Own vs public transport
Owning a car has hidden costs — depreciation, parking, registration, and insurance — beyond the fuel bill. Compare against public transport for an honest picture of where your money goes.
Calculator vehiclesLogic updated April 2026
This calculator compares the total cost of owning a vehicle against using public transport over a multi-year horizon. Vehicle costs include purchase, financing, fuel, insurance, maintenance, registration, parking, and depreciation. Public transport costs include monthly pass plus occasional rideshare, inflated annually. The comparison surfaces which option is genuinely cheaper for your travel pattern.
How this is calculated
Formula
Vehicle total = purchase + financing + cumulative running costs − resale ; Public transport total = sum of (monthlyPass + monthlyRideshare) × 12 × inflationFactor across yearsStep-by-step
- Vehicle path: purchase price + total finance interest, then accumulate fuel + insurance + maintenance + registration + parking each year
- Apply declining-balance depreciation to the vehicle: residual at year N = price × (1 − rate)^N
- Vehicle total = upfront + cumulative running costs − resale at end of period
- Public transport path: monthly pass + monthly rideshare × 12 = annual transport cost, year 1
- Inflate annual transport cost by the supplied rate each subsequent year
- Sum across all comparison years for total public-transport cost
- The cheaper path wins on cost, though convenience and time are not modelled
- Rounding mode
- ROUND_HALF_UP
- Precision
- 20-digit internal precision (Decimal.js), rounded to 2 decimal places for display
- Logic last reviewed
Assumptions & limitations
What this calculator assumes
- Vehicle running costs are constant in nominal terms over the comparison period
- Vehicle depreciation uses a declining-balance model
- Vehicle resale value caps at the residual implied by depreciation; user-supplied resale is used if different
- Public transport monthly costs inflate by the annualTransportCostIncrease rate each year
- Vehicle financing cost is provided as a precomputed total interest figure
- Vehicle total cost = purchase + financing + cumulative running costs − resale
- Public transport total cost = sum of monthly costs across the comparison period with annual inflation applied
What this calculator doesn’t account for
- Doesn't model the time cost of public transport vs driving (commute time differences)
- Doesn't include the convenience value of vehicle ownership
- Doesn't factor in trips that aren't possible on public transport
- Doesn't model occasional car rental for trips public transport doesn't cover
- Doesn't include health benefits (or costs) of walking/cycling to transit
Worked example
A commuter compares owning a $30,000 car (with $4,000 finance interest, $2,000 fuel, $1,200 insurance, $600 maintenance, $400 registration, $1,800 parking annually, 12% depreciation) vs $200/month public transport pass plus $50/month rideshare, with 3% fare inflation, 5-year horizon.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Vehicle: purchase / interest / annual costs | $30,000 / $4,000 / $6,000 |
| Depreciation rate | 12% |
| Public transport: monthly | $200 + $50 = $250 |
| Annual transport inflation | 3% |
| Comparison period | 5 years |
Vehicle total cost: ~$48,800 — Public transport total: ~$15,900 — Public transport saves ~$32,900
Vehicle: $30k purchase + $4k finance interest + $30k of running costs over 5 years − resale of $30k × 0.88^5 = $15,840 → ~$48,160 net. Public transport: $250 × 12 = $3,000/year × 5 years with 3% annual inflation = ~$15,920 total. Public transport wins by over $30,000 over 5 years for typical urban commuters. The math flips for high-mileage drivers, those needing the car for work, or those without good transit access.
Frequently asked questions
Is public transport really cheaper than owning a car?
For typical urban commuters with good transit access, yes — usually by tens of thousands over a 5-year horizon. Vehicle ownership has high fixed costs (purchase, insurance, registration, depreciation) that scale weakly with use, while public transport scales linearly. The break-even kilometres-per-year is usually around 8,000–15,000 km depending on local fare structure and car costs.
What car costs do people forget to include?
Depreciation (typically the biggest single cost — $4,000–$8,000/year for a new car), parking (often $1,500–$3,000/year if you pay for it at home or work), and the opportunity cost of capital tied up in the vehicle. Most people compare 'fuel + insurance + maintenance' against transit fares — that's a $3,000–$5,000/year comparison vs $1,500–$3,500 transit, which understates car cost by a factor of 2–3.
How does commute distance affect the comparison?
Transit cost scales with distance to the extent that you need a higher-zone or longer-distance pass, but car cost scales with kilometres in ways that build slowly. Long-distance commuters (50+ km each way daily) often find public transport cheaper if a fast service exists; short-distance urban commuters (under 10 km) find it overwhelmingly cheaper. The break-even distance varies by local pricing.
What about convenience and time cost?
This calculator only models money. Public transport often costs 30–60 minutes more per day in transit time vs driving in similar conditions — a real cost if your time is valuable. Conversely, transit time can be productive (reading, working) while driving cannot. The financial answer is one input; convenience, schedule flexibility, and quality-of-life impact are equally legitimate factors. Most people who switch from car to transit cite financial savings as a primary reason but lifestyle reasons as the deciding factor.
Does this calculator include occasional car needs?
No — it assumes you use only the chosen mode. Realistic transit-only households still occasionally need a vehicle (weekend trips, large purchases, transporting people). Budget for $1,000–$3,000/year of car-share or rental for those trips and add that to the public-transport figure for a fair comparison. Even with that addition, transit usually wins for typical urban scenarios.
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