#commute cost

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Will Your New Home Have a Commute? Know the Real Cost

One of our recent posts shared some helpful tips to finding the real cost of owning a home, which you can find by clicking HERE.   Our friends over at Transportation Evolved have also shared with us this handy calculator to give you a quick reference on your actual commute costs.

Without a doubt, your vehicles and your homes are the most important and foundational investments you will make. …

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A great article from our friends at Work Petaluma. The WeGo Team recently used this space for a mini-retreat to dream about the future of ridesharing. If you haven't already, check it out this awesome shared workspace right here in Sonoma County! Looks like the folks at Work share our vision for improving life by choosing to drive alone less and share more.

What’s on your list of life goals? Spend more time with family, save money, create a more satisfying career? For years my husband spent way too much time on the road commuting to offices all over the Bay Area. It’s hard to be home in time for dinner when you’re stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, again!

Then one day we stopped to add it up:  One day of commuting to San Francisco = 

2-3 hours of lost time (out of an already too busy day) 

$44 of gas and auto maintenance ($0.555/mile - IRS reimbursement) 

$6 bridge toll 

$20 parking fee

Multiply that by four days a week and in one month you’re talking 40 hours of lost time and over $1,000 in car costs! WOW! -The Trust Cost of Commuting

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SURPRISING FACTS FROM YOUR GAS TANK

So, we’ve all gone to the gas station to fill a car up with gasoline — but what happens after that? The engine runs, we get where we’re going and that gasoline burns up, combusts, and just disappears. Right?

Not exactly. There are some really important things to understand about what happens next, and a few of them should surprise all by the nerdiest climate scientists (btw, I’m a fan of nerdy climate scientists).

1. Burning one gallon of gas releases 19.4 lbs. of CO2

You probably know that CO2 is one of the leading causes of warming in the atmosphere. But how does one gallon of gas, which weighs about 6 pounds, create nearly 20 pounds of CO2?

Basically, when gas is burned the carbon it contains mixes with oxygen to create CO2. When it pulls this oxygen out of the atmosphere, you arrive at our next surprising fact:

2. You remove 21 pounds of breathable oxygen for every gallon of gasoline you burn

Burning gasoline also produces water (H2O) and this pulls out even more oxygen from the atmosphere. The total of 21 pounds is pretty impressive given that a person breathes about 450 pounds of oxygen each year. This also reduces air quality for people living next to highways and busy roads, which is a big deal. And finally...

3. By ridesharing for a day you can offset the amount of CO2 a large TV generates in a month

If you’re still reading, you’re probably interested in the numbers on this one, so here they are:

21.29 mpg = Average passenger car fuel efficiency in Sonoma County

18.09 miles = Average commute in Sonoma County (round trip is 36.18 miles)

25.66 lbs. = CO2 created by watching a 28” TV per month (308 lbs. per year)

What do you think? Got any cool climate facts of your own?

- Brant Arthur, WeGo Sonoma

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WEGO BREAKS DOWN THE REAL COST OF DRIVING

I relocated to California this summer. And as I rolled up to the first gas station across the state line, my jaw dropped. I was incredulous....”maybe I should turn back and get gas in Arizona”....What I’d heard for so long was true: Californians pay some of the highest gasoline prices in the U.S. And now I was one of them.

Many of us grumble over gas prices. But let’s remember that the cost of fuel is only a fraction of the full cost of moving ourselves and our two-ton vehicles from one point to another. Consider this: the average adult Sonoma County resident makes a round-trip commute of 35.5 miles everyday, Monday-Friday. The average full price of that commute if you’re driving alone is actually about $20 per day! If this seems unbelievable, take a look at AAA's cost break-down. Multiply $20 by the typical 21-day work or school commute schedule each month, and we’re looking at $420 per month, or $5,040 per year....all that just to drive to work or school and back! Is driving alone really worth that much?? If you’re thinking no, then here’s some good news! :) Pick up a rideshare partner along your commute route with the Avego's real-time rideshare tool and offset the cost of your trip. You’ll earn $1.00 for the first mile and $0.20 for the next 14 miles. If the shared trip extends beyond mile 15, the rider then pays $0.08 per mile—all by way of a cashless payment system. For the rider, the total trip cost is similar to the cost of public transportation. Ridesharing with WeGo allows drivers to recoup some of their driving cost while giving an affordable lift to others along the way. It’s truly a win-win. If you’re not already signed up, click the link below that best describes you. Your wallet will thank you. —Amy SRJC community members         Everyone else living or working in Sonoma County