two articles on economics of commuting by bike

[Climb01742]

one from the nytimes:

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/04/the-bicycle-dividend/?hp

and one from the economist:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2011/03/tragedies_commons

one fascinating tidbit is that it's cheaper for employers to build showers for bike commuting employees than build parking for car commuting employees. never thought of it that way.

[jblande]

Sorry in advance for the limited relevance of this question. I have a question concerning commuting costs. I just received my appointment information from the university in the United States at which I will be employed come Fall. It is possible to deduct a certain amount from one's salary on a pretax basis to pay for parking, if one commutes by car. Are there any similar benefits available to cyclists?

[flydhest]

What makes me sad in this debate is that the anti-bike lane article cited is just plain pathetic. It seems like it should be possible to make a more rational and reasonable argument.

Nevertheless, I am broadly in agreement with the two articles you cited. I find it hard to understand why one wouldn't want to align costs more broadly. It seems one thing that cities could do for building permits is to require garages be built underneath. That is costly, but the costs could be recouped by charging for parking, something I find plausible. DC has lots of parking garages downtown--I find it worth paying for convenience when I drive. Less parking on the street means (I think) better traffic flow. That has to be good for everyone.

Thanks for the links, climb, very interesting.

[weiwentg]

Sorry in advance for the limited relevance of this question. I have a question concerning commuting costs. I just received my appointment information from the university in the United States at which I will be employed come Fall. It is possible to deduct a certain amount from one's salary on a pretax basis to pay for parking, if one commutes by car. Are there any similar benefits available to cyclists?

Those tax benefits are a lot more limited.

http://www.sfbike.org/?commute

Personally, I don't think there should be tax benefits for either driving, public transit or cycling, but that's a long rant.

[CNY rider]

My related observation on the personal economics of commuting by bicycle:

For me it's pretty much a wash versus driving in terms of overall $$ spent but it is still very beneficial to me.
Dollars I would have spent on gas and car maintenance have been spent in other ways: Mainly cool winter cycling gear that I wouldn't otherwise need or have. Like lighting systems, heavy winter tights, winter jerseys. And of course a devoted commuter bike for when it's wet or snowy out.

Same dollars but instead of funding petro-terrorist states and oil companies I get bike stuff. :beer:

[93legendti]

My related observation on the personal economics of commuting by bicycle:

For me it's pretty much a wash versus driving in terms of overall $$ spent but it is still very beneficial to me.
Dollars I would have spent on gas and car maintenance have been spent in other ways: Mainly cool winter cycling gear that I wouldn't otherwise need or have. Like lighting systems, heavy winter tights, winter jerseys. And of course a devoted commuter bike for when it's wet or snowy out.

Same dollars but instead of funding petro-terrorist states and oil companies I get bike stuff. :beer:
Approximately 40% of America's oil comes from domestic oil fields in states like Texas, Alaska, and California. The top foreign imports are usually from Canada and Mexico. Not exactly funding petro-terrorism.

Of course, we could easily get 100% of our oil needs from America; reduce unemployment and reduce inflation costs associated with rising oil prices...but, instead, we loan money to Brazil and Columbia so we can buy oil from them... :crap:

[djg]

I dunno . . . maybe bad arguments but good advertising?

Seem to be extremely thin cartoons of costs and benefits, even if we accept the typical limitations of CB analysis. Also, I think that both traffic congestion and some local pollution effects are subject to threshold effects that are not that easy to model (and should raise questions about op-ed representations of average or marginal effects of a car or bike added to the mix). But I'm no expert.

Still, I'm willing to accept all of this, plus a heavily subsidized purchase of a dedicated commuting cross bike that can only be used as a commuting bike during the week, (and maybe as a pit bike on weekends). You know, for the greater good.

[mschol17]

Of course, we could easily get 100% of our oil needs from America; reduce unemployment and reduce inflation costs associated with rising oil prices...but, instead, we loan money to Brazil and Columbia so we can buy oil from them... :crap:

This is completely wrong. We hit peak oil in the 1970s and ever since then our imports have only been going up.

[forrestw]

Approximately 40% of America's oil comes from domestic oil fields in states like Texas, Alaska, and California. The top foreign imports are usually from Canada and Mexico. Not exactly funding petro-terrorism.

Of course, we could easily get 100% of our oil needs from America; reduce unemployment and reduce inflation costs associated with rising oil prices...but, instead, we loan money to Brazil and Columbia so we can buy oil from them... :crap:
I call BS. Saudi Arabia (a well known funder of middle-east conflict) is level with Mexico in US imports and Iraq, Nigeria and Angola are all in the top 10. As for producing more oil in the US, IMO we already give far too much subsidy to the petroleum industry in the country.

More important, petroleum is a fungible commodity and as the largest consumer, reducing US consumption could have substantial effect on global prices. In fact both US and world consumption ticked down considerably in 2010, doubtless due to the slow economy.

[forrestw]

Dollars I would have spent on gas and car maintenance have been spent in other ways: Mainly cool winter cycling gear that I wouldn't otherwise need or have. Like lighting systems, heavy winter tights, winter jerseys. And of course a devoted commuter bike for when it's wet or snowy out.

Same dollars but instead of funding petro-terrorist states and oil companies I get bike stuff. :beer:

I can't say my 3-season cycling has come anywhere near what driving would cost.

$500 bike (frame $30, spokes $72, rims $100, hubs/cog $80, brakes $80, tires $60, crank/bb $75, fenders $30). The geared bike I rode before this one cost about the same and has been fixed up and was sold for nearly what I had invested in it.

At $50@ tights, good long underwear and booties come to $150 and have lasted 3 winters with at least one more season left in them.

I would have spent nearly this much just on car insurance for these 3 winters. (yeah Boston's not cheap there), never mind gas/maintenance. Best of all, especially in winter I get from A to B faster than I would by car and I don't have to spend time / $ looking for parking.

[Kontact]

I commute because I like not having to park, faster traffic flow downtown, staying in shape and not putting dents and miles on my car. Bike commuting is already its own reward - but only cyclists are likely to look at it that way.

We live in a society of chronic obsetity and a staggering trade deficit. Translation: Americans, as a group, are suicidal. Bike commuting, public transit, recycling, wind generators, subsidized industries, etc are just bandaids on a society that is killing itself with the gusto of a meth addict.

Even if people didn't want to sweat on their way to work, they could ride 100mpg mopeds - cheap, free to park, better traffic flow. But almost no one does that either. So if even the lazy people don't want to reap the benefits of motorized two wheels, I really have to doubt that any sort of mass conversion to bicycles is on the horizon.


I'll keep riding for me, but I'm not "making a difference".

[drewski]

Approximately 40% of America's oil comes from domestic oil fields in states like Texas, Alaska, and California. The top foreign imports are usually from Canada and Mexico. Not exactly funding petro-terrorism.

Of course, we could easily get 100% of our oil needs from America; reduce unemployment and reduce inflation costs associated with rising oil prices...but, instead, we loan money to Brazil and Columbia so we can buy oil from them... :crap:


I ride about 60 miles to work on bicycle each week. I do it cause
cause I love to ride period.

We import 1089 barrels a day from Saudi. Whether or not the US
buys from them, they are still going to pay to keep the extremists
happy.

Oil is going to run out sooner or later. Funding bike lanes is one way to put them to decrease foreign oil dependency. About 40% of all trips are less than 2 miles. A great opportunity to increase bicycle ride share.

[skijoring]

I commute because I like not having to park, faster traffic flow downtown, staying in shape and not putting dents and miles on my car. Bike commuting is already its own reward - but only cyclists are likely to look at it that way.

We live in a society of chronic obsetity and a staggering trade deficit. Translation: Americans, as a group, are suicidal. Bike commuting, public transit, recycling, wind generators, subsidized industries, etc are just bandaids on a society that is killing itself with the gusto of a meth addict.

Even if people didn't want to sweat on their way to work, they could ride 100mpg mopeds - cheap, free to park, better traffic flow. But almost no one does that either. So if even the lazy people don't want to reap the benefits of motorized two wheels, I really have to doubt that any sort of mass conversion to bicycles is on the horizon.


I'll keep riding for me, but I'm not "making a difference".

It does make a difference; widen the scope of your perception. I've had many people ask about how to commute by bike: bike set-up, clothing, weather, etc. Some make the leap, a lot don't.

[Kontact]

It does make a difference; widen the scope of your perception. I've had many people ask about how to commute by bike: bike set-up, clothing, weather, etc. Some make the leap, a lot don't.
The scope of my perception is national and global. Cycling is great - but you can't make a sieve watertight by plugging the holes one at a time. To think that cycling can have a major impact on US health, pollution and economic trends is way too optimistic. We could grow by 100% a year, and the amount of cars on the road wouldn't perceptibly change.

Not without something with much broader impact happening first.

[roydyates]

Sorry in advance for the limited relevance of this question. I have a question concerning commuting costs. I just received my appointment information from the university in the United States at which I will be employed come Fall. It is possible to deduct a certain amount from one's salary on a pretax basis to pay for parking, if one commutes by car. Are there any similar benefits available to cyclists?

As far as I know, there is no similar deduction for cyclists. However, if you were charged a fee for bike parking, then that fee would be deductible, just as the car parking fee is deductible. For reasons I've never fully understood, commuting costs (whether car mileage or bus tickets or whenever) are not tax deductible business expenses.

On the other hand, parking fees do get a tax deduction as a cost of business, similar to (unless I'm wrong) deductibility of the cost of uniforms some people are required to buy. Frankly, I've never understood why parking fees are deductible but other commuting expenses are not. That said, I think it's good for commuting expenses to NOT be deductible since deductibility encourages longer commutes, which is generally a bad thing.

One last comment: if you are moving to Princeton and you're not within walking distance of your office, then get the parking.

[jblande]

...snipped...

thank you for the information. next year, i will be able to walk to my office. but, in general, i hope to be able to commute by foot or bike. hence my curiosity about what if any tax benefits such a decision might have. i, too, was rather surprised to see that parking costs can be deducted from one's salary.

[nahtnoj]

Of course, we could easily get 100% of our oil needs from America

So true. We could tax gasoline appropriately, make it cost $8-9 dollars a gallon, people would buy cars such as are available in Europe that get 60mpg, move closer to work, abandon the Sunbelt, and clamor for the reconstruction of our public transportation infrastructure.

But I think your point was some ridiculous neo-con fantasy about oil shale (learn what EROEI means) and the Gulf...

[avalonracing]

But I think your point was some ridiculous neo-con fantasy about oil shale (learn what EROEI means) and the Gulf...

Well said. ;)

[Ahneida Ride]

I want tax benefits for riding my pogo stick work
tax benefits for those who walk to work.
tax benefits for those take the Subway to work
tax benefits for those with a home office
tax benefits for those who ride a motorcycle work
Tax benefits those those who roller blade to work
and tax benefits to those who don't work cause they don't commute.

and if course we need to new government agency to Police all these
tax benefits. :beer:

All managed by an illustrious group of about 500 people or so who have
racked up a 120 TRILLION fed reserve note note debt.

[CNY rider]

I can't say my 3-season cycling has come anywhere near what driving would cost.

$500 bike (frame $30, spokes $72, rims $100, hubs/cog $80, brakes $80, tires $60, crank/bb $75, fenders $30). The geared bike I rode before this one cost about the same and has been fixed up and was sold for nearly what I had invested in it.

At $50@ tights, good long underwear and booties come to $150 and have lasted 3 winters with at least one more season left in them.

I would have spent nearly this much just on car insurance for these 3 winters. (yeah Boston's not cheap there), never mind gas/maintenance. Best of all, especially in winter I get from A to B faster than I would by car and I don't have to spend time / $ looking for parking.

Yeah the economics would work better for me if we could get away from being a 2 car family because of my bicycle usage, but in this rural area, with 3 kids, that's not happening.
If I was in a nice city like Boston I would definitely try to be bicycle exclusive.

[CNY rider]

I call BS. Saudi Arabia (a well known funder of middle-east conflict) is level with Mexico in US imports and Iraq, Nigeria and Angola are all in the top 10. As for producing more oil in the US, IMO we already give far too much subsidy to the petroleum industry in the country.

More important, petroleum is a fungible commodity and as the largest consumer, reducing US consumption could have substantial effect on global prices. In fact both US and world consumption ticked down considerably in 2010, doubtless due to the slow economy.

Exactly right.
Every barrel we use drives up the price, and all the barrels sell at top price once that's set in the market.
We could pretend to boycott certain countries oil, like we do with Iran but it doesn't matter at all. They still get the market price for their oil and it's our demand that drives that price.

[roydyates]

thank you for the information. next year, i will be able to walk to my office. but, in general, i hope to be able to commute by foot or bike. hence my curiosity about what if any tax benefits such a decision might have. i, too, was rather surprised to see that parking costs can be deducted from one's salary.
A little googling looking for the logic behind these policies didn't turn up any logical explanations but it did turn up this IRS publication (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/fringe_benefit_fslg.pdf) where on page 22 it says
Qualified Bicycle Commuting Expenses

Beginning with years after 2008, employees may exclude reimbursements paid by employers for qualified bicycle commuting expenses. The maximum exclusion is $20 times the number of months the employee uses a bicycle for commuting to work. Allowable expenses include the purchase, maintenance, repair and storage expenses related to bicycle commuting. IRC 132(f)(1)(D)

The bicycle commuting expense exclusion cannot be claimed for any period in which the exclusion for public transit passes or qualified parking is claimed. IRC 132(f)(1)(F)(iii)(II)

I'm surprised more universities haven't established programs for this since the dollar amounts are pretty nominal.