This is an amazing analysis and definitely something to consider for many audiences. I elected to forego car ownership and instead purchase an electric bike ($2000) that can whip me around wherever I need to go in less than 30 minutes (which is about the same amount of time as vehicle transportation, including Lyft or driving one's own vehicle) – for me, it was a time-cost balance. Living in Vancouver, this is easily justified for one can travel by bike year-round; in other cities, perhaps not, but the case for Lyft over vehicle ownership hold true. However, I feel that supplementing bike transportation with ride sharing, car sharing, and car rental services not only is a more economical and environmentally friendly way of commuting, but is incredibly practical as you can adjust your consumption of these services relative to what you can afford given life's dramatic uncertainty.
There is something else to be said about how we model vehicle depreciation today. If you purchase a new vehicle today and intend on driving it for 4-8 years (up to the point of ownership for most contracts, and the typical length of manufacturer and extended warranties), that vehicle might be worth 30-60% of it's original value by the books today; however with the decreasing costs and increasing efficiency of ride sharing and the technological advancement towards level 5 autonomous driving, I reckon that the same vehicle might be worth substantially less, perhaps as low as 10-30% of its book value 4-8 years down the road.
I'd imagine we are close to a future where owning gasoline vehicles is something for enthusiasts or those who need a car for odd jobs and hobbies that transportation services or EVs fail to deliver the ability or convenience to do so today. This however might be different with owning a self-driving-ready vehicle today, like a Tesla, or with the massive amounts of innovation in battery technology bringing life to long distance EV transportation. Although EV costs of ownership might be comparably high today, over the same 4-8 year time period, it may be considered an asset or a very low cost liability as it could not only act as a personal vehicle, but also serve public transportation needs with Tesla's very own autonomous-taxi service.
Whatever happens, I'm placing my bets today on not making long term and expensive commitments to the way I travel, making biking, Lyft, car sharing, and car rentals increasingly appealing and stressless.
Very interesting read. For people in big cities, the (opportunity) cost of parking is also relevant to the cost of owning vs. ride-sharing, and I'm not sure it was included in the analysis. Writing from Toronto, a person in a condo who can easily rent out their parking spot for $150 per month is also foregoing that income by owning.
It would also be interesting to consider the "value of time" factor of taking public transit vs. owning a vehicle or ride-sharing. I am a big user and proponent of transit but, again, in Toronto, where the transit infrastructure isn't very good, it can be a difference of an hour on transit vs. 20 minutes in an Uber or Lyft car or one's own car.
Sprawling cities are useless for public transit and ride sharing. 1.5 hrs each way by transit and I’m in the same city. Taxi to work $70 not sure about lift. Can’t afford downtown. So I drive
Yes, but! Large dogs are not allowed on public transit in most North American cities nor is it likely that a Lyft or Uber driver would let me take my Labrador along!
This is an amazing analysis and definitely something to consider for many audiences. I elected to forego car ownership and instead purchase an electric bike ($2000) that can whip me around wherever I need to go in less than 30 minutes (which is about the same amount of time as vehicle transportation, including Lyft or driving one's own vehicle) – for me, it was a time-cost balance. Living in Vancouver, this is easily justified for one can travel by bike year-round; in other cities, perhaps not, but the case for Lyft over vehicle ownership hold true. However, I feel that supplementing bike transportation with ride sharing, car sharing, and car rental services not only is a more economical and environmentally friendly way of commuting, but is incredibly practical as you can adjust your consumption of these services relative to what you can afford given life's dramatic uncertainty.
There is something else to be said about how we model vehicle depreciation today. If you purchase a new vehicle today and intend on driving it for 4-8 years (up to the point of ownership for most contracts, and the typical length of manufacturer and extended warranties), that vehicle might be worth 30-60% of it's original value by the books today; however with the decreasing costs and increasing efficiency of ride sharing and the technological advancement towards level 5 autonomous driving, I reckon that the same vehicle might be worth substantially less, perhaps as low as 10-30% of its book value 4-8 years down the road.
I'd imagine we are close to a future where owning gasoline vehicles is something for enthusiasts or those who need a car for odd jobs and hobbies that transportation services or EVs fail to deliver the ability or convenience to do so today. This however might be different with owning a self-driving-ready vehicle today, like a Tesla, or with the massive amounts of innovation in battery technology bringing life to long distance EV transportation. Although EV costs of ownership might be comparably high today, over the same 4-8 year time period, it may be considered an asset or a very low cost liability as it could not only act as a personal vehicle, but also serve public transportation needs with Tesla's very own autonomous-taxi service.
Whatever happens, I'm placing my bets today on not making long term and expensive commitments to the way I travel, making biking, Lyft, car sharing, and car rentals increasingly appealing and stressless.
Very interesting read. For people in big cities, the (opportunity) cost of parking is also relevant to the cost of owning vs. ride-sharing, and I'm not sure it was included in the analysis. Writing from Toronto, a person in a condo who can easily rent out their parking spot for $150 per month is also foregoing that income by owning.
It would also be interesting to consider the "value of time" factor of taking public transit vs. owning a vehicle or ride-sharing. I am a big user and proponent of transit but, again, in Toronto, where the transit infrastructure isn't very good, it can be a difference of an hour on transit vs. 20 minutes in an Uber or Lyft car or one's own car.
Sprawling cities are useless for public transit and ride sharing. 1.5 hrs each way by transit and I’m in the same city. Taxi to work $70 not sure about lift. Can’t afford downtown. So I drive
Yes, but! Large dogs are not allowed on public transit in most North American cities nor is it likely that a Lyft or Uber driver would let me take my Labrador along!