I liked the recent article on the costs and time it takes to get to Seattle with different kinds of transportation, but I think you seriously underestimated the cost of driving by including only the price of gas and parking in your calculations (“Plane, train or automobiles?”, The Columbian, Feb. 24).
There are other costs to driving your car – the initial purchase, insurance, maintenance, depreciation, and so on. The IRS uses a deduction of 67 cents a mile to cover these costs, but people who keep track of such things say this figure is too low. This raises the cost of your 330-mile round trip to Seattle at least $241.20. Add parking and intra-city driving and the cost easily equals $263.30, your cost for flying.
I do appreciate that you addressed the opportunity cost of driving – staring at the road for six or more hours when you could be doing something interesting, or fun, or profitable.
I think we drive out of habit and convenience. Sometimes it’s the only way. But habit means we don’t think of the costs, financial and personal. Sometimes maybe we should.
