Driving to Work Costs 14k per year

[roKWiz]

[QUOTE=Mr_BA2003;6305672]I've had the pleasure of catching Melbourne's finest trains for 8 years. On 3 different lines. Usually average at least one stuff up a month. Unless you're on the Pakenham / Canbourne line... That's been under repair for years and they are always on buses.

Few years ago my train broke down... So off train and onto replacement buses. In the rush I forgot to tap on with myki. When I got to my train after the bus I hoped on then when I got off I got done for not having a valid ticket. 3 hour trip and a $230 fine to go.
QUOTE]

You should try the North East line to Albury, what a joke. I can not see how a train which takes 3 1/2 hours ish to Wangaratta can often run 1-2 hours late !!

[jstanovic]

Originally Posted by au2000

Horses for courses indeed, for into the city, the smaller the better, for my 80 ks a day at 100 on a freeway, I'd always pick a 6 or 8 cylinder, mate of mine once brought a Echo for ballarat to melbourne and it cost him a fortune in fuel compared to his 6 cylinder commodore

My missus and I used to drive Adelaide-Melbourne-Adelaide about once a month in her 07 Honda Jazz. 3300rpm at 110kph, 41L fuel tank. Did the 765km one way trip on the one tank of fuel, averaged 5.3L/100km. Even had power to overtake! It was great fun, drove like a go kart and cost bugger all to run!!!

My car is my workplace, doing service work all over Perth. Driving to “work” costs me about $20k pa, it’s just the price you gotta pay to have a vehicle on the road.

[kmav23]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

Hilarious. Our trains are pathetically run, always late, cancelled or delayed.

You live in a fantasy world you car hating hippy.

This applies to be people working in the CBD.

There is no way to drive to the CBD for work everyday during peak hour.

[CyberWasp]

I would be happy to use public transport if they could get rid of the public.

[Sprintey]

"'There is a way that we may attempt,' said Gandalf. `I thought from the beginning, when first I considered this journey, that we should try it. But it is not a pleasant way, and I have not spoken of it to the Company before. Aragorn was against it, until the pass over the Dandenong mountains had at least been tried.'

'If it is a worse road than the Military Road in Sydney, then it must be evil indeed,' said Merry. `But you had better tell us about it, and let us know the worst at once.'

''The road that I speak of leads to central Melbourne,' said Gandalf. Only Gimli lifted up his head; a smouldering fire was in his eyes. On all the others a dread fell at the mention of that name. Even to the hobbits it was a legend of vague fear.’"

with apologies to JRR Tolkien

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Big_Daz

One of my mates lives in Melbourne and he uses the Tram to work every day (Fitzroy to the City) and rarely buys a ticket... It is funny when I go down to visit and the plain clothes ticket inspectors start doing a check between stops and half the tram goes for the ticket machine to buy one...

But anyway, as for OP... If public transport was a viable option for me I would use it for sure but from home to work it would be 2 decent walks, 2 buses, 2 trains and approx. 2.5 hours each way...

Driving takes between 30 and 50 minutes dependant on the day (different shifts) and my petrol costs for the whole week (work and non work driving) is less than the cost of public transport. Plus there is no better remedy to a stressful day than a V8 and a stick shift....

My old man used to take the tram into work back in the day parking at Grandma's joint when I was a wee woglet, he used a 2 hour metcard for near on a damn decade until inspectors finally got on the tram when he was on it and he validated it, starting the 2 hour count.

Now its all that Myki thing, touch on/touch off but theres a free tram zone in Melbourne CBD you can just jump on/jump off which is alright.

Last time I used it to go like 1km from the Casino to my hotel on Spencer Street and I swear walking was faster.

The last time I used the train I accidentally got Dad's car locked in the Rialto Tower car park (turns out it closes at 9PM and the rest of Melbourne doesn't), go to use my 1st gen Myki card back in the day when it was given out free to the 'beta test' phase, expired.

Lost the $75 that was still on it - why does it need to expire?

[Franco Cozzo]

Theres something even worse than trains and trams though.

The god damn bus - thats the lowest of the low form of transportation.

I come across one of these wild beasts tonight on the way past the Airport on the Tullamarine Freeway.

Skybus.

Heading to the airport obviously.

Doing a rolling roadblock in the far right lane when he needs to exit left!!!!!!!!!!

[Citroënbender]

If I can do it for less than $14K, who will pay me the difference, is it a windfall gain or secondary income?


And just because, 100% randomly: Liz Hurley safety-pin dress.

[Ben73]

I just figured out it cost me under $1,000 a year to drive to work.
That's how much the fuel cost approximately is for my work commute.

My insurance, rego, car prepayments, would still be the same whether I drove to work or not.
I guess there would be a little extra wear and tear on things like tyres, brakes, etc but probably like $150 a year.

[danzvtil]

I’ve had a company car now for 10 years, so my yearly cost of $0 x 10 years= a decade of free driving

[Sabantien]

Well, the article seems to be more about ditching a car completely, not just for driving to work.

For many years I didn't have a car, so I did just that, and here's what I've noticed.

While paying my insurance, rego, etc was probably costing me more than PT used to, I coped just fine. Also, I never bought a brand new car. It would be interesting to know how many people do. All my cars have been owned outright.

Once I had a car I very soon ditched PT. I kept using it for a while, then the train was cancelled. I went to catch a bus and they just never turned up, so I jumped in the car.
My commute was MUCH quicker, and at that stage, free parking. And I was using far less fuel than the $12 a day for the train or bus.

When I started working in the CBD I had parking at work for $15, or if I went in early to do laps at the pool I could nab a street park for around $8 for the day. I found the time saved driving in addition to being far less stressed from being packed in like a sardine with a bunch of sick and sneezing people in winter or stinking people in summer made that $3 difference worth it.

People argued there was also the rego costs, insurance costs, etc, but the vehicle was not JUST used to go to work. So I was going to be paying that in any case.
And surely if you have the vehicle sitting there it's more economical to use it rather than pay the rego and insurance and not drive it, right?

Having a car also meant I could go places I never could before, I didn't have to skip out early to get the last bus, etc. My life changed in a huge way. I would never go back.

Having a car also meant that when I was made redundant from my job in the CBD (I was actually living close by and cycling by that point), I could apply for, and get, jobs like working at the post office. The depot had no PT anywhere nearby.

Cleaning at Coles, with 5am starts at various stores around Brisbane. No PT would get me to that.

And then a job came up in a small outback town at a freaking dinosaur museum which said, must have own car, because there's sure as **** no PT out here.

NOT having a car would have cost me a lot more, and has improved my quality of life well beyond what a dollar sign can measure.

[Citroënbender]

Great post there, self-awareness writ large.

I’ve had jobs where public transport appealed for physical proximity, but the fringe details made it onerous - reliability, frequency of services, net cost, personal safety.

[Swordie]

Not buying a brand new car can make good savings. How you finance the puchase affects the cost too. Also there are cheaper places to fill your car up instead of going to the majors.

[Sprintey]

Sabantien that was a really good post. I can add that my big career break came when a sign on the lunchroom said "Wanted, surveyors for big project, must have own 4wd." I had an old 60 Series I used to get to the surf, and soon my salary had tripled and I was working remote. The opportunities that came after that were really good, by the time that project was over I was a professional.

I did find for every $ of diesel, I'd put a $ aside for all the costs of running the beast. But it was small compared to the salary so I viewed it as an income generating machine. At least depreciation wasn't a biggie. So I am very sentimental on that particular model.

Random addition: once hit a very thick swarm of locusts in the 60 at 110 in the WA wheatbelt with quarter vent windows open. That was carnage, bits of locust stinging all over your face and shoulders as you try to remain in control and slow the car.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

I did find for every $ of diesel, I'd put a $ aside for all the costs of running the beast. But it was small compared to the salary so I viewed it as an income generating machine.

This is how I view using a vehicle, maybe we shouldn't look at how much its costing us but instead figure how much it earns us.

[Venomous1]

only $14k must of been stuck in second.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA7QbCDK7p4

[LeadFoot81]

Just to throw another perspective on here; I save close to $1900 a year on fuel by driving to the station and catching the train. Insurance is also lower.

I also avoid 17,000 KMs of wear and tear and get a couple of hours to veg out on Netflix.

If there's delays/congestion, the train driver has to deal with it (as opposed to me dealing with traffic)

I own my car outright and plan to keep it for a long time (low wear and tear plays into this) but I still get the chance to stretch it's legs on a short spirited drive to and from the station.

So it's not all doom and gloom when it comes to PT.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

go to use my 1st gen Myki card back in the day when it was given out free to the 'beta test' phase, expired.
Lost the $75 that was still on it - why does it need to expire?

I do not get that either, I note NSW Opal card has a 9 year non use, use by date which is pretty good as mine lays idle for months at a time.
Why can't the states agree on a travel pass that covers all states or would that be to simple.

[Citroënbender]

Indeed, I fail to see why the tech can’t accept multiple means of payment - why can’t I tap on with my e-tag or a Woolies gift card, for example? I realise it might always treat it as full adult fare but that’s what I would be paying anyhow.

[BA-XT]

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

Just to throw another perspective on here; I save close to $1900 a year on fuel by driving to the station and catching the train. Insurance is also lower.

I also avoid 17,000 KMs of wear and tear and get a couple of hours to veg out on Netflix.

If there's delays/congestion, the train driver has to deal with it (as opposed to me dealing with traffic)

I own my car outright and plan to keep it for a long time (low wear and tear plays into this) but I still get the chance to stretch it's legs on a short spirited drive to and from the station.

So it's not all doom and gloom when it comes to PT.

This.

I have been using trains for a while. Can be painful and annoying but the amount I've save in wear and tear would be thousands. Add in early bird free travel and the most i lay a day is around $5. I'm on a lower income (around $50k) so it really helps. Also keeps my old BA in really good nick and my car is now a life car for me.