Driving vs. Walking to work

I just did the math. According to this, its more economical for me to drive to work than it is to walk.

Driving:
0.5 miles x 5 days = 2.5 miles/week ÷ 20 mpg = 0.125 gal/week x $4.00 /gal = $0.50/week x 2 trips (morning & evening) = $1.00/week

Walking:
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/impact/2008/nri/03191_food_prices.html
http://www.foodreference.com/html/a-low-calorie-cost-1208.html
Based on a standard 2000-calorie diet, the researchers found a diet consisting primarily of calorie-dense foods costs $3.52 a day, but a diet consisting primarily of low-calorie food costs $36.32 a day. The average American eats a variety of foods throughout the day, spending $7 a day. -March 19, 2008 [Bold values used below]
http://www.fitwatch.com/phpscripts/viewexercise.php?descr=walking,%20general&mets=4.0
0.5 miles = 10 minute walk = 44 calories
2000 cal ÷ $7.00 = $0.0035 /cal

44 cal x 5 days = 220 cals/week ÷ $0.0035 = $0.77 /week x 2 trips (morning & evening) = $1.54/week

If I had a hybrid vehicle that got, say 40 or 50 mpg, then there’d be no contest.

William Davenport

Now a father, husband, and overall 'techie guy', this Geriatric Millennial started a LiveJournal in 2005 (at the age of 20) to document his thoughts and the random happenings in his young adulthood. He enjoys Star Trek, tennis, and taking things apart.

4 thoughts on “Driving vs. Walking to work

      1. First off, people who think this way are going to say things like “our species will adapt to the changing planet. Its not cost-effective to clean up.”

        Nextly, I really think this proves the point of a Carbon Tax. Lets drive up the cost of doing things that we dont like and make it cheaper to do things that we do like.

  1. yes, but since you need a hot bod for our relationship, you might as well burn the calories walking to work then spending the money on gas AND exercising to keep your gf happy. 0:-D
    You know what, nvmd – you can do pushups shirtless while i watch instead. Or or, use a shovel and be all dirt and and …wait, i think that’s like a cowboy fantasy i read somewhere…

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