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Depending on how you look at it and what your current circumstances
are, a bike can cost you almost nothing - yes, nothing.
Take the following example.
Public Transport
Annual rail ticket with Travel card - zone 5 to central London:
£1,512*
Scooter (Typical new price)
| purchase price |
£1,999 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| annual running costs |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| petrol |
£280 |
|
|
| servicing & spares |
£160 |
|
|
| insurance |
£200 |
|
|
| road tax(yr 2) |
£45 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| bike |
£3,324 |
|
(over 2 years) |
| public transport |
£3,024 |
|
(over 2 years) |
| |
|
|
|
| net cost |
£300 |
|
(over 2 years) |
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Taking into consideration the money spent on rail commuting,
the scooter has almost paid for itself in less than
2 and a half years (less as season ticket is likely
to increase in year 2).
You will also have
- an asset (the bike) and the end of the period compared
with owning nothing using public transport.
- saved anything up to 25 days of your life in time
- experienced freedom like never before
- a handy form of transport to use other than for
work
general Bikes are much
cheaper to buy and run than cars, especially when one
considers parking, depreciatiion, insurance, tax etc.
High performance bikes are expensive so you need to
think about what you will be using the bike for.
Weighing up the cost of public transport over a year
makes you realise how expensive it really is especially
when you consider how much time you will save with a
bike.
* price correct as of 1/12/200 from South
West trains website
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