[mastermojo]

I actually have some personal numbers after owning a second hand 2000 Mustang for 1 year from 112k to 121k miles exactly since yesterday. I got the car for 6000.

  Uber 9000 miles x $2 = 18000
  Personal Car: 7000
  Maintenance 2500 
     - new bumper (old one taken off while street parked) 1000
     - replaced foggy headlamps 400. purely cosmetic reasons
     - side window smashed 800. never park in oakland =(
     - oil changes etc? (200 at most) 
  Insurance 600 (checkout AAA) 
  Depreciation 2000(?)
  Gas 1800 ($4/gallon @ 20 miles/gallon)

No contest for me, really. Even if I payed 300 bucks a month for a commuter parking spot in SF, and got an occasional parking ticket here and there.

For people who can get to and from work easily using public transportation, perhaps owning a car does not make sense as much as Zipcar/Uber. Owning a car can cost a lot of money, but for people who want one as a form of transportation it can be very affordable (i.e dont buy new). Also, the average car is expected to travel 10-12k miles a year.

[doorhammer]

When I lived in st. louis, I drove all second hand cars. I really actually loved the 1986 toyota truck I had. 22R carb engine. I knew how to fix everything on that truck. It was at 230k miles and the engine ran great until I accidentally killed it (fingered tightened the oil plug while draining some out, forgot to really tighten it down, it vibrated out on the highway, screeching noise, kaput).

That's kind of an aside; I just like old cars and working on them when I don't have to work on them.

Anyhow, the real part I was going to say is that I moved to Atlanta with my wife. She has to drive all over creation because she teaches ballet. We have a new hyundai accent which runs great, but my number one priority was to be close to work so I wouldn't need a car. I live about 1.5 miles from work. I walk to work a lot of days (not so much in the summer). This city sucks for having no car, but if you really plan around, you can. The biggest thing was being willing to live closer to work.

Obviously it's not that easy for people in tons of circumstances that aren't mine, but I wanted to throw my anecdote into the mix fwiw.

I used to commute exclusively by bike in oklahoma. I rode about five or six miles to work and five or six miles back. Had to structure where I looked to live around that as well.

Again, not saying this is viable for everyone, but if you approach it as a lifestyle, it can make a bit more tractable, depending on your context (I have no kids, which makes it a lot easier to)

I didn't do it for the outright savings so much as I hate commuting. I can't stand staring at the road, and eventually I run out of podcasts.

[dsil]

Hold on, what you're missing is the last part of the essay, the difference in value of time spent driving vs time spent riding an Uber.

Say you averaged going 45mph. Then your 9000 miles took 200 hours. And you'd spend $4000 extra to use Uber, so not having to drive would cost $20/hour.

Depends how you'd use that time, but for many it would be well worth $20/hour to be able to do other things, like bill hours.

[btilly]

And if you're prone to motion sickness, like I am, then the value of that time you get back is approximately $0.

[mikeash]

Quite possible negative. For many people it can easily be a net negative to be driven around rather than driving one's self simply in terms of how you feel afterwards. All else being equal, I'd prefer to drive than be driven. Sometimes not all else is equal, like parking is hard, or I'm taking a trip and need to leave the car for the wife, and then I take a taxi or Uber or something. But I would assign a value of something like $50/hour to not being in a taxi/Uber.

[rdl]

I prefer driving, but am ok with being a passenger in the right car with a driver I personally know (i.e. my driver, vs. even a random guy from the motor pool, and certainly not UberX or a black car/taxi driver). For me I'd pay $50/hr to drive on a great road, $20 for most roads on e.g. the Peninsula, $0 for stop-and-go or SF anytime, -$20 to have a meh driver drive me around (black car or great uberx) or a very luxurious or empty train; $0-20 for a great driver I know and trust, -$50 for most taxis or a slightly crowded train, and -$100 for Thai taxis or public transit on wheels.

[wise_young_man]

Do you take hour long Uber rides? Because if most are 10-20 minute rides the distractions are not going to be helpful for productivity, so it may be hard to bill anything.

[mastermojo]

Most people are always balancing the time/money tradeoff with how much they enjoy the task.

i.e do I do my own laundry, clean my own place, drive my own car, cook my own food?