Now that gas is at historic lows, isn’t it cheaper to drive and park than take transit? Probably not!

The Office of Planning staff often helps get new Board Members acquainted, and we recently had the pleasure to participate in a portion of Board Member Malcolm Augustine‘s orientation. During our lengthy conversation, the familiar refrain of gas prices and parking costs vs. Metrorail fares and parking fees came up. Are low gas prices and cheap parking taking trips off the rails?

We’ve looked at this issue in the past and reported out that declining gas prices have not historically nor do they do now seem to have a meaningful negative impact on Metorail ridership. We’re continuing to track these datapoints as we keep our finger on the pulse of Metrorail ridership. But we also hear that trips are very personal, and even though the big picture data doesn’t show it – and even the American Automobile Association has denied it – might driving be getting cheaper than taking transit?

Survey says – not likely.

Using the cost comparison calculator available on our website, we have constructed some sample origin-destination pairs for illustration sake. The first table compares the fully-loaded cost of driving (including depreciation, insurance, etc.) against the cost of taking an equivalent transit trip. Some data notes:

The costs of driving include a per-mile cost of $0.575, which is the current GSA cost that includes gas, insurance, depreciation and maintenance

The cost of parking downtown is assumed to be $14.60 per day, based on a $292 monthly rate (daily parking downtown without a monthly contract costs $25 per day)

The cost estimates for Park & Ride assume driving and parking at Metrorail stations, with the same per-mile rate applied to the drive to the station

The specific costs of parking at each individual station and the peak fare to Metro Center were used

Bus & Ride costs assume a Metrobus fare with transfer discount of $1.25, plus the peak period rail fare

This second table nets out the “hidden costs” of driving and uses only the marginal cost, which is essentially the cost of fuel.

More than a few things stand out, but it is clear that overall, people come out ahead when taking transit. Even when we only compare the marginal cost of the trip (just the gas prices). Of course, this subset only looks at longer-distance trips – the cost of a Capital Bikeshare trip vs. a peak period rail fare would tilt towards CaBi, but this post is about gas prices, and to our knowledge, Capital Bikeshare trips don’t require gas. It is telling, however, to look at the marginal cost of a bus & ride trip compared to the marginal cost of a vehicular trip with free parking. The data says that if a customer is choosing between driving to a “free” or otherwise fully-subsidized parking spot, vs. taking a bus to Metorail, the customer would probably choose to drive, on the margins.

Try it yourself to see whether your trip is cheaper on transit! Customers can assess the potential cost savings of taking Metrorail versus driving for their commuter trips by using the Savings Calculator available under “Rider Tools” on wmata.com.

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