It struck me in 2008 when I was serving in New Zealand during my summer break as a teacher that my Honda Civic cost me $3,000 a year just to drive. This was a car that I owned outright mind you. For good insurance, gas, oil changes, and a little maintenance here and there - $3,000 a year. Gas was higher then of course but the underlying principle remains.
A car that I used almost daily a maximum of 30 minutes a day was costing me $3,000 a year. Stef and I both miss the efficiency of the states many times and so it occurred to me that is possibly one of the most inefficient things in our country currently.
I of course understand the importance of convenience - which is where Uber comes in and/or the future of driverless cars that you can call upon as needed from a smartphone app. I also understand in many places that simply isn’t an option due to size and population needs. In our pueblo for instance. There’s also the obvious issue of car seats and that would have to be accounted for somehow.
On the whole though, it’s certainly a possibility in more places than not. Where you can access a car without owning it. Where you can use it for the 30 minutes to 1.5 hours most people use it on a daily basis and then someone else can use it when they need it.
You would have to figure out the right pricing scheme, where again driverless cars would be advantageous. I think overall though, it would be much cheaper than owning a car, especially if it’s a new car with a loan.
No comments:
Post a Comment