The Uber/Car Experiment

OK, it turns out I cannot do *nothing* for very long. My front door project is nearly finished (only two more coats of Spar varnish to go!) and the raised beds are on hold due to the rain. What's next? Turns out, I am signing up to be an Uber driver.

Now, I'm a greenie and a reluctant car owner. It costs me roughly $200 a month to keep my Prius on the road - that includes gas, insurance, and those two new tires they just put on. Could I live without a car, save that money, and walk the environmental walk?

To find out, I started looking at how I use the car. As a work-at-homer, I don't commute. I'm an avid bicyclist, and its super easy to get around Portland to meet people, run errands, etc. So the car is a luxury, not a necessity.

Right now, I make 6-8 car trips a month:
- moving cargo (like front doors)
- taking the dog places
- going hiking
- when I'm late
- when it rains

The math here is pretty bad. Just with the monthly expenses of the car -- and no car payment -- it costs $25 a ride in my own car -- the same as taking Uber on every trip. There are additional factors to consider, like tolls and fees. Depreciation runs roughly another $100 a month, assuming the car will be worthless in 15 years. And there's the opportunity cost of not having that $15,000 in the stock market, which could grow to $45k during those 15 years, instead of $0.

I have two choices. I can sell the car and augment my existing setup to cover the above use cases. That means renting or borrowing a car to move cargo, and using Uber when I'm running late. Biking, even when it rains, and taking public transit, even with the dog. So better time management, planning ahead, learning the bus routes and schedules, and getting wet. But this is Portland and these things are doable.

OR, I can keep my wasteful, polluting and gloriously convenient vehicle, and find a way to offset the cost of ownership. That's where Uber comes in.

If I can pick up an Uber rider on each trip, that should lower my cost per trip by $10-$20. If I increase my number of trips, say with a new hobby, that will lower the cost per trip. Admittedly, this is somewhat fuzzy logic. On the bright side, it would be good to get out more -- and a car helps me do that in a fast, spontaneous way. I'm trying to save the car because the car takes me to other people and, consequently, more connectedness and fun.

Now I just have to figure out if it's worth the cost. And answer the question: How much do I love my car?