Personal

Drive to work

After the bus and the walk comes the car.

This week I've driven 49.7 miles getting to work. It's been convenient, fast and private. It's cost me £6. In terms of personal gain it's probably been the best of the three modes of transport.

So why am I dissatisfied?

I'd have liked the bus to come out tops. I can live with having to stick to a schedule (that's a good thing in a way), and I'm not fussed about travelling with others. It's the cost that kills it though.

The £6 was for petrol alone. There's also depreciation of the vehicle, tax, insurance and servicing charges to consider but there's no easy way to calculate the 'true cost'.

I tried dividing the annual running cost by the number of weeks, giving a cost of £25. Dividing it insted by mileage gave a more reasonable £8. Using my employer's expenses rate the cost is £13.

The variance is so wide it's hard to use as a deciding factor.

Ultimately it'll be the other reasons that tip the balance. Which just leaves me with the question: how generous do I feel? We'll find out next month.

For now I'm off on another long drive. I'll send postcards from the road.