!

We challenge you to take a look at your expenses and see how transportation is impacting your financial situation, and think about what a difference getting rid of your car would make!

Watch Your Step! - Six Hazards of Being a Pedestrian

Today we're going to look at some things that make being a pedestrian more difficult. Most of the things on this list could be prevented, and in an ideal situation wouldn't be an issue. Let's take a look at some hazards involved with being a pedestrian:

1. Poop. Dog poop, everywhere.

We’ll start the list off with a bio-hazard. I love seeing people out walking their dogs, but I hate that nobody in this area picks up after them. There’s poop in the planters, poop in the grass, and poop on the sidewalk. Where do dog owners get off thinking it is acceptable to leave a steaming pile of feces on the sidewalk? Our building doesn't have any trash cans or disposal bags outside, which would make a big difference, but I don’t think it would solve the problem. If you own a dog, pick up after them. Period. It’s disgusting, unsightly, and selfish. If you can’t pick up after your dog, then you don’t deserve to own one.

Right on the sidewalk that's still covered in snow a week later.

Good grief; do you dog owners have no decency?

Oh come on! Horse poop?! In Midtown?!

2. While we’re on the subject of animals… 

Being chased by a dog is no fun… well, that’s not always true. We were chased down the street by three adorable puppies the other day, and that was the cutest attack ever. But I still felt like I had the responsibility to make sure the pups got back to their owner’s property, which wasn't easy. If you have dogs, please put them in an enclosure or have them leashed. We've been chased down by barking angry dogs and I’m not sure what to do in the situation. I don’t want to hurt an animal, but I’m not going to let an animal bite me or my wife.

Pit Bulls can be sweet, but I'm not willing to wait to find out when one is charging me on the street.

Other animals can pose a hazard as well. In downtown OKC when the weather is warm grackles are EVERYWHERE;  Thousands of them sitting on electrical wires and on the ground, just waiting for the moment to drop poop on you from above.

It’s amazing how much of an issue poop is when steps aren't taken to control animal populations.

Multiply this by several hundred, and you've got the flocks that swarm downtown OKC.

"This is my turf!"

3. Okay, no more poop. Another hazard is the weather.

If you’re a pedestrian you have to be prepared for Mother Nature. Whether it’s hot, cold, or both hot and cold at the same time (Oklahoma City has demonstrated to me that this is possible several times; freezing wind and baking hot sun. How do you prepare for this?!) you need to be sure that you've got the appropriate clothing and accessories. An umbrella, sunglasses, scarves, gloves, hats, and other appropriate clothing choices will keep you comfortable regardless of the weather.

4. Distractions

Texting and talking on the phone while driving is a serious issue that creates a hazardous environment for drivers on the road, cyclists and pedestrians. But pedestrians are not innocent here by any means. I’ve seen people texting while walking and walk right out into an intersection when they don’t have the right-of-way. This behavior is bad for many reasons. It puts your life in the hands of drivers who may not be paying attention either. It also gives pedestrians a bad reputation, which is the last thing that needs to happen if we want to successfully campaign for better pedestrian infrastructure. Groups of pedestrians that are too engrossed in their conversation to be aware of their surroundings are also at risk of injury.

Here Elizabeth demonstrates how not to cross the street.

5. Unsafe Intersections

In Oklahoma City there are plenty of road intersections that are perfectly safe, but there are also those that are potentially dangerous for pedestrians. In particular the Classen diagonal that runs from Midtown up to 16^th Street has several difficult intersections. These three intersections have very poor pedestrian crossings, either no crosswalks, faulty signals, or no signals. 

Classen and 11th: A six way intersection with two crosswalks

Classen and 13th: This intersection is HUGE. There aren't sidewalks on each side of the road, so this one is particularly difficult.

Classen and 16th: Do you want to cross this on foot?

6. Poorly Maintained Infrastructure

Sidewalks can fall into disrepair and become hazardous for daily use. This can be realized in many different ways: vegetation can be allowed to take over the sidewalk, with street trees making the sidewalk uneven, or shrubs having to be pushed out of the way. With all the snow and ice we've been having lately it’s become apparent that clearing sidewalks is not a high priority. While none of the streets are covered in snow thanks to the snow plow trucks, I have to walk like a penguin so that I don’t slip and fall on the ice-covered sidewalks in downtown. There should really be some effort given to ensuring that sidewalks are maintained as well as streets. It’s not fair that pedestrians have to deal with snow and ice for a whole week after it has fallen because pedestrian safety isn't a priority.

Where'd the sidewalk go? It snowed 5 days ago.

It's areas like these that make me glad I'm not wheelchair-bound.

These are just some of the hazards we face as pedestrians, and the majority could be avoided by taking personal responsibility. The others require municipalities to properly implement pedestrian infrastructure, which is our main goal at CarlessInOKC; walking needs to be a safe and easy option. What other hazards can you think of? Feel free to comment and start a discussion!