How much does your commute cost and how do you justify it?

[DMoney]

ugh, mine costs lots.  31 miles each direction in a high traffic area.  I've biked it a few times.  One direction takes 2 hr 15 min - just can't have time to spend 4.5 hours commuting every day, so mostly drive my car.  Carpool 1-2 days a week.

I fill up my fuel efficient car once a week for about $30, and tolls are about $10/week.  So $40 a week, not counting wear and tear and my 2 hours in the car daily.

Justification:  I have to work this job.  No choice.  My husband could leave his, but he makes 3x as much as me and in general enjoys his job.  His commute is free (1mile on his bike).  If we moved close my my work, then he would commute but would have to pay for parking in addition to the costs above.  And because of his hours, he wouldn't see our children during the work week.

sigh.

hoping this is temporary (3 years) and then I will be reassigned back closer to home and resume my free commute (0.5 mile bike ride)

[WESTOFTHEHUDSON]

I'm currently not working. DH is but he walks (10 mins) or bikes (2 or 3 mins) and the cost is yearly maintenance of his bike which is about zero.

It's one of the few things about our town that I appreciate.

[mydogismyheart]

I have a non mustachian commute about 2-3 days per week at 26 miles in bumper to bumper traffic.  About $15 according to the Federal per mile rate.  However, I've justified it because by taking on that job it added about $40K to my income from Sept of 2014 to March of 2015 just for those days.  And it's temporary, my job moves me around as needed.  My next job will be quite a bit closer and still only be about 2-3 days per week driving however far.  The other 2-3 days per week I'm about 10 minutes from home so it's much nicer.  Being single I am OK with the extra 2 hour per day commute for the amount of money they're paying me to do it.  :)

[Jon_Snow]

Old commute was about 45 minutes each way in horrendous Vancouver grid lock.

Now I walk about 8 minutes to the gym and back. With the odd walk to grocery store and library mixed in.

Much better now.

[Ambergris]

I walk 2.5 miles each way. This could be regarded as free, but not quite, thinking about it. I have no car or bicycle to depreciate, but I do have to buy sneakers every 3-4 months that otherwise would last about a year. These cost $10-15 a pair, which means I pay $30 extra per year on them than I do otherwise. Over the course of the year, that comes out to 8.2c a day. I also get through a lot more socks than I would (maybe an extra $7 packet per year (2c per day)), and I have to own sufficiently warm/cool clothes: I'm not sure I actually own more such clothes than I otherwise would since improved circulation now means I don't have to own a winter coat, just fleeces and thermals.

But then I also don't have to pay for a gym, any gas or car or bike maintenance costs. I also likely am reducing current and future health costs. So I suspect the cost may end up being negative a few cents.

[csr]

Transit: TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) monthly metro pass is currently $133.50 unlimited travel and transferable (share with family), 15% tax deductible ~$113.48 after tax refund (Cheaper if I subscribe to a yearly plan).

Or I buy tokens for the months with fewer working days such as November (19 days incl Remembrance Day holiday): $2.70 each or $135 for 50. (Cash is $3/ride). So 19 days * 2 trips * $2.70 = $102.6/month on the low side. October had 23 working days so 23 * 2 trips * $2.7 = $124.20. Depending on the month or outside of work travelling schedule (to see friends, shows, meetup, planned days off work etc.) I will either buy tokens or transit pass.

As an added bonus my Credit Card gets 2% cash back at grocery stores where I buy the Transit Pass/Tokens. Or I buy from Shopper's Drug Mart with their Optimum Points program (need to buy a gift card first as points are not awarded for transit tokens, but they are for for GCs... use GCs to buy transit item). I still get 1% cashback on regular purchases on my CC.

Transit stop is 5 mins from my house walking, and brings me right to the door at work. Travel time ~20mins bus ride express bus.
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VS. Car (~10-15mins drive)

Toronto insurance: around $2000 for liability only, full coverage is $2400 per year average with a good record, or closer to $3000 for a young male, compact Japanese Car.

Gas $1.15 to $1.30 per Litre

Parking is $4 per day! And I still need to walk 5-10 minutes to get the front door at work from the parkign lot.
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vs. Bike (~20-30mins) 7.5km each way

I'm a cycling fanatic and will ride to work in nicer weather (can't ride in the winter, Toronto suburbs is too dangerous - snow and dark = accident waiting to happen)

Cost: FREEE! (I have 4 bikes already for recreation/commuting. Approximate value of them: free, $100, $400, $2000) Maintenance and tools previously bought... it's my hobby.

Bonus: exercise! Only downside is sweat, so I'm thinking of putting the bike on the bike rack, on the bus going to work, and biking home.

[Bateaux]

I'm 40 miles round trip.   That's nearly 4 gallons in my Dodge Van. Call that $15 + $5 insurance and maintenance.   Round that to $20 daily.  I work about 225 days a year.   That's $4,500 annual. Thats about 5% of my gross income.

[Frugal_Red]

My commute cost is $0.00.  Not too bad. :-P I live a 15 min walk from my place of work in NYC. 

When I first moved here I lived further out in what I believed was a more affordable neighborhood.  It would take me 60-90 minutes each way just to get into work via public transportation, costing a couple hundred dollars or more each month.  After one year I found a great apartment near work that cost just a little more in rent but both my Partner and I now can easily get to work (he has a 15 min bike ride)! Plus after working a 14 hour shift I don't have to deal with an hour and a half press of people on the trains until I can greet my pillow! :-)

[jwilliams0215]

Shit. Back of the envelope calculation results in major face punch!

Commute: 30 miles each way - therefore 300 miles a week. Assuming holidays/vacation time leaves 48 work weeks for the year. 300 weekly miles x 48 work weeks = 14,400 annual miles.

$14,400 annual miles x $0.34 / mile = $4,896. That's $20.40 per work day!

Other considerations: hopefully driving my Camry until it dies helps this calculation. I also pay tolls, so that might be up the per workday cost ($3).

Justification:

• Like existing home, in decent school district, good location near family (hopefully free future baby sitter) and DW job site
• Work in a niche job without any similar jobs in the area
• existing job pays well / similar job would require moving out of area and likely to a higher cost area
• city lacks public transportation infrastructure

[MissPeach]

My commute is pretty far because the larger companies where I live are in a traffic-filled area. I wouldn't want to live near them though. The areas I live are mostly small start ups that pay 1/3-1/2 of what I can make at a larger company so I justify it that way. Costs about $50/week for gas. Car is paid off and not too old so I only have to worry about maintenance and insurance.

[P1]

I drive about 55 miles a day and my car averages around 32ish mpg so in direct costs alone at current gas prices, $6-7 depending on gas price not factoring in wear and tear. I got into that before I found MMM.

I live in Southern California which may be the king of clown commuting. I do either want to live closer to work or work closer to home. Honestly I hate my job and need to find something better so I'm thinking for now the option is find a better job, and then work on moving to biking distance of said job.