When I started this blog, I was very excited about the prospect of using a robust public transportation system. This was something that Baton Rouge never had, and it was easy to identify as a way to save money and stress on the daily commute to work, and even to other locations. However, our location has changed somewhat and I have re-discovered the joy of cycling to get where I want to go.
Before public transportation, I would have to pay for parking either on a monthly basis or a daily basis. Parking on a monthly basis was something like $25-35, and to park daily for 20 days a month would cost $40 at a minimum (if I had to leave and come back, I would have to pay the fee again). Add to this the cost of gas to get there, and the miles that rob value from the vehicle, it was costing easily over $60 dollars a month just to drive a couple of miles.
This is where walking and public transit came in. Transit was purchased on a pre-tax basis and were partially subsidized by the company I am employed by. The cost was roughly $45 for a pass that was good for a month, including the weekends and holidays. Being pre-tax, the acutal cost to us was something less (though probably not much). The savings might have been small, but the peace of mind that came along with public transit turned this into a tremendous value.
In recent months, our government has tilted the equation in favor of cycling. If one abandons other transportation benefits in favor of a cyclist's commute, that person stands to actually MAKE money. If I ride to work at least 10 times in a month (roughly half the working days in a month) I can be reimbursed for legitimate bicycle commute expenses, including a commuting bicycle. So in a year, one now stands to make $240. I bought a commuter bike, and it is paid for, so now for the next three years I am 'reimbursed' for the expense which to us feels like making $20 a month for just commuting.
The only thing here is that this is a reimbursement, meaning that in the end, this will actually just eliminate the costs of commuting. However, breaking even beats sinking money into an object that has a sinking value.
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