Chicago Bike Routes
How Much Does Bike Commuting To Work Cost? A 5-year Case Study
Posted:4/22/23 Updated:6/16/2024
Short Answer: Bike commuting to work for 5 years and 7,455 miles cost me $5,651 (~$0.76/mile). Only $1,959 was spent on purchasing bikes. The pie chart below breaks down my expenses into categories, and there are more details, definitions, and discussion in the sections below. An itemized list of costs is provided at the end of this article.
Introduction
When I started thinking about bike commuting, I wasn't sure how much it was going to cost to obtain everything that would make cycling to work feasible and comfortable.
Initial and ongoing costs can vary depending on things like what type of gear is purchased and how often bike maintenance is performed, but I thought that it would be interesting to analyze expenses for my particular case and see what insights can be obtained.
I have been bike commuting for 5 years (2019-2024) in the Chicagoland area. For the first 2.5 years, I had a car, but I would do a 24 mile round-trip to work at an average frequency of about 6.5 times per month (this is an average - I biked more during warm months and less during cold months). For the next 2.5 years, I moved closer to work (5 mile round-trip commute), got rid of my car, and made biking my main mode of transportation year-round. I usually commute to work 5 times a week.
The pie chart at the start of this article broke down my costs over 5 years into different categories. The names and definitions for the categories are:
1. Bikes: The combined cost of the 4 road bikes that I purchased over the last 5 years. Currently, I use each road bike for different situations depending on weather, length of ride, destination, and current condition of other bikes (a bike may require repairs that I can't resolve quickly, so I use a backup).
2. Start-Up Costs (not including bike): This cost includes all of the cycling accesories that I thought were necessary to begin commuting (helmet, lock, lights, pumps, etc.).
3. Maintenance: The cost of any maintenance labor at bike shops or any maintenance related consumables (chains, bike tires, brake-related items). Note that bike tubes are not included in this category, since they have their own.
4. Wearable (not Winter): The cost of clothing and wearables that were not specifically purchased for cold weather and were not purchased at start-up.
5. Wearable (Winter): The cost of clothing and wearable items intended for cold weather conditions.
6. Additional Lights: The cost of bike lights (for night riding) that were purchased after start-up.
7. Tubes: The cost of bike tubes for flat tire repairs.
8. Tools: The cost of tools purchased for performing my own bike maintenance.
9. Public Transit: The cost of public transportation. Sometimes I would bring my bike on trains or use public transportation instead of biking. Since I would likely not have these costs if I were driving everywhere, I have included public transit costs in my total bike commuting costs.
10. Other: Costs that do not fit into the other categories above.
An itemized list of costs that was used to generate the pie chart above is included at the bottom of this article. In some cases, which are marked with an asterick, costs have been estimated due to lack of records. For example, I did not keep track of every single bike tube purchase throughout the entire 5 year timeframe.
The listed price for each item is rounded up to the nearest dollar and typically includes sales tax in addition to any associated shipping & handling charges. The list of costs also contains approximate purchase dates for all expenses and notes that explain why certain purchases were made.
In the end, the aggregate results displayed in this article are very rough given the number of estimations described above, but there may still be some value in them.
Discussion of Results
Below are various observations from the pie chart of 5-year bike commuting costs for my particular case that I found interesting.
1. Total Commuting Distance: Over the course of 5 years, I bike commuted an estimated distance of 7,455 miles (1,491 miles per year) between my home and workplace. I find it interesting that the distance per year is pretty low, especially when compared to the 13,476 miles driven by the average driver annually (reported by the US Department of Transportation).
A 2015 Brookings Institute study that used data reported by the United States Census Bureau (Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Origin-Destination Employment Statistics or LEHD-LODES) to calculate a "typical" commute distance for US metropolitan areas indicated that the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area had a "typical" work commute of 10 miles (20 miles round trip).
If a typical Chicagoland commuter does a 20 mile round-trip work commute 5 days a week for 49 weeks a year (245 round-trip work commutes a year), they would commute 4,900 miles annually, which is only a minor amount compared to the 13,476 miles driven by average drivers reported by the U.S. DOT. I wonder what fraction of "typical" commuters from the Brookings study (for the Chicago metro area) are car commuters and also how Chicago work commutes compare to commutes across the US - this is somewhat answered by the Brookings report where the Chicago area appears to have "typical" commutes on the higher end compared to other metro areas.
I also wonder if commuting to work is only a minor fraction (less than 50%) of total transportation miles traveled by a typical person. For my case, perhaps I should track my biking mileage more accurately (including leisure and errands) and determine the breakdown of mileage by trip type.
2. Bike Purchases: I spent $1,959 to purchase 4 road bikes over the course of 5 years, and this cost represents only about 35% of my total bike commuting costs. It looks like obtaining a bike is potentially only the first of several purchases that a bike commuter will find themselves making.
3. Start-Up Costs (not including bike): I spent $720 on start-up costs (shoes, pumps, locks, lights, helmet) not related to the cost of my first road bike. This amount seems pretty hefty, but it assumes that you essentially start with nothing, like I did. At the start of a bike commuting journey, it looks like it is entirely possible to spend as much or more on gear than on the cost of the bike that you will be riding.
4. Maintenance (not including tubes or tools): I spent $1,148 on bike maintenance over 5 years, and that's excluding the cost of tubes for flat tires and any tools that I bought so that I could perform my own minor maintenance tasks. I think that maintenance costs could have easily been even higher, since I tend to do my own maintenance. It appears that a lot of my maintenance costs ($614 out of $1,148) came from buying new bike tires. Chicago streets can really chew up road bike tires. It can be argued that leisure riding that I did contributed to maintenance costs and that bike commuting to work only accounted for a fraction of the total maintenance cost total, but I have chosen to assign all of the cost to bike commuting to work, since I did not accurately track how I used my bikes for leisure.
5. Tube Costs: When I first started bike commuting, I didn't know how much money I would end up spending on replacement tubes to fix flat tires. Over the course of 7,455 miles, I went through about $245 worth of tubes. However, just like with maintenance costs discussed above, some of this cost can be attributed to leisure riding.
6. Additional Lights: I had no idea that I would be spending $273 on bike lights over 5 years even after buying lights as part of my start-up costs. It turns out that most of the bike lights that I have purchased have been quite delicate and stopped working if I accidently dropped them from waist height or exposed them to adverse weather conditions (heavy rain, ice, etc.).
7. Public Transit Costs: Over the course of 5 years, I spent a somewhat surprisingly low amount ($460) on public transit. I guess this makes some sense, since I drove everywhere whenever I didn't bike commute for the first 2.5 years of the total 5 year time period. Even after I gave up my car, I still used public transit sparingly, although I think my use may increase in the future.
8. Winter Wearable Costs: I spent $231 on winter gear over the course of 4 years, which is lower than I would have expected. It should be noted that I have not bought heavy winter coats or boots for cold weather; I generally prefer to wear several light layers (especially on my limbs) to keep warm, and I continue to wear my running shoes in the winter.
Some Notes on Methods
One important note regarding expense data presented in this article is that listed values reflect the cost of an expense at the time that I made the purchase and do not account for how the value of money may change over time. For example, bike tubes may cost more in 2023 than they did in 2019 when I started bike commuting, so if someone was interested in how my costs would change if my bike commuting journey began today or if I had made certain purchases at a different time, they would have to account for things like inflation.
Depreciation in value of items is also not accounted for in expense data (every purchase is treated as a sunk cost). For example, the listed cost of a bike or tool that I purchased is the price that I paid when I bought it and does not account for the fact that the item still has value and can potentially be sold by me at some point.
I have made an attempt to calculate how many total bike commuting miles I have traveled over the course of 4 years, so that I can determine a bike commuting cost per mile (the cost per mile includes start-up costs and the cost of initially buying bicycles). The number given for "bike commuting miles" is rough and is only intended to represent the miles that I traveled on commutes to work, since these were easy to track (mileage per commute stays fairly consistent, and I tracked the number of commutes that I took). There was no attempt to add miles for various leisure rides, errands, or other periodic bike travel becuase I did not track this.
Every mode of transportation has fuel requirements that can count towards expenses. It may be argued that a portion of my food costs should be included in my bike commuting costs, but I have decided to omit any food costs, since it is unclear to me how much biking has impacted my calorie expenditure and food intake over time.
Bike commuting almost certainly takes more or less time compared to other modes of transportation depending on circumstances and may also have positive or negative health impacts. Time and health impacts may be assigned monetary values, but I have decided not to make an attempt at incorporating these values into my case study becuase I am not sure how to quantify them accurately.
Table: Itemized List of Bike Commuting Related Purchases
| Purchase Date (Month/Yr) | Expense Name | Cost ($) | Cost Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/2017 | Backpack | 20 | Start-up | for carrying things (inlcuding flat tire repair kit) |
| 2018 | Running Jacket* | 30 | ||
| Running Shoes* | 115 | |||
| 3/2019 | Sweatpants (7)* | 95 | ||
| T-shirts (7)* | 77 | |||
| Bike Light | 33 | |||
| Chain Lube | 15 | |||
| U-lock | 72 | |||
| Hand Bike Pump | 33 | for flat tire repair kit | ||
| Helmet | 95 | |||
| Bike Levers* | 5 | for flat tire repair kit | ||
| Floor Pump* | 60 | has pressure gauge, for topping off air in tires at home | ||
| Gravity Lock* | 40 | front wheel theft deterrent | ||
| Tubes (3)* | 30 | for flat tire repair kit | ||
| New Road Bike | 910 | Bike | ||
| 6/2019 | Biking Gloves | 17 | Wearable | help reduce stress on palms during longer rides |
| 2020 | Bike Tires (2)* | 90 | Maintenance | replace worn out tires |
| New Chain & Installation Labor* | 80 | Maintenance | replace broken chain | |
| Bike Lights (2)* | 70 | Additional Lights | ||
| Tubes (6)* | 60 | Tubes | ||
| 12/2020 | Compression Pants (4) | 40 | Wearable (Winter) | additional layer on legs |
| 70 Liter Rucksack | 52 | Wearable | for carrying groceries/larger loads | |
| Fleece Balaclava | 18 | Wearable (Winter) | face & neck covering | |
| 9/2021 | Bike Pedals | 44 | Maintenance | replace broken pedals |
| 11/2021 | Road Bike (Online Purchase) | 296 | Bike | buy cheaper bike for winter commuting |
| Bike Repair Stand | 62 | Tool | for chain replacement | |
| Chain Pliers | 18 | Tool | ||
| Chain Tool | 42 | Tool | ||
| Chain Connecting Pins | 19 | Maintenance | ||
| Chain Checker | 12 | Tool | ||
| Chain Lube | 14 | Maintenance | ||
| Reflective Vest | 21 | Wearable | for perhaps better visibility at night | |
| 12/2021 | Cable Cutter | 22 | Tool | for brake & gear shifter repair |
| Brakepads | 11 | Maintenance | replace worn brake pads | |
| Brake Cable Set | 14 | Maintenance | ||
| Hex Wrench Set | 11 | Tool | ||
| Rear Caliper Brake | 34 | Maintenance | replace rusted caliper | |
| Gravity Locks* | 80 | Other | ||
| Tubes (6) | 73 | Tubes | ||
| Chain | 45 | Maintenance | ||
| 2021 | 2021 Public Transit | 64 | Public Transit | |
| Bike Tires (2) | 90 | Maintenance | ||
| 1/2022 | Heavy Duty Mittens & Liner Gloves | 73 | Wearable (Winter) | |
| Wool Socks (1 pair) | 21 | |||
| Snow Pants | 54 | |||
| Toe & Hand Warmers | 11 | |||
| 2/2022 | Bike Tire | 45 | Maintenance | |
| 4/2022 | Glue | 8 | Maintenance | fix torn helmet strap |
| 3/8 in. Plastic Buckles | 10 | Maintenance | ||
| 7/2022 | Sun Balaclava | 17 | Wearable | face covering for intensely sunny days |
| Spoke Wrench | 19 | Tool | ||
| Bike Tires (2) | 190 | Maintenance | ||
| Bike Lights (2) | 80 | Additional Lights | ||
| Tubes (3) | 29 | Tubes | ||
| Running Shoes | 115 | Wearable | replace old shoes | |
| 11/2022 | Liner Gloves | 14 | Wearable (Winter) | replace lost gloves |
| 12/2022 | Tubes (3) | 33 | Tubes | |
| Lights (2) | 84 | Additional Lights | ||
| Headset Replacement | 60 | Maintenance | replace worn out headset on cheap bike | |
| Tubes (2) | 17 | Tubes | ||
| Used Vintage Road Bike | 258 | Bike | buy cheaper but more reliable bike for winter weather | |
| 2022 | 2022 Public Transit | 44 | Public Transit | |
| 8/2023 | Chain | 41 | Maintenance | for easier brake cable adjustments |
| Light | 39 | Additional Lights | ||
| 9/2023 | Hand Bike Pump | 59 | Maintenance | replace old broken hand pump |
| Mechanic gloves | 10 | Maintenance | for avoiding grease stains on hands | |
| Trail Pass | 5 | Public Transit | ||
| Coach Bus Tickets (3) | 135 | Public Transit | includes fee for bike in checked luggage | |
| Tires (2) | 132 | Maintenance | ||
| Tubes (4) | 33 | Tubes | ||
| 12/2023 | Tires (2) | 67 | Maintenance | |
| 2023 | 2023 Public Transit | 212 | Public Transit | |
| 2/2024 | 4th Hand Tool | 55 | Tool | for easier brake cable adjustments |
| Chain | 12 | Maintenance | ||
| Pedals | 23 | Maintenance | ||
| Brake Shoes | 17 | Maintenance | ||
| Brake Cable Set | 33 | Maintenance | ||
| Cable Cutter | 49 | Tool | ||
| 4/2024 | Used Bianchi Road Bike | 495 | Bike | replaces 2022 bike (broken frame) |
| Adjustable Wrench | 14 | Tool | ||
| Pipe | 9 | Tool | for leverage when using wrench |
Sources & Attributions
1. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, "Average Annual Miles per Driver by Age Group." https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm. Accessed 4/11/2023
2. Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, "The growing distance between people and jobs in metropolitan America." https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/srvy_jobsproximity.pdf. Accessed 4/11/2023
