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Comment by superfrank | Hacker News Reader

Eh, it depends on how you look at it. If you are comparing Lyft/Uber to public transit, yeah they lose out by a lot, but I don't think a lot of people are doing that. I think a lot of people are comparing Lyft/Uber against the cost of owning a semi-new car in a major city and that's much more comparable.

Here's a super ball park monthly cost breakdown:

- Car payment: $250

- Parking: $200

- Insurance: $85 (~$500 every 6 months)

- Gas: $50

- Registration: $40 (~$500+ a year)

- Saving for maintenance: $50 (assuming $600 a year, which is probably low)

That's super super napkin math, but that's almost $700 a month for a car, which is basically the same as $30 each work day for a month. On top of that, you don't have to deal with the hassle of parking in a city, which has to be worth something.

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No - you are wrong. Dropping off kids has a lot of convenience if you take an Uber. You don't have to worry about parking and can actually spend time with your kid, like read them a story, when you drop off via Ubers vs. yourself. In my estimate, I save at least 15-20min per dropoff when I take Uber vs. when I do with my car. In the morning that 15-20min extra matter a lot.

I don't see how your point makes him wrong. If anything, it seems to reinforce his point.

Well you need to read it again.

No, he's right. Nothing you said made his point wrong.

I don't see how I'm wrong.

My comment was basically in support of using Uber for regular transportation as it costs about the same as owning a car. At the end I even mentioned that Uber only might be easier because you don't have to worry about parking.

If I'm reading your comment correctly, you are also in favor of an Uber only lifestyle because it allows you more time with your kids, saves you time, and you don't have to deal with parking (which I also mentioned).

If that's the case, I think we're on the same side.

Your parking number seems low. May depend on where in the city you are parking. But driving to work means parking in two places regularly which could be more like 500/month. Depends where you live and where you work.

Also, insurance. $200/month is a normal rate where I live (with a clean driving record).

$600 per year for maintenance, assuming this is an average sedan built within the last 5 years, is very high. New vehicles need oil changes every 10k miles, and tires every few years. That's it (on average).

I live in the rust belt, which is probably the worst environment for vehicles. I buy new, keep cars for 6 years or so, and I spend very little on maintenance. New vehicles simply don't require much to keep running well.

Also, $40 a month for registration? Most places are $50-$100 a year. Is California that much more?

Agreed about maintenance, but yeah, CA registration is that much more.

Also factor into the car cost the time lost driving there and back. That could easily be a couple of hours a week. Say 6 hours a month. What’s that worth? Could be $120 to $1200 a month.

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