We hop in the car to get groceries or drop kids at school. But while the car is convenient, these short trips add up in terms of emissions, pollution and petrol cost.
Close to half (44%) of all Australian commuter trips are by car – and under 10km. Of Perth’s 4.2 million daily car trips, 2.8 million are for distances of less than 2km.
This is common in wealthier countries. In the United States, a staggering 60% of all car trips cover less than 10km.
So what’s the best solution? You might think switching to an electric vehicle is the natural step. In fact, for short trips, an electric bike or moped might be better for you – and for the planet. That’s because these forms of transport – collectively known as electric micromobility – are cheaper to buy and run.
But it’s more than that – they are actually displacing four times as much demand for oil as all the world’s electric cars at present, due to their staggering uptake in China and other nations where mopeds are a common form of transport.
I have a car and an electric bike. The bike cost $1400 and we’ve had it for 3 months. In that 3 months my car has cost me $512 in insurance, ~$300 in fuel, $70 in maintenance (oil change and air filters), and $890 for new tie rods. Ignoring the repair cost, my car has cost me almost $900 in normal expenses, aka almost as much as the bike. And I’m due for a new clutch, which will probably cost me as much as the bike in parts and labor. By February my normal expenses for the car will eclipse the price of a brand new e-bike
My wife rides the bike to work 5 days a week, 8 miles round trip. The maintenance costs have been $6 for a bottle of chain lube and a combined 30 minutes to clean the chain a few times.
Most of those car cost are the same if you leave it sitting in the garrage.
You do realize how that’s worse right? In the same time that car is draining my wallet by doing literally nothing, the bike could be sitting there as well costing me, at most, the price of a new set of tires and tubes. Over a long enough period, the car will get even more expensive as seals, tires, and hoses dry rot, the battery drains, the gas goes bad, and the other fluids degrade. Worst case scenario on the bike you might need to replace a battery on an e-bike if left for long enough. For my bike that would run me about $150. That wouldn’t even scratch the surface of a worst case scenario for getting a dormant car up and running again.
If I could ditch my car for an e-bike I would in a heartbeat but my commute is too long
The point is if you are keeping the car anyway. If you can get rid of a car that saves a ton of money, but if you can’t get rid of it you are not saving.