Without a car today, I got myself to work with … walking and using Caltrain and using Muni and walking more. It only took about 15 – 20 minutes longer than driving, which is probably just my walk from my apartment to the Caltrain station. Not too bad, really.
I don’t mind walking at all, and I felt smart and packed my heels so I could wear comfy shoes while I was getting to work. I don’t know if I deserved a little reward for actually making it to my office building, but I did buy a small Peet’s coffee to make me feel better.
So my total time today: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Usual time with the car: 50 minutes
My total cost (one way): $4 for Caltrain, $1.25 for Muni = $5.25
Usual cost (one way) $3.10 for BART, $1 for parking = $4.10 – but! when you add in wear/tear on the car and gas at .58* a mile (my corporate rate, if we wanted to use one), you add $8.12 = $12.22!!
I don’t know that I can claim I saved $7, but I do feel good about being able to get to work on my own, and about not using the resources it takes to power the car. On the other hand, I feel like the corporate rate is high in estimating wear and tear, but it brings up the point, the gas and value of being able to use a car can be expensive.
Would I “walk” to work again? Sure! On spare the air days or days I know it won’t rain I might. Now, the walk home in the dark, that will be another topic…