While I’m not a rabid anti-car crusader, there’s no doubt I think the U.S. is too car-centric. I understand the historical reasons behind our vehicle dependence — we’re a young nation with sprawling cities spread far apart — but I also believe that if you, as an individual, make an effort to live in a walkable (or bike-able) neighborhood, you can save tons of cash while enhancing your lifestyle.
How much can you save? Well, that’s tough to quantify. There are a lot of variables that go into the calculation.
The folks at Transportation Evolved, however, have made an effort to crunch the numbers. They’ve created a cost of commuting calculator that takes into account a wide variety of factors — then allows you to further explore how this cost affects your true hourly wage and the opportunity cost of lost investment income.