Living Car-Free Saved Me $6,976 in 2022
Another year has ended, and it’s time to reflect on living car-free for another year.
TL;DR: In 2022, I saved $6,976.39 by not owning a car. I traveled 3,671 miles and took 432 trips. My average cost per mile was $0.45.
For those who don’t know, I sold my car in 2019 just before moving to the United Kingdom for work. After returning to the US in late-2020, I decided to continue living without a car and have loved the journey ever since.
In last year’s post, you can read more about my first year living in the US without a car.
Cost of Owning and Operating a Car in 2022
I think it’s a fun exercise to determine how much I would have spent if I had a vehicle throughout the year. I’ve broken down the costs of car ownership and operating costs in NYS into monthly and annual expenses in the table below.
| Item | Mthly Cost | Annu Cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car Loan | $377.24 | $4562.88 | NerdWallet & CarGurus cost of a used Toyota in Jan 2022. |
| Insurance | $179.00 | $2148 | NerdWallet |
| Fuel | $49.64 | $595.73 | PersonalCapital NYS Gas Prices and my annual mileage. |
| Repairs | $50.00 | $600 | Cars.com |
| Parking | $50.00 | $600 | Cost of Apartment Parking |
| NYS Registration | $11 | $132 | NYS DMV |
| NYS Inspection | $3.08 | $37 | NYS DMV |
| Total | $719.97 | $8,639.60 |
The total cost of owning and operating a car in 2022 was *much* higher than it was in 2021.
Used car prices continued to climb in 2022, gas prices soared, and inflation rose at record rates. That resulted in a 24.5714% increase ($1890.90) in annual cost.
In other words, owning a car was a real bummer in 2022.
Cost of Car-Free Living in 2022
The table below breaks down my total costs of living car-free in 2022 by mode of transport.
Something else to note is that my “car rental” costs do not include any cars I rented for vacation.
I would have spent that even if I owned a car, as I usually fly to my vacation destination and drive from there when necessary. So I opted to exclude those costs so we can get an apples-to-apples comparison of the cost of transportation for everyday living. I also tried to vacation in places where I didn’t need to drive, but some things aren’t possible to see without taking a car trip.
| Mode | Cost | Distance | Trips | Cost Per Mile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scooter | $810.00 | 759.60 | 172 | $1.07 |
| Car Rental | $322.00 | 368.50 | 11 | $0.87 |
| Bus | $147.00 | 491.70 | 149 | $0.30 |
| Rideshare | $146.21 | 40.90 | 9 | $3.57 |
| Train | $128.00 | 379.20 | 5 | $0.34 |
| Carshare | $100.00 | 132.00 | 4 | $0.76 |
| Carpool | $10.00 | 1,316.00 | 52 | $0.01 |
| Bike | $0.00 | 183.10 | 30 | $0.00 |
| Total | $1,663.21 | 3,671.00 | 432 | $0.45 |
How Living Car-Free Changed For Me in 2022
If you read my car-free breakdown last year, you may wonder what happened to my e-bike.
Selling My E-bike and Switching to a Scooter
I sold my e-bike in early 2022 and purchased an electric scooter instead. I decided that for most trips where I would have taken my e-bike, it was more comfortable and easier to take an electric scooter.
I still own a few “normal” bikes and ride them whenever possible. But for everyday commuting, I preferred to take my scooter or the bus. Speaking of the bus…
Riding RTS
I started taking the bus in 2022! Throughout most of 2021, I rode my e-bike to work and continued to do so even into winter. But at a certain point, it became tough to take my e-bike, and I saw the damage the salt was doing to it. So I started taking the bus instead. I’m glad I did.
The RTS bus system in Rochester isn’t perfect, but it’s not that bad, either. I can get to most of my favorite spots via the bus, and there is a bus stop less than half a mile from where I work. I continued to take the bus until about May when I switched to riding my electric scooter. But when winter came back in 2022, I started taking the bus again and still do most of my commuting via the bus so far in 2023.
Trains!
I rode on Amtrak trains for the first time in almost ten years. I took a few trips to Buffalo to see comedy shows and bands. It’s not the most glamorous way to travel in New York state, but it worked and was cost-effective. Another advantage is that I can take the train from downtown Rochester to downtown Buffalo and don’t have to search for parking or pay for parking. I also find taking the train much more relaxing than driving, so in that regard, it was a big win.
What Will Change in 2023
Now that I’ve covered what changed about living car-free last year, I want to discuss what I anticipate changing for me in 2023.
Walking to Work
Our company is relocating our offices to downtown Rochester in Q1 of this year. That means I will be within walking distance for my daily commute! This great change will significantly reduce my commute time and improve my quality of life.
I may still take my scooter to work on days I want to zip home on my lunch break to get in a gym session, but I suspect I will be walking 3 out of 5 days.
More Bike Camping
I rode the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany in 2022. It was a fantastic trip and solidified my love for bike camping.
I’ve got five camping weekends scheduled in 2023. They are within a 5-hour radius of Rochester, and most trips will be three days and two nights. I plan on documenting the routes and locations to share in a post later in the year.
Conclusion
I had a blast in 2022. What started as a one-year challenge has turned into a healthier, more frugal, satisfying lifestyle change that I plan on keeping as long as I can. Can I make it to five years? You’ll have to wait and see. 🙂
Follow me on Twitter @ethan_thompson for more of my journey in real-time.
