How much do you pay/spend commuting?

[Anonymous]

Updating household transportation budget and am floored at what we spend monthly:

If we Metro/park at Metro: $326.30 (and this does not include a $150 contribution from work!)
If we drive/park at garage: $308.00

Then, I have to factor in gas: $200/month if we go the Metro route; $400.00 if we drive.

So between $526.30-708/month on commuting alone. This is nuts! Trying to figure out a way to cut costs, but not seeing many options.

[Anonymous]

I telework and go to the office once a month and pay $5 to park. I drive about 14 miles each way, so there's the gas (whatever that costs). No tolls.

That's it.

[Anonymous]

^^^sorry, meant once a WEEK, not once a month.

[Anonymous]

Wow, OP how far do you commute? We live downtown (in a 1 bdrm) and have 5 min walks to work. Considering moving to Silver Spring and I want to estimate costs...

[Anonymous]

I commute from Silver Spring to Union Station. I spend $5/day on Metro parking and usually about $15/month for the extra Metro fare that my employer's $150 subsidy doesn't cover. Gas is negligible because I live less than a mile from the Metro. So probably like $125 total per month, not including the Metro subsidy.

[Anonymous]

After three moves in the last 20 years I've decided to quit playing wack-a-mole with living close to work - because "work" keeps moving faster than my home. I now live in inside-the-beltway Silver Spring and my job is in Rockville.

When I drove it was about $250/month for driving and parking (yes, we pay to park at work in Rockville!). I'm including some extra rush hour wear and tear on the car and the extra insurance cost for commuting by car.

I take a Ride On bus now so it costs about $80/month on the Smartrip with a couple trips to the downtown office included.

[Anonymous]

I pay about the same. I spent about an hour on a spreadsheet costing out alternatives including driving to the Metro. With parking, it was actually more expensive than driving in. The only way I could think to cut costs was to work from home one day a week. It would save about $1000/yr but I think it would negatively affect my career.

[Anonymous]

I commute from North Arlington to Gallery Place. I park at Ballston mall for $105/month (my daughter's preschool is within walking distance) and then commute into the city 4 days a week. My metro cost is about $100/month, and we have an FSA so both are pre-tax expenses. So I spend about $2,400/year, not including gas for the 2.5 mile round trip to the mall garage. The bright side is that I don't put many miles on my car.

Taking the bus to metro would save a bit of money, maybe $30/month, but I'd lose flexibility. Parking at work would be close to $200/month, plus gas and wear-and-tear so I keep metroing.

[Anonymous]

Hm...

We carpool the kids, so only one trip to-from school a day, and my husband goes to the office one day a week. We rarely use it for anything else. One tank of gas lasts two weeks or more, so let's say $60/ month on the car.

Me, I walk to-from work most days (40 minutes each way), but some days I'm feeling lazy or the weather is lousy and I will take metro. Say $30 a month.

Yeah, I would not have guessed that we spend $90 a month on commuting for a household of four people. Seems like a lot.

[Anonymous]

I drive 20m each way to work (we don't live near a Metro.) My minivan get 16 mpg so $180 in gas (this doesn't count gas for weekends) and then $60 for parking.

[Anonymous]

$0. I take the free shuttle from my apartment complex to the metro and my agency pays for my Smartcard.