Apparently there's an app that simulates a taxi meter to give you an idea how of how much your driving is costing. It's also apparently missing lots of data. For example are you in traffic or going 70. Are you driving recklessly or conservatively. But, it got me thinking it could I calculate my own costs.

So, let's see. My car cost $40k out the door (price + taxes + ...). I paid $10k in interest before I paid it off. I had it 6 years (so far). I paid $1500 a year in car insurance. I extended my service contract once for $4k. I put 2 sets of tires on it for $1200. So,

$40,000
$10,000
 $1,500 * 6 
 $4,000
  $1200 * 2
------------
$65,400

There's 100k miles on it. It gets ˜400 miles to the tank. If the average price to fill it is $50 over the last 6 years that's

$100,000 / 400 * 50

$12,500

If I sold it today it could supposedly get at least $12k for it so

($65.4k + $12.5k - $12k) / 100k miles

$0.66 per mile

That means my commute when I worked 40 miles away was costing me $53 a day round trip

Given that the longer you keep the car the more it's initial cost is spread out if the app showed cost per mile would show the more I drive the better it gets.

Continued... I figured I could probably add in $250 a month for the garage (12 * 6 * $250 = $18k) + and various parking charges which I'm just going to take a wild guess is about $50 a month (12 * 6 * $50 = $3.6k) so

($65.4k + $12.5k - $12k + $18k + $3.6) / 100k miles
---------------------------------------------------
$0.88 per mile

Which brings that commute = $70 a day.

What else am I forgetting?

$70 a day is ˜$1400 a month for commuting 40 miles. I guess that gives you some idea of how big a perk those shuttles from Google, Apple, Genentech, etc are worth at a minimum.

In any case that's a crazy amount of money! That's more than rent in many parts of the country.