The costliness of the long-distance commute

IF YOU work in or near the downtewn area of any city in
British Columbia and you went to own your own house,
you have a choice of lifestyles: you can live in a small, old
home on a small lot close to the city and all maior ameni-
ties, or for the same money, enjoy a much farger, near-
new home on a big lot in the suburbs, and commute to

work.

For many people, pzcticularly
young, growing families, a long
commute seems a small price to
pay for more living space, a big-
ger yard for the kids, a garage,
and kss maintenance on the
home.

Growth in the suburbs has been

by the high cast of
real estate in British Columbia.

Singles, couples and families
Simply cannot afford to rent or
buy a house, or even a
townhouse, close to the city cen-
tre. $200,000 won't even buy a
starter home in areas like Van-
eouver and Victoria.

Many people have little choice
but to live a long way froro their
workplace. When bus service or
rapid transit is unavailable, or
painfully slow, many commuters
choose to drive up to i100
kikometres per day in order to
pursuc their dream of a better life
in the suburbs.

But is the long commuic worth
it?
ff you haven’t commuted before
aml you're thinking about it, the
final costs may surprise you.

First, the dollar costs.

In bumper-to-bumper traffic,
even an economy car will average
no more than nine litres per {06
kilometres (33 mpg). Assusning
you commute &€ kilometres per
dey, your minimum daily gasoline
bill (not including trips to the:
grocery store) will be around $3/
day, or $750 per year (based on a
five-day work week with two
weeks holiday).

Larger cars and trucks with V6
and V8 engines can easily double
this expense. Add to this the cost
of downtown parking, which can
be anywhere from $2 to $12 per

Since your total annual mileage
will be significantly greater than
an urban dweller, your car will
undergo more tire, brake and
clutch wear, more frequeat tune-
ups, more maintenance, and your
vehicle will depreciate in value
much faster.

If the car is new, the basic war-
ranty (usually three years or

Quay walking
club members

meet regularly

LOCAL RESIDENTS are
invited to walk around
Lonsdale Quay with other
walking club members.

Quay Walking Club members
meet before business opening on
the Quay’s second floor and walk
together for fitness and fun. The
temperature-controlled —environ-
ment is ideal during the winter
months as a place to gather and

Walkers who clock 100 miles
witl receive a complimentary
Lonsdale Quay T-shirt and shop-
ping bag. Walking progress sheets
are provided in the walking club
information package available at
the customer service desk.

Eight times around the second
floor is equal to one mile.

This is a non-profit community
activity sponsored by the Lonsdale
Quay Market, Heart Smart North
Shore and Heart and Stroke
Foundation of B.C. and Yukon.

Greg
Wilson

AUTOMOTION

60,000 kilometres, whichever
comes first} will expire sooner,
requiring you to pay needed
repairs yourself after that time.

Unless vou want to run the risk
of breaking down in the middle of
a crowded highway many
kilometres from home, chances
are you’ want to buy 2 new or
near-new automobile for your
daily commute.

The fixed cost of a new
automobile runs, on average, be-
tween $10,000 and $20,000.

Add to that the cost of auto in-
surance, which is higher for a new
car than a used car.

And since your car is tied up at
least five days a week, you'll
probably need to buy anothier car
for your spouse to do the shop-
ping, drive the kids to school, go
to work, and so on.

Apart from financial costs, a
long daily drive in stop-and-go
traffic increases your chances of
having an accident. Tired and
weary after an exhausting day at
the office, you are confronted
with an hour (or more) of driving
in heavy traffic in failing light
conditions. You may manage to
Stay awake, but the person behind
you may not.

A typical rear-end collision can
mean whiplash injuries, hospital

costs, work downtime and the
hassle and expense of car repairs.

But perhaps the greatest disad-
vantage of the long commute is
time lost.

Commuting a total of two
hours a day, five days a week
means that you spend 20 days a
year sitting in your automobile.
Some of that time could have
been spent with your family, carn-
ing more income, os pursuing rec-
reational activities, hobbies and
sports.

It’s common for both parents 10
leave for work by 7 a.m. and not
to return home until after 6 p.m.
By the time they gct home, they
just have enough time to make
dinner, eat it, clear the table,

wash the dishes, kiss the kids
goodnight, and go to bed carly
enough to get up by 6 a.m. to go
to work in rush-bour traffic.

Not the suburban Ifestyle many
families had imagined.

Then there's childcare.

If both parents are working and
comrauting for a total of 10 hours
a day, someone vise has to take
care of the kids while they're aot
in school; 2 babysitter has to be

pa.
already helped pay a huge deposit
on the new house, so they may
not be too excited about bebysit-
ting five days a week.)

Nort: Shore News - 37

The final down side of the fong
commute is the stress of driving in
heavy isaffic. Long waits, stop-
and-go traffic, discourteous
drivers, the smell of exhaust
fumes wafting through your
flow-through ventilation system,
and the all-too-common realiza-
Gon that you are going to be late
for work, again, adds up to a
tense, frustrating experience on a
daily basis.

So before you become
examored with a beautiful new
house in the suburbs, think about
the hidden costs.

Like many suburbanites, you
may be moving back to the city
sooner than you had anticipated.

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