question for daily commuters bike/car

hi everyone,

i soon will be graduating from uni with a physics bsc degree (hopefully). So next thing is probably a job. Now i have very little money and either a paid job/ PHD or funded masters is the plan. but ideally a nice job. after having many jobs since the age of 15 i plan to aim for a comfortable job (9-5) or well paid one.

i have applied for a job i would particularly like although the pay isn't great 21k before tax. the daily commute is 60 miles each way. This means 3 hours a day commute roughly £250 a month in fuel. I plan to live at home as despite petrol is still the cheaper option. but taking into account of the £250 *12 fuel is a massive chunk out of my wage of probably around £16k after tax leaving around£13k. although i have done all these sums not really sure what i am gettting myself into with a long commute.

as i dont drive at the moment will be done on the bike. could some people just list the distance they have to travel to work via car/bike, rough amount spent on petrol a month. and if possible (if it wont offend anyone) the percentage roughly of the amount they earn used/wasted on fuel.

as i am more then sure i could probably apply for a more local job which is crap, work less hours (including commute time) and end up with more money in pocket.

daily millage: 120
roughly monthly fuel bill : 250
commute time a day est : 3 hours +
percentage of monthly wage loss est: 20-30%

Seriously don't do it.. Your not taking into account the cost of maintainance, tyres etc. Also commuting that distance on a bike can be dammed hard work when you consider the conditions you will be riding in.. It's in the negatives around here at the moment and black ice is a plenty. You will learn to hate your bike and the tool that you now see as something fun will turn into a simple workhorse that will loose its pleasure.

Live closer, and get a house share and start making friends and setting up life closer to where you work.. You will be happier and your work performance much better.

+1

I used to have a 40min commute which was fine to start but day in day out it really grinds, particularly on Friday afternoon when you're knackered - and that was in a car with the radio on.

I now live 10mins away and the difference is immeasurable, I leave a 6 and I'm home by half past, if you're not careful you'll risk burning out.

Some more sums for you...

3 hours per day = 720 hours per year (inc. 4weeks hols) = a whole non-stop month every year just commuting! Surely no job is worth that.

20 mile a day
120 pound a month
1.5 hours
15% of wage in petrol

Don't forget tyres, tax, insurance, maintenance, hit and run damage, this stuff costs a fortune. My best advice is buy a horse and use it to get to work

Don't do it, too much stress.

Firstly, you'll be a graduate, and as cynical as it may seem, don't expect to walk into a job no matter how good your degree turns out to be. Everyone has the same plans when finishing uni - either work or travel - and it's not certain you'll be able to do either, sad as the facts may be. Not that I'm saying it's impossible, just that it's not a guarantee, far from it.

I've applied for a job 30 miles from my current home with a plan to move at least 10 miles closer to cut the commute down if I get it, a commute which will be on the bike. Although 30 miles is not far by many peoples' commutes, it's not great and not what I want to spend all my spare doing. I do a 10 mile commute at the moment which is thankfully quick and easy (not through towns and cities) but I know how quickly a 30 mile one will start to grate on me. I don't want my bike to turn into a tool as ravingdavis says, but it's only a shortish contract for this job if I got it so not so bad. I very much enjoy riding it but as my only transport I'm not sure it will keep that way

That's me seriously considering a commute half the one you're looking at doing. I'd consider the flatshare option, you can live fairly cheaply in a nice home with similar minded folk, so you not only get your independence but you won't be tired out and wishing for something else all the while. Certainly worth considering anyway.

And good luck with the job, really hope it works out.

Originally Posted by Sabarius

+1

I used to have a 40min commute which was fine to start but day in day out it really grinds, particularly on Friday afternoon when you're knackered - and that was in a car with the radio on.

I now live 10mins away and the difference is immeasurable, I leave a 6 and I'm home by half past, if you're not careful you'll risk burning out.

Some more sums for you...

3 hours per day = 720 hours per year (inc. 4weeks hols) = a whole non-stop month every year just commuting! Surely no job is worth that.

Where did the other 20 minutes go? Swift one down the pub

To the OP, +1 all the above. I will only add an example on tyres & insurance. Insurers normally ask for estimated mielage to assess risk. You are looking at approx 2,400 miles a month or 27,000 (+-). Maybe enquire as to whether this type of mileage will affect premium.

Also, you're looking at 1 - 2 sets of tyres a year (depending on how you ride). So even with an economic tyre, an estimate could be £160 -£170 fitted.

This doesn't account for any additional riding you want to do and there is very little point IMO to buy a bike just to ride up and down a motorway.

It may still work out cheaper than driving - and its fair to say that the bike will be less comfortable than a car - but won't be the cheapest way to get to work, although you have a bike to enjoy as opposed to going by train for instance.

So it is do-able and you will learn an awful lot if you stick with it but it will be hard work (and more expensive than you think).

Alternative...get yourself a 125, great on fuel but then you will have to weigh up the pros and cons of not enough power. Will you be commuting in the city i.e. lots of filtering or bimbling along country lanes? Will you need to turn up in a suit?

Have a look here:
http://www.spareroom.co.uk/

When I went into my first job after graduating uni I used this site to find somewhere to live.

Just to throw this idea into the fray... I think it is cheaper for me to commute in my car than it is on the bike (at least not much difference), I get 45mpg car vs 55mpg bike BUT my cars service intervals are 20k miles v 4k for the bike and the tyres last a hell of a lot longer on the car than the bike too! This doesn't take into account the comfort factor!

[Sir Trev]

My 60 mile round trip is annoying enough, and I work from home twice a week to make it more bearable.

+ another 1 to all the above. The sheer time wasted commuting will drive you nuts. Oh, and don't forget to factor in a trip to the petrol station every single day you go to work...