(Editor's note: Due to the weekend/late arrival Sunday night, I have not had the time to complete this week's posting on Switzerland. Apologies, and look for us to return there next week.)
Sunday night when I arrive back in New Home 3.0 from New Home 2.0, it was rather later than I had anticipated. The thought of my options for getting home were reviewed in my mind as the plane rolled up to the gate.
The airport in New Home 3.0 lies about 20 miles or so from out apartment. To get there, there are three potential options.
The first - the one I have used probably more than most - is simply driving my car there and parking at a local lot (I say "local lot" - the airport does have a number of public lots, but the fact that for the economy lot the buses only run ever 30 minutes made it a no starter for me; who wants to wait up to 30 minutes for the privilege of riding a bus for some period of time back to your car so you can then get it.). This is the option I most often use for short trips, such as flying back to The Ranch.
The second option - one that I use if I have the time and it is convenient - is to take the local light rail to the airport. The convenience is unmatched (literally 100 yards from my door step); the time there is about 90 minutes each way: great if you have the time, less great if you are leaving super early or getting back rather late.
The third option - almost never used - is a ride app such as Outer. The advantage is that it is as faster than the light rail option and I do not pay for parking; the less great option is pricing (see below).
The reason this thought came up was the fact that I calculated by the time I got to the baggage claim, got my bags (having missed the previous train), I then had an additional 90 minutes of ride time to look forward to with an early morning call. Getting home at a reasonable hour might be worth it.
So then I started calculating cost.
For the sake of argument, let us assume that fuel spent is 2 gallons, with a price of around $8. Had I parked at a local lot this time, there would have been an additional cost of $60 ($15 x 4 days) for a total cost of $68, plus tip - so call it $72 or so. Time to get back to/from the parking lot is from the airport is about 10 minutes. Add to that the time to and from the airport and it would likely be 105 minutes.
The second option - light rail - involves neither fuel nor parking; I pay $3.00 each way or $6.00 for the full trip - but 180 minutes for a round trip.
The third option - the one that tempted me at 2130 at night with a 90 minute train ride -was Outer. I looked up the price: about $60 for a one-way trip plus tip, which would have been in the $70 range. Time for the one way portion of the trip would likely have been around 40 minutes.
Now, I look forward to my bed after a long trip as much as the next person. But doing the math in my mind was an awakening thing:
At a 40 mile trip back, the math was as follows:
Option 1 (had I driven): $72.00/40 miles = $1.80 a mile
Option 2 (light rail): $6/40 miles = $0.15 a mile
Option 3 (Outer, or other ride share service): $70/20 miles (I was only using it one way) = $3.50 a mile.
As you might imagine, I enjoyed my late night train ride in peace.
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Truly, I was shocked when I actually sat down (metaphorically of course; I was waiting for my luggage) and thought the pricing through: $3.50 or more a mile for effectively convenience? And that was not at rush hour; I have no idea what the cost might have been then (I am half tempted to look tomorrow at rush hour just to see). And yet, how easily tempted I almost was to pay a great deal more; in fact, I would have paid the equivalent of an entire drive there and back (Option 1) for half the distance and no parking.
That business model works of course - as long as people can afford it. But I cannot see it being sustainable if they are looking for the next rung down the ladder - people like me for whom it might be a nice to have on a later night, but not so much that I can afford to pay 25 times the rate I could pay.
I do not begrudge the drivers trying to make a living - good heaves, I suspect a taxi would have cost me more (they have in the past). But if they are looking to tempt people into using their cars less and using other peoples' cars more, that does not seem to be the way to be going about it.
What about safety riding the light rail, how is that TB? Is law enforcement riding the light rail around the clock? Asking for a friend......:)
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - It is a fair question.
DeleteTo my eyes, there are two kinds of enforcement personnel riding the light rail. One are the regular law enforcement officers, which appear periodically on the trains and at the stations. The other are a sort of ancillary personnel that are clearly marked and serve as a sort of public service officer (almost). They always travel in groups of two more.
That said, I have (to this point) never felt particularly threatened. Are there crazies? Yes; I have seen at least one. But most people just keep to themselves and are going somewhere. No different, in that sense, than that one person who speeds and veers all over the road in a sea of law abiding drivers.
Grandmom said, "You get what you pay for".
ReplyDeleteSomeone wiser than I said, "You can get it fast, cheap or good, pick two".
As Nylon said so well... Safety?
I'm not sure pseudo-taxis are that much safer as recent stories mention. That and the hope they will be there on time to bring you back.
Michael - Grandmom also said "Use your money wisely".
DeleteAnd I assure you, in that sense, it is not "free" - like almost everything else, it is subsidized by my tax dollars.
In terms of ride shares, I nor anyone I know has had issues. Yes, it is a colloquial story, but no more or less colloquial than anything you might read.
No edit button, besides if I was "hiring" my neighbor to drive me and such I'd not "pay" him the cheaper cost of a rail ticket.
ReplyDeleteThey don't get an hourly wage awaiting a spirit of the moment call for services.
The lack of an edit button is a lamentable feature of Blogger.
DeleteInterestingly, the pricing of such services is somewhat regulated by the type of car itself as much as by mileage. A "better" car is probably a 10-20% premium. It does not really address the nature of the ride itself.
I will say that, in comparison to a world of only taxi services, I prefer ride shares. I know the price up front and therefore the chances of me getting cheated by a longer route (it has happened more than once) are minimal. And generally, the rides are cleaner and more engaging because they are reviewed by the riders.
You buy time, is my guess. Cheap is slow. At least that's how it seems to work for me.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to work across life, too. Having the right tools for the job makes the job easier and quicker. Found that out as a kid. We NEVER had the proper tools. Work was hard, long and dangerous. Learned many interesting phrases from my dad during those visits to purgatory: "Well kiss my goat-smelling........ (a glance at 6 year old me) foot."
That is exactly the point, STxAR. It is buying time.
DeleteOddly enough - worthy of another thought post - cheap is slow, but not always so. If I think about hand crafted items for example, the speed is dictated by the ability of the craftsman, but the price is higher (or really should be). In that sense slow can be expensive, and deservedly so.
Right tools make all the difference. The problem for me is the split between the right tools and how often will I really use them.
Two things for you.
ReplyDelete1. You left out the cost of depreciation and wear and tear on your vehicle which the IRS estimates is now $0.70/mile these days for tax purposes. That gets your method 1 a lot closer to method 3.
2. The last three times I have been in the same situation over the last two years, I have found taxis to be about half or 2/3's the cost of ride sharing apps, especially those that are servicing airports. They have also been priced by the trip and not by the mile or by time. I was shocked as I always felt they were higher when the ride sharing became popular. Times have changed I guess.
Ed - Fair point on number 1; I tend to not think of depreciation but it is real (especially given replacement part prices).
DeletePoint 2 - Terribly interesting. I have never thought of taxis following being burned by them in the past. I will take your advice under consideration.