[alistairSH]

That's about $580 US. The average monthly payment on a NEW car in the US is around $500 [0][1]. Add in parking (even "free" parking isn't), depreciation, gasoline, insurance, and registration fees and that's pretty darn close to $580.

From my perspective, living the DC suburbs, I would love to have an all-access app for multi-mode transport. I own two cars (one for me, one for wife). I walk to work, so my car only gets driven on the weekends, and only if my wife and I are doing different things. It's a VERY expensive way to maintain my weekend "freedom". Lyft/Uber would fill much of the gap, except I frequently go camping 2-4 hours away. If Lyft had a "long term borrow" plan, I could get rid of my $400/month car payment and all associated costs.

[0]https://www.thebalance.com/average-monthly-car-payment-41376... [1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2016/06...

[unit91]

> The average monthly payment on a NEW car in the US is...pretty darn close to $580.

True. However, car long-term ownership also can reduce the overall cost substantially, a possible benefit you lose with services like this.

My 2002 Sierra cost me $15K when I bought it in 2007, and it's still my daily driver. That's roughly $113 per month. Maintenance has been infrequent and inexpensive, and I do the work myself. I'm WAY below $580 per month.

[nawitus]

You should compare the monthly price to leasing, which is around $250/month for a decent new car. Using your "other costs" the total goes up to $330/month. (However, I think the other costs would be higher).

[ghaff]

Rent a car for the weekend? Though there's obviously some transaction overhead associated with doing that.

[alistairSH]

I've considered it. But, the transaction overhead isn't small. I'd need to reserve the car in advance, Lyft to the rental agency, etc. Currently, I can decide to go to the mountains on a whim Friday afternoon.

[ghaff]

That makes perfect sense. It also highlights some of the reasons why, a lot of the time, people own items that they don't use frequently. e.g. you may only use a lawnmower 15 times a year but most people aren't going to rent one each time.

[alistairSH]

Absolutely.

But, the cost of a car/truck is massive relative to most people's overall budgets. So, there's probably lots of room for optimization through transit-as-a-service.

[ghaff]

Sure. The cost of a car and, potentially, the cost of garaging a car in a city definitely merit a harder look at alternatives than other items may. There are definitely city-dwellers who don't drive a lot and, with increased transportation options in a lot of cities, the marginal car-owner increasingly has other options they can consider.

I know a couple in SF who don't own a car that probably wouldn't have been able to do so prior to Uber/Lyft, Zipcar, food delivery, etc. Of course, they also don't really do outdoor trips requiring a lot of gear on a regular basis and their kids are grown up and moved out as well.