I climbed on a bike just over two years ago for the first time since I was a kid. And you know what? It’s just like riding a bike 😉 Bad joke. But really, biking is super fun. I bought a cheap bike on sale at Canadian Tire and the bf, and I (he had an old bike) went on lots of leisurely bike rides.
That was it though. We didn’t use our bikes as a form of transportation. They were strictly for fun. Why? Well, we live close to downtown, and my confidence level was basically zero when it came to biking in traffic.
Bike Lanes Make a Difference
The following year Edmonton made a big effort to improve the biking infrastructure in the city. Separated bike lanes were installed around much of downtown, and our neighbourhood was now connected. We could make it almost from our front door to the downtown core entirely on separated bike lanes. Hello confidence!
The bike lane project is controversial. Edmonton is car-centric. People drive, a lot. It’s not unusual for people to commute in thirty plus minutes a day from the suburbs to downtown. I think things are starting to change, but living and working central still aren’t the norm. And those commuters? They hate bike lanes. The lanes take up room on already crowded roads, and they weren’t free.
Now, relative to the cost of creating roads out to the suburbs (don’t get me started about the cost of new neighbourhoods), the bike lanes are ridiculously cheap. They also take cars off the road.
Obviously, I’m pro-bike lanes. Their creation has changed how the bf and I get around.
Reducing Our Car Dependence
Last year we sold our second vehicle. It was no longer a necessity, and it was rare not to have at least one vehicle sitting unused in the garage. I usually walk to work, and the bf was either biking or taking the bus. We decided to sell his Jeep and use some of the proceeds to upgrade our bikes.
Turns out there’s a pretty significant difference between a decent bike and a crappy one. And if we were going to be using our bikes as transportation, we figured we would splurge.
Late last summer we each spent about $800 on new bikes. I know, it’s a lot. It’s a big reason why I’m writing this post in the first place. I wanted to break down the cost savings of biking so that I could justify the expense.
Dramatic Sidestory
I’ve got a quick story to tell before getting into the numbers part of this post. I was about halfway through pulling the data together for this when tragedy struck. My bike was stolen! I woke up one morning, and our back gate and garage door were wide open. Some asshole broke in and stole my bike that was LOCKED UP in my garage.
Full disclosure: Our detached garage is about 900 years old, and the door doesn’t actually have a lock on it, so yes, the garage was unlocked. My bike was only locked up with a cable lock because my tougher U-Lock doesn’t fit around the two by four we lock our bikes up to. The bf’s bike had a better lock and was left untouched.
There was more than a little cursing, a hastily written police report filed (thank god for online filings), and a bit more cursing. I figured I was out an $800 bike. Shit. Not only that, I wouldn’t be able to publish my half-written post because there’s nothing frugal about having an $800 bike stolen!
But wait, this story has a happy ending. Only a few hours later I got a call from the cops, and they had my bike!!!
Turns out the asshole thief ditched it about twenty blocks away in the driveway of another house and traded up by stealing two other bikes. I sure hope those people had their bikes returned, but I had to laugh imagining the thief being embarrassed riding a women’s bike and ditching it for something more manly.
So my bike got a free ride home in the back of a cop car and now has a home in the basement instead of the garage. And now, I can publish with the added public service announcement to lock your bikes and garages, and don’t forget to take pictures and record your bike’s serial number.
Biking Saves Money
Back to the real reason for writing this post; the numbers. That was a longer than expected interlude! Sorry about that.
Because I’m a money nerd, I created a spreadsheet to track every time I used my bike as transportation and included the cost savings for both gas and added expenses like parking. Here it is in all its glory:
| Date | Event | KMs | Dollars Saved | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 29/18 | Ready Player One | 8.9 | 5 | Parking |
| May 7/18 | Library | 3.4 | 0 | |
| May 9/18 | MEC | 4.4 | 0 | |
| May 11/18 | Avengers | 8.9 | 5 | Parking |
| May 12/18 | Board n' Brew/Pampa | 10.9 | 30 | Uber |
| May 13/18 | Stars On Ice | 8.6 | 10 | Parking |
| May 20/18 | A Quiet Place | 8.9 | 5 | Parking |
| May 31/18 | Japonais | 6.2 | 0 | |
| June 2/18 | Deadpool 2 | 8.9 | 5 | Parking |
| June 8/18 | Bryan Adams | 10 | 30 | Uber |
| June 28/18 | The Works Fest | 10.2 | 5 | Parking |
| June 29/18 | Ocean's 8 | 8.9 | 5 | Parking |
| June 30/18 | Farmers Market | 8.8 | 5 | Parking |
| July 1/18 | Baseball Game | 12.6 | 30 | Uber |
| July 5/18 | Blaze Pizza | 4.4 | 0 | |
| July 7/18 | Les Miserables | 14.6 | 6 | Parking |
| July 8/18 | Farmers Market | 8.8 | 0 | |
| July 21/18 | Ice Cream | 8.4 | 0 | |
| July 22/18 | Taste of Edmonton | 10.2 | 10 | Parking |
| July 29/18 | Baseball Game | 6.3 | 10 | Parking |
| July 29/18 | K-Days | 13 | 20 | Parking |
| August 1/18 | Massage | 4.4 | 0 | |
| August 8/18 | Hlinka Gretzky Hockey Game | 8.6 | 10 | Parking |
| August 11/18 | Farmers Market | 8.8 | 5 | Parking |
| August 14/18 | Fatburger | 5.2 | 0 | |
| August 15/18 | Gelato | 8.6 | 0 | |
| August 18/18 | Avila Arepa | 7.1 | 5 | Parking |
| August 18/18 | Fringe | 8.8 | 5 | Parking |
| September 8/18 | Sonic Field Day | 8.6 | 25 | Uber |
| September 25/18 | Edmonton Oilers | 8.6 | 30 | Parking |
| September 27/18 | Edmonton Oilers | 8.6 | 10 | Parking |
| Bike to Work (11 times) | 44 | 0 | ||
| Total KMs | 306.6 | |||
| Gas Savings ($0.55/KM) | 168.63 | |||
| Dollars Saved | 271 | |||
| Total Cost Savings | 439.63 | |||
The takeaway from the data is that in one summer of biking I have saved $439.63. Not bad at all! That means that in less than two years my $800 bike will have paid for itself. Justified!
I know I could have bought a cheaper bike or a used one for even more cost saving. I like my new bike though. It’s easy to ride and encourages me actually to use it, and it will last me for years.
One thing you might notice is that I only biked to work 11 times. You might be wondering ‘why not more?’ I prefer walking to work. It’s about a 20-minute walk, and I use it to keep up to date on podcasts or listen to audiobooks. Biking is faster but walking is more relaxing, and a nice way to start and end the day. The days I biked to work are days when I would normally drive. Usually it’s because the weather is a bit sketchy or because I’m running late.
Other Benefits
Biking saves money, we’ve established that, but it also has other benefits you won’t get from driving.
It’s good for you. By using your bike to commute you get a built-in workout. Or, if you’re biking to get ice cream, you can count it as a wash since you’re burning calories to get there. Don’t look at the spreadsheet again; I definitely never did this.
You’ll also be doing good by the environment when you choose your bike over your car. No emissions polluting the air while you sit in traffic. And that’s another thing! There’s no sitting in traffic. The bf has been riding his bike, and it takes him less time than if he were to drive (and find parking) or take the bus. If he were as much of a spreadsheet nerd as I was, his numbers would be even better than mine. I bet he’s paid his bike off in full from this one summer.
I’m happy we became bike converts this year. It’s saved us money, made us get out and exercise, and reduced our carbon footprint. Triple win.
Tell me, are you a fan of biking? Do you use your bike for fun or as a mode of transportation?
This post was proofread by Grammarly.
15 Comments
100%! I’ve been biking to work (year round!) for over eight years now and love it. It’s the perfect trifecta of saving money, getting exercise and saving time.
It also helped us pay off our mortgage early. Biking to work was just one change we made to help us free up more cash to throw at our mortgage. If I had to guess I would expect the total impact to be well over $30,000 by now, but that’t just a guess because I stopped tracking it a long time ago.
That’s amazing, way to go! I was actually surprised it added up to as much as it did just in this one summer, it really doesn’t feel like extra work. I find biking way more enjoyable than driving.
I don’t really think a lot about the costs, but I track my commute cycling for fitness goal reasons. I’m a bit under 10,000km for 400 commutes over the two years I’ve lived in Edmonton. According to the CAA calculator, that’s about $8000 in driving costs (for my vehicle), and that doesn’t account for the daily parking charge of $15 ( x 400 trips = another $6000). Now, if only I can convince my better half that this saving justifies buying another bike …
I’ve heard that bike collecting can become a bit of a problem 😉
You missed an item in your spreadsheet. The savings from needing only one car.
You’re right, I didn’t include the added savings of maintenance and insurance on the second vehicle. We likely would have gone down to one vehicle either way because before we invested in the bikes I was walking to work and my boyfriend was mostly taking public transportation.
I commuted to work by bike year-round for a decade. My commute was 21km each way, and took me just over an hour in winter, and just under in the other season. Not including gym fees, I was saving about $6000 per year over what my car had cost, and about $8000 more than the average annual car expense. I don’t see any easier way to cut that much expense out of my lifestyle. I have a bike that I call “hobo bike” which is a 90s mountain bike that I use to get around when I don’t want to worry about bike theft. Though it is a good bike, it is old and less desirable to thieves as well as being more expendable to me.
A 21km commute, that’s impressive! I need to get you in touch with my boyfriend to convince him to give winter biking a shot.
You like Bryan Adams? Did we just become soulmates?! And I think you’re right about bike lanes mattering. My biggest fear of biking to school is getting run over… I just don’t know if I’m a skilled enough biker to handle the risks.
This is an awesome post though!
I think yes, yes we did! I’ve loved him since I was a kid and my mom used to listen to his music, and honestly, it was one of the most fun concerts I’ve been too.
I was the same with biking and would never ride in traffic. Now the bike lanes keep traffic separate it’s a completely different experience.
I too believe firmly that we must reduce our car dependence.
That’s great. Sadly many cities didn’t create their infrastructure around a public transport system. Basically, making you entirely dependent on having a car to move around. I would love to be able to bike everywhere.
It’s very true. Edmonton just added the biking infrastructure and it’s made a huge difference.
I adore your bike spreadsheet! I had a similar one pre-kid when I did a ton more non car commute trips. I’ve really been debating buying a bike again but the cost of a decent one has me stalled out for now.
They are expensive! This was a big reason why we decided to do it when we sold the Jeep and had the cash available.