The C is for Crank
Cost of Driving Rises Another 3.4 Percent
According to a new report from AAA, the average annual cost to own and drive a car has riven 3.4 percent in the past year, thanks largely to increases in fuel prices, depreciation, and tire prices. Overall, the cost of owning a sedan in the US rose 1.9 cents per mile last year, to 58.5 cents a mile, or or $8,776 a year for a person who drives 15,000 miles a year. Drive more, which you'll have to if you live in a far-flung suburb, and you'll pay more (driving an extra 5,000 miles adds another $1,083 a year); drive an SUV, and your average annual cost goes up to $11,239. That's almost half the median personal income
of US residents! The cost of tires went up the most of any factor included in the cost of driving, rising 15.7 percent to 0.96 cents per mile.
[pullquote]Overall, the cost of owning a sedan in the US rose 1.9 cents per mile last year, to 58.5 cents a mile, or or $8,776 a year for a person who drives 15,000 miles a year.[/pullquote]
Moreover, the cost of driving has either increased steadily or remained essentially unchanged over the past decade, even as gas prices have fluctuated. Driving, in other words, isn't getting any cheaper---and that isn't even including the costs of the negative externalities associated with driving, like sprawl, poor health, pollution, highway runoff, sedentary lifestyles, social isolation, and car crashes.
Am I optimistic that, eventually, the car warriors will realize that alternatives to driving alone aren't just a pet project for hippie environmentalists and "social engineers" who want to force people out of their cars? Not yet, but if the cost of driving continues to skyrocket the way it has been, even the most dedicated "free market" car proponent may have to admit that driving alone no longer makes anything resembling financial sense.
[pullquote]Overall, the cost of owning a sedan in the US rose 1.9 cents per mile last year, to 58.5 cents a mile, or or $8,776 a year for a person who drives 15,000 miles a year.[/pullquote]
Moreover, the cost of driving has either increased steadily or remained essentially unchanged over the past decade, even as gas prices have fluctuated. Driving, in other words, isn't getting any cheaper---and that isn't even including the costs of the negative externalities associated with driving, like sprawl, poor health, pollution, highway runoff, sedentary lifestyles, social isolation, and car crashes.
Am I optimistic that, eventually, the car warriors will realize that alternatives to driving alone aren't just a pet project for hippie environmentalists and "social engineers" who want to force people out of their cars? Not yet, but if the cost of driving continues to skyrocket the way it has been, even the most dedicated "free market" car proponent may have to admit that driving alone no longer makes anything resembling financial sense.
